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January 2017 Debut YA Novels

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It’s time for another round-up of debut YA novels of the month — here’s what we’ve got for January.

This round-up includes debut novels, where “debut” is in its purest definition. These are first-time books by first-time authors. I’m not including books by authors who are using or have used a pseudonym in the past or those who have written in other categories (adult, middle grade, etc.) in the past. Authors who have self-published are not included here either.

All descriptions are from Goodreads, unless otherwise noted; I’ve found Goodreads descriptions to offer better insight to what a book is about over WorldCat. If I’m missing any debuts out in January from traditional publishers — and I should clarify that indie/small presses are okay — let me know in the comments.

As always, not all noted titles included here are necessarily endorsements for those titles. List is arranged alphabetically by title, with pub dates beside them. Starred titles are the beginning of a new series.

Get ready to get your read on: January is a busy debut month!

 

 

Beneath The Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer (1/9)

Sixteen-year-old Talia was born to a life of certainty and luxury, destined to become Empress of half the world. But when an ambitious rival seizes power, she and her mother are banished to a nowhere province on the far edge of the Northern Sea.

It is here, in the drafty halls of the Ruen-Dahr, that Talia discovers family secrets, a melancholy boy with a troubling vision of her future, and a relic that holds the power of an ancient Star. On these shores, the eerie melody of the sea is stronger than ever, revealing long-forgotten tales of the Goddess Rahn. The more dark truths that Talia unravels about the gods’ history—and her own—the more the waves call to her, and it may be her destiny to answer.

 

 

 

*Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk (1/16)

The action-packed tale of a 17-year-old warrior princess and a handsome gladiator who dared take on the Roman Republic―and gave rise to the legend of Spartacus…

For teens who love strong female protagonists in their fantasy and historical fiction, Blood and Sand is a stirring, yet poignant tale of two slaves who dared take on an empire by talented debut author C. V. Wyk.

Roma Victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire―an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves.

Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is the preeminent gladiator of his generation.

Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end―and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus…

 

 

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis (1/30)

Seventeen-year-old Evan Panos doesn’t know where he fits in. His strict Greek mother refuses to see him as anything but a disappointment. His quiet, workaholic father is a staunch believer in avoiding any kind of conflict. And his best friend Henry has somehow become distractingly attractive over the summer.

Tired, isolated, scared—Evan’s only escape is drawing in an abandoned church that feels as lonely as he is. And, yes, he kissed one guy over the summer. But it’s his best friend Henry who’s now proving to be irresistible. It’s Henry who suddenly seems interested in being more than friends. And it’s Henry who makes him believe that he’s more than his mother’s harsh words and terrifying abuse. But as things with Henry heat up, and his mother’s abuse escalates, Evan has to decide how to find his voice in a world where he has survived so long by avoiding attention at all costs.

 

 

*Everless by Sarah Holland (1/2)

In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

 

 

Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely (1/2)

Seventeen-year-old Serendipity “Pity” Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She’s been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great….

In this extraordinary debut from Lyndsay Ely, the West is once again wild after a Second Civil War fractures the U.S. into a broken, dangerous land. Pity’s struggle against the dark and twisted underbelly of a corrupt city will haunt you long after the final bullet is shot.

 

 

 

 

*The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert (1/30)

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

 

 

 

*Ink by Alice Broadway (1/2)

Every action, every deed, every significant moment is tattooed on your skin for ever. When Leora’s father dies, she is determined to see her father remembered forever. She knows he deserves to have all his tattoos removed and made into a Skin Book to stand as a record of his good life. But when she discovers that his ink has been edited and his book is incomplete, she wonders whether she ever knew him at all.

 

 

 

 

 

Keeper by Kim Chance (1/30)

When a 200-year-old witch attacks her, sixteen-year-old bookworm Lainey Styles is determined to find a logical explanation. Even with the impossible staring her in the face, Lainey refuses to believe it—until she finds a photograph linking the witch to her dead mother.

After consulting a psychic, Lainey discovers that she, like her mother, is a Keeper: a witch with the exclusive ability to unlock and wield the Grimoire, a dangerous but powerful spell book. But there’s a problem. The Grimoire has been stolen by a malevolent warlock who is desperate for a spell locked inside it—a spell that would allow him to siphon away the world’s magic.

With the help of her comic-book-loving best friend and an enigmatic but admittedly handsome street fighter, Lainey must leave her life of college prep and studying behind to prepare for the biggest test of all: stealing back the book.

