Diversity in 2016 YA Book Covers So Far

September 28, 2015 |

Last year, I did two posts that explored diverse YA book covers. I wanted to see those covers featuring people of color prominently and obviously. After paying attention for those posts, it’s a thing I’ve kept an eye on as more 2016 YA book covers have been revealed. I’ve collected the covers fitting “diverse” in that they feature people who aren’t white in a way that makes it obvious they are not white.

All of the 2016 YA book covers haven’t yet been revealed yet, and there’s always the possibility that some covers previously revealed will be redesigned. But so far, 2016 is looking to be like a real let down when it comes to racial diversity on YA covers.

There are six books that feature boats or ships on covers in 2016 so far.

There is not one single — not one single — interracial couple on a YA book cover for 2016.+

There are plenty of white couples though.

But what’s really frustrating about seeing this isn’t just that there are not interracial couples depicted on 2016 YA covers yet. It’s that I can only think of one single YA book featuring an interracial couple at all, and that’s Sarah McCarry’s About A Girl cover. Granted, there are not a lot of YA covers that feature couples, period, but when you see a sea of boats and white-with-white couples, this absence becomes obvious. There are interracial couples in YA books and more, there are interracial couples in real teen life. Why aren’t we seeing that on covers?*

I suspect it’s asking a lot or expecting a lot, since the field of people of color on YA book covers is, itself, a thing that merits attention because it’s novel. The growth of flat design and illustration-driven covers clearly plays a part in this, too — I’ve spoken pretty openly about my dislike of the illustration trend because I find it kind of boring and monotonous, and I think it’s also been a convenient way for diversity on covers to be ignored further. Getting away from people on covers isn’t bad, but when they then become merely shadowy figures, what does that say about a commitment to showcasing reality? It’s like slapping sunglasses on Asian models on covers so they appear more white than they are (and yes, this is a thing — would you know she’s supposed to be Korean if you didn’t know from the book’s description?).

Can we do better though? This is reality. And seeing nothing but white couples on covers is a lie to reality and it’s a lie to the richness in YA as it stands now. I would love to highlight at least one, if not two, YA books featuring interracial couples from traditional publishers in 2016. We don’t tend to do cover reveals here, but I would do one in a heartbeat for a book like that, especially if it’s by an author of color. To suggest these books “don’t sell” or “don’t do well” because of “the market” is bullshit. They don’t do well because they’re not even being put out there TO do well. And when they are put out there, they aren’t given marketing budgets. Or they’re books written by white people who get a person of color on the cover and thus, money and attention. This is what our readers are looking for — our readers are primarily gate keepers who serve diverse teens and they deserve to know about these books in this way.

Here’s a round-up of the YA covers from major publishers (as well as some of the smaller traditional ones!) featuring people of color on them as seen so far for 2016. Descriptions are from Goodreads. Let me know if I’ve missed any big ones in the comments, and please, I want to know: what YA covers featuring interracial couples can you think of? Are there any beyond the one that McCarry advocated for on her own?**

Little White Lies by Brianna Baker and F. Bowman Hastie III (Soho Teen, February 9)***

Seventeen-year-old honors student Coretta White’s Tumblr, Little White Lies–a witty commentary on race and current events, as well as an exposé of her brilliant-yet-clueless parents–has just gone viral. She’s got hundreds of thousands of followers; she’s even been offered a TV deal. But Coretta has a confession: she hasn’t been writing her
own posts. Overwhelmed with the stress of keeping up with her schoolwork and applying for colleges, she has secretly hired a forty-one-year-old ghostwriter named Karl Ristoff to help her with the Tumblr. His contributions have helped make it a sensation, but unable to bear the guilt, Coretta eventually confesses the scandalous truth to a select
few to free herself of the burden.

The fallout is almost instantaneous. Before she knows it, her reputation has been destroyed. The media deal disappears. Even her boyfriend breaks up with her. Then Karl is thrust into the limelight, only to suffer a precipitous fall himself. Ultimately, the two join forces to find out who is responsible for ruining both of their lives . . . someone who might even have had the power to fuel their success in the first place. And to exact justice and a clever revenge, they must truly come clean to each other.