 

 

The Last Girl on Earth by Alexandra Blogier (1/23)

Raised among them.>

Li has a father and a sister who love her. A best friend, Mirabae, to share things with. She goes to school and hangs out at the beach and carefully follows the rules. She has to. Everyone she knows–her family, her teachers, her friends–is an alien. And she is the only human left on Earth.

A secret that could end her life.

The Abdoloreans hijacked the planet sixteen years ago, destroying all human life. Li’s human-sympathizer father took her in as a baby and has trained her to pass as one of them. The Abdoloreans appear human. But they don’t think with human minds or feel with human hearts. And they have special abilities no human could ever have.

Fit in or die.

When Li meets Ryn, she’s swept up in a relationship that could have disastrous consequences. How far will Li go to stay alive? Will she save herself–and in turn, the human race–or will she be the final witness to humanity’s destruction?

 

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (1/23)

Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting–working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she’s asexual). Alice is done with dating–no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.

But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).

When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood.

 

Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed (1/9)

American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.

There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.

 

 

 

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke (1/9)

The only thing 17-year-old Jane Sinner hates more than failure is pity. After a personal crisis and her subsequent expulsion from high school, she’s going nowhere fast. Jane’s well-meaning parents push her to attend a high school completion program at the nearby Elbow River Community College, and she agrees, on one condition: she gets to move out.

Jane tackles her housing problem by signing up for House of Orange, a student-run reality show that is basically Big Brother, but for Elbow River Students. Living away from home, the chance to win a car (used, but whatever), and a campus full of people who don’t know what she did in high school… what more could she want? Okay, maybe a family that understands why she’d rather turn to Freud than Jesus to make sense of her life, but she’ll settle for fifteen minutes in the proverbial spotlight.

As House of Orange grows from a low-budget web series to a local TV show with fans and shoddy T-shirts, Jane finally has the chance to let her cynical, competitive nature thrive. She’ll use her growing fan base, and whatever Intro to Psychology can teach her, to prove to the world—or at least viewers of substandard TV—that she has what it takes to win.

 

S.T.A.G.S. by M. A. Bennett (1/30)

Seventeen-year-old Greer, a scholarship girl at a prestigious private school, St Aidan the Great School (known as STAGS), soon realizes that the school is full of snobs and spoilt rich brats, many of whom come from aristocratic families who have attended the institute throughout the centuries. She’s immediately ignored by her classmates. All the teachers are referred to as Friars (even the female ones), but the real driving force behind the school is a group of prefects known as the Medievals, whose leader, Henry de Warlencourt, Greer finds both strangely intriguing as well as attractive. The Medievals are all good-looking, clever and everyone wants to be among their circle of friends. Greer is therefore surprised when she receives an invitation from Henry to spend a long weekend with him and his friends at his family house in the Lake District, especially when she learns that two other “outsiders” have also been invited: Shafeen and Chanel. As the weekend unfolds, Greer comes to the chilling realization that she and two other “losers” were invited only because they were chosen to become prey in a mad game of manhunt.

 

 

You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon (1/2)

Eighteen-year-old twins Adina and Tovah have little in common besides their ambitious nature. Viola prodigy Adina yearns to become a soloist—and to convince her music teacher he wants her the way she wants him. Overachiever Tovah awaits her acceptance to Johns Hopkins, the first step on her path toward med school and a career as a surgeon.

But one thing could wreck their carefully planned futures: a genetic test for Huntington’s, a rare degenerative disease that slowly steals control of the body and mind. It’s turned their Israeli mother into a near stranger and fractured the sisters’ own bond in ways they’ll never admit. While Tovah finds comfort in their Jewish religion, Adina rebels against its rules.

When the results come in, one twin tests negative for Huntington’s. The other tests positive.

These opposite outcomes push them farther apart as they wrestle with guilt, betrayal, and the unexpected thrill of first love. How can they repair their relationship, and is it even worth saving?

This Week at Book Riot

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Over on Book Riot this week…

 

 

 

 

It’s a little weirdly sad writing this round-up today, as I sit in my living room couch and think about how it’s the last post I’ll write in my current home. We are moving back across the state line into Illinois this weekend. After eight years in Wisconsin, in a wonderful first home, we’re changing gears and moving into an old Victorian, within walking distance of an indie bookstore and within a short drive to not only an excellent library (and really, when the weather is nice, it’s walkable!) but also a chain bookstore. We’re going from rural Wisconsin to suburban Illinois and I keep stopping myself over and over with the record of “this is the last time that x” or “this is the last time that y.” It’s odd and strange and jarring and stressful and ultimately, something that will be a hugely positive change in my life and my husband’s life.