Peas and Carrots by Tanita S. Davis (Knopf, February 9)***

In this new YA novel by Tanita S. Davis, the Coretta Scott King Honor author of Mare’s War, a white teen named Dess is placed into foster care with a black family while her mother is incarcerated.

The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters (Amulet, March 8)

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern (Feiwel and Friends, April 5)

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation where she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule. And now faces life-changing repercussions.

She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.

The Skylighter by Becky Wallace (Margaret K McElderry/S&S, March 22)

Johanna and Rafi are in a race against time to save their country before a power-mad Keeper destroys everything they hold dear in the “enthralling magical world” (Cinda Williams Chima, author of The Heir Chronicles) introduced in The Storyspinner.

As the last of the royal line, Johanna is the only person who can heal a magical breach in the wall that separates her kingdom of Santarem from the land of the Keepers, legendary men and women who wield elemental magic. The barrier protects Santarem from those Keepers who might try to take power over mere humans…Keepers who are determined to stop Johanna and seize the wall’s power for themselves.

And they’re not the only ones. As the duchys of Santarem descend into war over the throne, Johanna relies more than ever on the advice of her handsome companion, Lord Rafael DeSilva. But Rafi is a duke too, and his people come first. As their friendship progresses into the beginnings of a tender relationship, Johanna must wonder: is Rafi looking out for her happiness, or does he want the throne for himself?

With war on the horizon, Johanna and Rafi dodge treacherous dukes and Keeper assassins as they race to through the countryside, determined to strengthen the wall before it’s too late…even if it means sacrificing their happiness for the sake of their world.

Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki (Roaring Brook, April 19)***

Montgomery Sole is a square peg in a small town, forced to go to a school full of jocks and girls who don’t even know what irony is. It would all be impossible if it weren’t for her best friends, Thomas and Naoki. The three are also the only members of Jefferson High’s Mystery Club, dedicated to exploring the weird and unexplained, from ESP and astrology to super powers and mysterious objects.

Then there’s the Eye of Know, the possibly powerful crystal amulet Monty bought online. Will it help her predict the future or fight back against the ignorant jerks who make fun of Thomas for being gay or Monty for having two moms? Maybe the Eye is here just in time, because the newest resident of their small town is scarier than mothmen, poltergeists, or, you know, gym.

Mirage by Tracy Clark (HMH, July 5)

Seventeen-year-old Ryan Poitier Sharpe is a gutsy, outgoing girl who spends her summer days hurling herself out of planes at her parents’ skydiving center in the Mojave Desert. Fiercely independent and willing to take risks, she challenges those around her to live life fully. But after a brush with death, Ryan is severely altered—she’s not the same thrill-seeking girl she once was and seems to be teetering on the edge of psychosis. As her relationships crumble and her life unravels, Ryan must fight the girl she’s become—or lose herself forever—in this eerie and atmospheric thriller.

So it turns out there is a list on Goodreads of YA and Middle Grade titles with POC lead characters, too. Here’s the link — and while maybe if you squint you can tell some of the YA titles include a person of color on the cover. . . I’m still completely underwhelmed.

*I realized after writing this, there is a second YA book I can think of with an interracial couple on the cover. That would be the paperback iteration of Una LaMarche’s Like No Other. Because the hardcover is illustrated and the characters have their backs to the reader, it’s not possible to tell.

**Sarah McCarry is white and thus has some sway in what she wants to happen in a way that minority authors wouldn’t have. Were she a woman of color advocating for a cover like the one she was able to get, I’m not sure she would have been as fortunate.

***These books are also written by readily identifiable authors of color. So fewer than half. Come on.

+ Guess what I discovered after writing this post? Two YA books hitting shelves in 2016 with interracial couples on the cover. Check Them Out. I still stand by my words, though: we need more.

This Week at Book Riot

September 25, 2015 |

Since I was out of town last week, I didn’t get a chance to include a link round-up from Book Riot. Here’s a look at what I’ve written over there recently:

3 On A YA Theme tackled 3 YA books featuring politics and 3 YA books you can see on-screen adaptations of streaming on Netflix right now.

Stock Reading, or, what sorts of ridiculous stock images I’ve come across when trying to find appropriate images for work-related bookish posts. I hope y’all help me caption that final image.