It’s my hope that very soon, I’ll also be sharing much more information about my next anthology, (Don’t) Call Me Crazy, which hits shelves October 2 (and yes, you can preorder it from any of your favorite online retailers).

Early 2018 Fantasy Reads

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It’s a few weeks into 2018, and I’m already super excited about the YA fantasy being published within the first half of the year. The synopses of forthcoming books point to a bit more creativity and originality than I’ve seen within the past couple of years in the fantasy genre. These are the ones that have stood out to me so far. What books are you looking forward to?

 

Everless by Sara Holland (January 2)

In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

 

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert (January 30)

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother’s tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

 

Ink, Iron, and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare (February 20)

A certain pen, a certain book, and a certain person can craft entirely new worlds through a branch of science called scriptology. Elsa comes from one such world that was written into creation by her mother—a noted scriptologist.

But when her home is attacked and her mother abducted, Elsa must cross into the real world and use her own scriptology gifts to find her. In an alternative 19th-century Italy, Elsa finds a secret society of pazzerellones—young people with a gift for mechanics, alchemy or scriptology—and meets Leo, a gorgeous mechanist with a smart mouth and a tragic past. She recruits the help of these fellow geniuses just as an assassin arrives on their doorstep.

 

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (March 6)

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.  But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.

 

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (April 3)

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

 

Furyborn by Claire Legrand (May 22)

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed…unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable–until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world–and of each other.

 

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman (June 26)

Star-crossed lovers, meddling immortals, feigned identities, battles of wits, and dire warnings. These are the stuff of fairy tale, myth, and folklore that have drawn us in for centuries.

Fifteen bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.

Compiled by We Need Diverse Books’s Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman, the authors included in this exquisite collection are: Renee Ahdieh, Sona Charaipotra, Preeti Chhibber, Roshani Chokshi, Aliette de Bodard, Melissa de la Cruz, Julie Kagawa, Rahul Kanakia, Lori M. Lee, E. C. Myers, Cindy Pon, Aisha Saeed, Shveta Thakrar, and Alyssa Wong.

A mountain loses her heart. Two sisters transform into birds to escape captivity. A young man learns the true meaning of sacrifice. A young woman takes up her mother’s mantle and leads the dead to their final resting place. From fantasy to science fiction to contemporary, from romance to tales of revenge, these stories will beguile readers from start to finish.

YA Cover Makeovers: Fresh New Looks for 6 Titles In Paperback

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It seems like cover changes are roaring back. For a while, it could take a few months to pull together a list of YA books seeing redesigned covers in their paperback edition. But now, I’ve had no problem pulling together a huge list of titles seeing new looks.

As always, some of these covers are strong redesigns while others aren’t quite as strong as their original packaging. What seems to be most interesting in many of the redesigns collected here, though, is how much they’ve all sort of take on similar design elements with what seems to be an eye toward reaching adult readers more than teen readers.

Let’s take a peek. Love one of these? Dislike one of these? Seen other redesigns lately that are worth looking at? I’d love to hear about those things in the comments.

Original hardcover designs are on the left, and new paperback editions are on the right.

 

 

After The Fall by Kate Hart’s original cover reminded me of many other YA covers, including Stephanie Kuehn’s latest, When I Am Through With You. What made it stand out to me was the color choice: it’s really pleasing to the eye, but more than that, it really captures the mood of the story. It’s clear that this book has to do with something related to being outdoors (it does) and the reddened sky suggests something ominous happens (it does). The tag line for the original hardcover reads “The truth isn’t always what you expect.” I can’t say that adds a whole lot to either the title or the cover. It’s a true statement, but that offers little insight into the book itself. The font for the title is eye-catching and the way it’s spread over the entire cover is pretty appealing.

“Sometimes there’s no one to catch you” is the new tag line for the paperback edition and it’s much stronger and more insightful into what the book is actually about than the original. The paperback also suggests even more of an outdoors feel to the book, and it, too, still gives that subtle hint of something ominous lurking in the background with the color palette. It’s interesting that the font for the title goes in the complete opposite direction for this one: it’s really narrow and centered on the cover. I might be alone in this, but I think flipping “Fall” to be upside down is a bit cheesy, given the sort of feel the rest of the cover has — almost like the cover can’t be too series, even though the book itself is serious. This one screams “set in Arkansas” for me more than the original. This cover feels a little more angled toward adult readers than the original, if for no reason than it has a much more polished feel to it (save for that cheesy flipped word factor).

Both covers do the job, though I think the paperback is a little more unique and catered to the book itself. The tag line is definitely stronger. After the Fall hits shelves in paperback on January 23.

 

 

Marie Marquardt’s Dream Things True in hardcover is really bright and refreshing. Like many other YA books in the last few years, this one is driven by the title font, and in this case, it works well. The letters are bold and bright, and the font itself is unique and yet easy to read — sometimes fonts this big and bold can be tough on the eyes. The decision to make the “E” and the “A” in Dream different colors does draw attention to them, but it’s a little odd since there’s no understandable reason for the choice. The rest of the letters don’t have an ombre effect to them to the same depth, so those seem to stand out unnecessarily.

The couple in the bottom left-hand corner of this cover is interesting: he’s a little cold toward her reception. She looks like she’s quite engaged with him. As individuals, they’re a little challenging to see on screen, but in person, it’s very obvious he’s white and but her skin color is a little less obvious. She is either very tan or light brown.

I point the couple out specifically because in the paperback redesign, the couple is very easy to read on screen. She’s definitely brown and he’s definitely white. And more, they’re both walking away from one another, with nothing but their hands lingering together, as if they know the decision they’ve made as a couple is the right one for them. Although I’m generally not a fan of illustrated covers (more on that down below), in this particular case, with the right color combination, it works. The font choice for this edition is much less bold in terms of style, but the red on yellow makes it really pop. The script style of the font is easy enough to read, too, even with the sunbeams radiating through it. The use of a strip of blue stars on the left-hand side of the cover is clever, particularly when you consider how the couple is staged between the day and the night of the cover. This cover is much more mature than the hardcover and likely will appeal to more adult readers than the original.

But more than that, the fact you know immediately that this is a book about an interracial couple is what makes the paperback really stand out. Dream Things True is out in paperback on February 20.

 

 

An example of a book cover which really tells you nothing is The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles in hardcover. It is literally a script-like font, with white text on a white background, and it’s quite hard to read: there’s a line under the “ed” of edge which tries to mirror the dash needed in the breaking up of the word everything and that ends up being really confusing to the eye. If we’re thinking about how covers look on screen — which is likely a huge factor in why we’re seeing more covers which focus on font-driven cover design — this one doesn’t really work. It tries to do too much.

The flames around the title are equally confusing. They look really fake, making me question whether they really are flames or not. More, I cannot figure out what is going on about the “h” in thing — is that a person? Why are they trying to look over the “e” in every? Is it to see the person who is hanging out over the “h” in the? And what about the little person below the “h” in thing? The longer I look at this, the more confused I get. If the focus is the edge of everything, shouldn’t the little people be standing on one of those letters looking down off the edge?

Bonus points for a James Dashner quote.

Although the paperback edition of the book doesn’t really tell you much about what it’s about, it’s definitely stronger and more pleasing to the eye. The title font is easy to read, and it chooses to be clever by being in all lowercase letters; that’s a decision that works for the eye. There’s a little bit of a magical quality to the color choices and billowy smoke behind the title, which fits with the fantasy genre of the book. That isn’t a bad thing and rather, encourages some intrigue into what the book might be about. The Dashner quote is gone, replaced by two book reviews which tell you nothing about the book (three words with tons of ellipses and a tiny little phrase don’t really offer insight except that some critics read the book) and there’s now a tag line: “For the perfect love, what would you be willing to lost?” It’s not perfect but it gives some context to the cover design in a way that the little people around the big font on the hardcover simply don’t.

Paperback all the way for this one. You can pick up The Edge of Everything in paperback June 5.

 

 

Each of Emery Lord’s YA books have been seeing new looks in paperback, and Open Road Summer is no different. The hardcover for this one isn’t especially noteworthy except for the fact it looks like every other romantic YA book which came out around the same time: a glowy, dreamy sun flare around a couple. This one is set in an open field, perhaps to really hammer home the summer setting. The font for the title takes up a little more than half the real estate and relies on some strange sizing to make work: Open and Road are uneven, with the “O” of open not being left-aligned like the “R” in road. Perhaps an issue of kearning and tracking? Summer isn’t the same size and it definitely looks like it was squished to fit. The longer I look at how the letters don’t line up on the left edge of the cover, the more my eyes are bothered.

The hardcover also has a small blurb from Elizabeth Eulberg in the top left-hand corner, which fills some of the empty space from the field behind.