There are only a handful of subscriptions left for the third YA Quarterly Box I curate for Book Riot. Here’s a teaser for what’s to come in this next box…so if you want in, you should subscribe ASAP before it’s too late.

Angel Cruz, over at Women Write About Comics, interviewed me this week about Feminism For The Real World. Check it out!

Today’s my birthday, so in honor of that, here’s a picture of the best ice cream sandwich I’ve ever had to thank you all for being part of my everyday life (even if you don’t know it!). Is it mean to show you this? Either way, if you’re in Toronto or head there sometime, I cannot recommend Bang Bang Ice Cream enough. This beauty is burnt toffee ice cream smushed between two halves of a sugar cookie:

Cover Doubles: Backs of Girls Edition

September 24, 2015 |

How about some cover doubles? Or, I should say, cover doubles with a side of a cover triple. Here are recent stock image reuses on book covers that have caught my eye. I’d love to know if you’ve seen any lately, whether they’re these doubles or others.

The first book to have the back of this girl as its central image was Nina LaCour’s 2014 Everything Leads To You. It’s a great, moody image and captures the feel of the book well. It’s romantic and has a sense of longing and possibility. It’s “light” looking without suggesting it’s a light read.

Ryan Revisited was self-published this summer, and it’s a stark look. We get to see more of her body, and it’s interesting the choice to crop her for the LaCour title, as well as the Fayman one. I think the full body works in this cover, as there’s not other images competing for attention. For a self-published title, it’s a pretty well-done cover.

In 2016, that same girl will be a central image for the cover of Corey Lynn Fayman’s Desert City Diva. That’s an interesting cover all around — a burned out, broke down car and a really unfortunate spider crawling along the title. I wouldn’t want to be that girl. I kind of think she looks out of place, as she looks too “pretty” to be walking among those less-than-pretty things. Interestingly, this book is also set in California, like LaCour’s.

Here’s another cover double that features the backside of a girl, but this time, she’s holding hands with her beau. This is a fascinating cover double to me because the books could not be more different. There’s Patterson’s Truth or Die, which is clearly a mystery/thriller genre read, and then there’s the paperback cover of Gayle Forman’s Just One Day which is a romantic YA read. The images are oddly effective on both covers though — there’s a target on the Patterson one to give it that thriller vibe, while the closer focus on the couple and their hand-holding on the Forman cover showcase the romance angle. Of course, the image is mirrored but otherwise, it’s exactly the same.

“Kelly, how about an update?”: On the 30-Day Shred, 3 Years Later

September 23, 2015 |

The most popular post on STACKED in our history is not about books or reading or teenagers.

It’s about the 30 Day Shred workout.

That post, written a little over 3 years ago, reviewed the workout and offered my tips and tricks doing it. Since then, I haven’t written an update nor have I followed up with the video and my thoughts on it now. I’ve been asked to give a follow-up, so it’s time.

I should note this: I haven’t done the 30 Day Shred regularly in close to a year. And it’s not because I think it’s a worthless program. The opposite is true — it’s because of commitment to the 30 Day Shred that I made a complete lifestyle overhaul when it comes to fitness and working out. I’ll still pull out this stand by periodically to do a workout, but I have added new workout routines into my regime, and I’ve changed up the ways I’m doing things.

I talked earlier this year about struggling with depression. One of the things I learned while being treated for it was that I had put myself into a really unhealthy place with my diet. Where many people would, without hesitation, look at a woman my size and think she’s fat because she eats too much, my problem was the opposite — I wasn’t eating enough. My body was holding on to weight and fat because I wasn’t giving it enough. You cannot succeed at weight loss if you restrict your eating too much. Three meals a day, composed primarily of vegetables and vegetable-based foods, is not enough calories, even if it’s packed with enough vitamins and minerals. Following that discovery, I upped my eating, focusing primarily on consuming more protein. I don’t eat red meat and never had, so much of this change came through incorporating more protein bars (with no sugar, a thing that’s difficult to find) and drinking a protein-powder shake daily. These two things I was told would be best done immediately following a workout, since my body was using so much energy in a high-powered workout.