There is a lot to like about the paperback redesign, even though it, too, is another illustrated cover. The title, set in the middle of the cover, is really eye-catching, and the decision to use two fonts is not just clever, but it allows for all three words to take up the same amount of space, rather than forcing a fit that doesn’t quite work. The color scheme here mirrors some of what goes on in the hardcover edition, though it’s brighter and less stuck in a particular time, place, and era (which is the problem with models on covers — they can be dated quickly by style). Unlike many other covers that have taken the illustrated route, this particular cover seems to track younger, rather than toward an adult readership.

Buried way down at the bottom of the redesign, there’s a tag line: “Your heart will lead you home…” Yes, those scare ellipses are included.

Although there’s nothing bad about the hardcover, the paperback for this one feels a little stronger, a little fresher, and a little more timeless. It also “matches” the other redesigns of Lord’s books. Open Road Summer will have its new paperback design available on March 6.

 

 

 

The Truth of Right Now by Kara Lee Corthron was one of the most underrated YA reads of 2017. In a year where books like The Hate U Give exploded on the scene, this one should have, too, but it didn’t. And try as I encouraged people to read it, so few did; those who did read it ended up being really glad they did.

Which, when I look at the original hardcover, I wonder if it didn’t click for readers on the shelf as something they’d want to pick up.

The hardcover features two people — a girl and a guy — on a subway. It’s entirely sketch, with very little color. That sketchiness is, I think, the power of that particular cover. The font for the title and the author’s name (which does a weird thing in being uneven in size) look like they’ve been designed in crayon, which only makes the sketchy nature of the cover stronger. This hardcover really pops for me because it’s so different, and it really reflects the story itself. But, I can also see where the feeling of being unfinished and raw is exactly what turned readers off from picking this up.

But the paperback!

This is a gorgeous image of New York City, which is where the novel is set. The image is so eye-appealing, and it manages to tell a whole lot of story with very little. The centering of the image across a walkway and stacking of the font above it creates all kinds of pretty lines without trying too hard to do just that. It feels like a spring day, but what really makes it work is the fact that it’s not necessarily sunny: there’s a bit of a foggy sheen to the sky, making everything pop against that. I don’t actually think that this cover tells you much about the book, especially not when it’s compared to the hardcover, but it’s so damn pretty that it’ll make readers at least look at the jacket copy.

No blurbs or tag lines on either cover. In a lot of ways, that in itself is unique.

The Truth of Right Now hit shelves in paperback on January 2, so you can pick it up now.

 

 

 

 

When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore was a National Book Award finalist and the original hardcover design of this is utterly dreamy. The font for the title uses a nice combination of script-like letters with more standard fonts, giving it something special without sacrificing the readability. The gold against the black is easy to read, and the slight incorporation of flowers with the two main characters is clever and evokes a fantastical feel. More, what really makes this cover unique is that it feels like it’s a stage. We’re seeing the whole set along with the performers — there are the moons handing, the stage is the water tower, and the lights have been dimmed to make their stories shine. Written in tiny letters below the word Ours is a blurb from Laura Ruby.

This cover appeals to so many readers and more, tells those readers exactly the sort of feel to expect from it. It’s magical and dreamy.

Enter the paperback.

I mentioned earlier that I mostly dislike illustrated covers, and this is a perfect example of why. The magic is gone. This cover is super generic, with a color palette that does nothing especially interesting except blend it into the other generic illustrated covers. The giant moon in the middle of the cover looks more like a sun drowning in an ocean, and more, the fact that the moon is taking over the bottom of the letters in the is really harsh on the eyes. The choice to not capitalize the “t” in the is also jarring — the font for the title is already so insubstantial that the word follows the moon-sun in drowning in a sea of blue. The script for the Booklist review is nearly impossible to read on screen. The choice blurb there tells you nothing, either: “Lovely, necessary, and true” doesn’t give any insight into the book, which is a real shame with a cover that also offers nothing.

Everything that made the hardcover a special cover is gone with this one. There’s no magic. No hint of what the book’s about. No invitation to the reader to pick it up and enjoy. It’s generic. It’s boring. And it offers no hint of who the audience it’ll reach.

When The Moon Was Ours hits shelves in paperback February 13. But maybe skip it and seek out the hardcover instead.

This Week at Book Riot

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Over on Book Riot this week…

 

 

 

 

If you haven’t tuned in yet, this would be a good week to start listening to the Hey YA podcast. Eric and I talk about books from ten years ago (because The Hunger Games is 10 this year, y’all), about book covers hitting shelves this year we love, and why we find “most anticipated” lists to be hard to love….and share a boatload of books those lists have missed.