What does this have to do with The Shred? Well, it’s learning about how working out as hard as I do, especially as a larger-than-average woman, does have some considerations to keep in mind. It’s learning that my body requires some different things than others might. And it’s to say that what you see on the outside is not necessarily at all what’s going on internally. I am quite fit and I am quite healthy, but I have food-related issues I’m working on that counter the fat-people-need-to-control-their-eating narrative popular in our world, and there are potentially underlying metabolic issues keeping me from losing weight, despite how well I eat and work out.

I’m doing Jillian Michaels’s Fast Fix Kickboxing DVD 3-4 times a week now. Structured like The Shred, there are three levels, with multiple circuits each. The circuit lengths vary a bit, with some running through six different exercises and others just three. But the workout is a 25-minute ass kick. The first level is a complete cardio workout, the second level is a lower-body workout, and the third level is ab-focused. All three deliver a hard workout, but every time I get through one, I feel incredible. I feel strong and solid and powerful — exactly what you’d want to feel after kickboxing. Jillian, as we know, isn’t easy and she doesn’t take shortcuts. But that’s why it’s so effective and leaves me feeling the way it does. I love this workout to bits and pieces and would recommend it. Though fair warning: it can be a bit confusing and disorienting for those unfamiliar with kickboxing. You’ll feel uncoordinated and like you’re doing things backwards. This is normal, and you’ll eventually get the hang of it if you stick with it. Those with any injuries who can’t do a lot of jumping or kicking would be best to avoid this one, since it is a lot of movement. Level three includes a modified burpee, to give some idea of what intensity of jumping is involved.

When I was working through The Shred, I upped my hand weights from 2-pounds to 3-pounds to 4-pounds. I worked my way up to a total of 6-pounds in each hand, which I thought was incredible process. The kickboxing workout uses hand weights only in the first workout, and I started in with 6-pounds and would easily go up to a higher weight, if I had a second hand weight that was larger. It’s on my to-do list, but going to 8 seems really manageable. My strength has improved tremendously, and doing things like standard push-ups now are easy enough. Same with planks. They might not be enjoyable, but doing them doesn’t kill me like it once did.

But it’s not just kickboxing that I do now. Last fall, right before my birthday, I did my first ever 5K. I walked it, since I can’t run due to previous ankle injuries, and so part of my workouts then began incorporating long walks many times a week. On days I didn’t do a DVD, I would walk. And I have signed up for another 5K this fall to keep this part of endurance up. Incorporating a challenge like a 5K keeps me going.

In addition to those two cardio-based workouts, I also have included some kettle bell strength work and a resistance band workout — both of which I do through Fitness Blender, a free series of workouts online. For anyone who wants to start working out and doesn’t know where to begin or what might work for them, I cannot recommend Fitness Blender enough. You can try out a ton of things and get a fabulous workout. It’s not as tough or as intense as Jillian, but sometimes you don’t need that or want that.

I aim to work out 6 days a week, though I consider 4 or 5 days a week a complete success, too. I really listen to my body on this one: when I am hurting, I don’t work out. When I am feeling spent or am mentally depleted, I don’t work out. If I know I haven’t eaten enough to get through a workout and won’t re-up on eating after, I don’t do it. Some days, all I want is a quick walk and other days, I know I need to get in a sweaty kickboxing session. Sometimes, I need to take three days off in a row and not beat myself up about it because I know when I go back to working out on day four, I will be more present and get more out of it.

Learning how to work out with The Shred and having a dedicated, focused regimen helped me discover that I really LIKE working out. I function better in all regards when I work out, and I find myself eager and excited to try new work outs. I like challenging myself and seeing how hard or far I can go — on vacation last week, I walked an average of 5 to 10 miles PER DAY around Toronto. It was amazing to know I did that without dying and it was amazing knowing that all of my hard work paid off to allow me to do that.

In terms of physique, I have definitely toned. Because of previously mentioned challenges, losing weight for me is incredible difficult. But I see great definition in my shoulders and traps (an area that, I learned, I have to work on untangling and stretching since it’s where I carry all of my stress). I can see definition in my abs, especially my lower abs. And my legs? They are rock solid muscle. I’ve always liked my legs, but now I really love them because they look good, they feel good, and they can take a hell of a work out.

I may no longer be doing The Shred, but it’s 100% thanks to doing it that I found working out to be an enjoyable, worthwhile part of my life. I learned by doing it that I can work hard and succeed, and that my body isn’t an object to conquer but rather an amazing tool to work with. Doing The Shred helped me mentally so much that it was certainly part of the reason I found the bravery to seek help for a serious mental health issue I wasn’t taking seriously. It was also part of why I got help for other challenges when I wasn’t seeing results from my life that I should have — and why I can say with ease that isn’t life-altering or shattering, either.

In many ways, The Shred was the program I needed to learn about myself. And it was the program I needed to teach me about the value of personal health and fitness. While I did a lot of working out in high school, participated in athletics, and excelled in PE classes, I never quite understood the value or purpose of personal fitness. We aren’t taught those things; we’re taught the value of competition. And the thing is, health and wellness aren’t a competition. They’re personal, and you have to find a way to work it into your life that works with your life, with your body, with your needs, and with your own goals in mind. When we build everything up as competition, we’re eager to judge ourselves based on those around us, rather than listen to ourselves and our own unique bodies. It’s why an average person might look at a person like me, at my size, and immediately think about how I am a lazy slob who will die of a heart attack in no time — and those things aren’t true.

The Shred was a reminder to keep my eyes on my own paper and focus on improving myself FOR myself.

I still 100% recommend The Shred. It works for those who can handle an intense workout, whatever your fitness level. But the value isn’t necessarily in the video itself. It’s in discovering a routine that works for you and it’s in discovering the cues your own body gives you when it comes to prioritizing fitness in your daily life.

Review and Giveaway: A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston

September 22, 2015 |

Lo-Melkhiin has killed three hundred wives, and when he visits our unnamed protagonist’s town next, she knows that her sister will be his next pick. Her sister is the loveliest, after all, but she won’t let Lo-Melkhiin take her and put out her fire. So she dresses in her sister’s finest clothing, and Lo-Melkhiin chooses her instead. She expects to die that first night, but she tells Lo-Melkhiin a little of her sister’s fire, and she lives to see the next day. And the next.

As the days pass, she explores the palace and learns more of Lo-Melkhiin from her surroundings as well as the other women who live there. She also begins to develop magic, colors that drift from her fingertips when she’s around him. Her magic grows, and back home, her sister works her own magic. It becomes clear that Lo-Melkhiin was not always a monster, and with the magic that springs from her stories, she may be able to save herself as well as countless other girls who would have been condemned after her.

The beginning of the book reminded me a little of Cruel Beauty: a girl sacrifices herself to save her sister, marrying a monster of a man in hopes of eventually killing him. There’s a strong focus on setting in both, too, with the details of each location – the palaces and courts – playing important roles. The dynamics of the relationship between the sisters are different, and the ultimate plots are different as well, but there’s definitely a similar feel, brought on in part by Johnston’s writing, which is beautiful and slightly unearthly in the same way I feel Rosamund Hodge’s is. It’s writing that creates a mood, and it’s easy to get lost in it.

A Thousand Nights also reminded me a bit of A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn stylistically, as much of the book consists of building the characters and the world they inhabit, with action taking a decided backseat. As I was reading, I found myself thinking on the fact that I felt like I was discovering the story rather than being told the story. Johnston – and her protagonist – deliberately leave the reader in the dark for much of the book, but it’s not done in a manipulative way. This method of storytelling provides its own sort of impetus to turn the next page, though it’s certainly a slower book than most. Sprinkled throughout are interstitial chapters that shed light on the mythology behind the monstrous Lo-Melkhiin, tantalizing little hints that made me eager to keep reading despite the slower pace.

If your teens are fans of fairy tales and other folklore retold, this is definitely one to check out (and it’s a great readalike for Cruel Beauty, too). It should be especially interesting read back-to-back with The Wrath and the Dawn, the other prominent Arabian Nights retelling published earlier this year. It’s not for impatient readers; hand it to someone who enjoys taking her time unpacking lovely sentences and getting drawn into a beautiful, dangerous world.

We’re giving away a prize pack provided by Disney-Hyperion which includes a finished copy of the book plus a nail polish set and tea bag dispenser. To enter, fill out the form below. The giveaway is open to US addressees only and closes in one week on September 30. Learn more about the book here.

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