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Twitterview: Brandy Colbert (POINTE)

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Yesterday, we had a review of Brandy Colbert’s knockout debut Pointe. Today, we have a Twitterview with her, asking the tough questions about Pointe, her writing process, as well as the books and music that inspire her. This is our first Twitterview of the new year, and it’s a good one.


In addition, we’re giving away two finished copies of Pointe. Form is at the bottom of the interview, and the contest is open to US and Canadian residents only.


I’m so excited to share this conversation, so without further ado, here’s Brandy.

Pitch Pointe in 140 characters.

A gifted dancer’s life unravels when her childhood best friend returns after four years in captivity—and she has ties to the abduction.
What inspired Pointe?

A lifelong love of dance and an obsession with long-term kidnapping stories, especially the one portrayed in I Know My First Name Is Steven.

How would you describe Theo, your main character?

Determined. Foolhardy. Passionate. Competitive. 


Theo is a POC in a very white world (in setting and sport). Talk about that.

Theo is very aware that she sticks out in her world, but she refuses to let her race define her, in both her life and desired profession.

Do you have more to say about that?  

I do! POINTE is the third book I’ve written about a teenage black girl, but it’s the first in which her race was not the focal point or even a subplot of the story. As someone who grew up black in a predominantly white town in southwest Missouri, I wanted to write a character who dealt with some of the day-to-day issues and obstacles I’d experienced without that being the point of the book. I was very involved in academics and extracurricular activities as a child and teen, and although it was a little tough almost always being the only black person in the room, or being the first black person to, for instance, join my high school’s dance team, I think those years were instrumental in shaping the person I am today. Overall, I had a great time in high school and tried to make the best of it. If people were going to notice me for being different anyway, I wanted them to especially notice me for my accomplishments. I believe Theo has a similar attitude.

There’s romance in this book but it’s the friendships that stand out to me. Tell me about Theo and Ruthie’s friendship.

They’re lifelong friends from ballet and are competitive, but also have a mutual respect and trust that extends to life beyond the studio.

And how about Theo and Donovan’s friendship?

Complicated. They’re essentially strangers now, but also bonded for life, because and in spite of what happened when they were thirteen.

Was there a particular scene in the book you most enjoyed writing?

Theo + Hosea in the gazebo. They don’t really know each other and are both very  private, but they open up to talk honestly about their art.



What about a scene that gave you the most trouble writing? 

Scenes at the abandoned park and convenience store. Dance scenes can be tough; you want to show authority + beauty without getting jargon-y.

Who is your ideal reader for Pointe? 

Truly, everyone. But I love the idea of young black girls who haven’t seen themselves represented this way in YA fiction connecting to it.

Is there anything you want readers to walk away with? 

Hmm. I’d be happy knowing people think about the story at all after they finish the book.

Pointe is your debut novel. What’s been the most exciting part of your debut year so far?

That people who aren’t related to me care about this little idea that lived in my head and on my computer for years. It’s so very surreal.

What’s been the most surprising part of your debut year? 

Emotions, everywhere! About everything! Also, time management is pretty much nonexistent these days.

If you had to give your book a “____ meets _____” pitch, what two (or three! or four!) books/films/shows would Pointe be a meeting of?

My editor has described it as “Black Swan” meets “Speak.” I’m terrible at mash-ups and it’s super flattering, so I’ll go with that.

Outside of writing, what do you do with your free time? 

I joke about being a hermit and it’s maybe 40% true. I read a lot. Obsess over TV. Hang with friends who trick me into things like hiking.


Who or what do you write for?

Myself, mostly. Writing is very therapeutic for me, and my work is at its best when I write the type of story I would love to read.

What was your most influential read as a teenager?

How Do You Lose Those Ninth-Grade Blues? It was already dated when I first read it, but DeClements’ books really speak to me. 
Who are your top three writing influences?

ZZ Packer, Courtney Summers, Barthe DeClements
Who do you believe is breaking ground in YA right now?

Stephanie Kuehn, Corey Ann Haydu, Carrie Mesrobian, Blythe Woolston, Steve Brezenoff

Can you share three of your all-time, would-recommend-to-anyone favorite books?

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Hold Still by Nina LaCour
What’s the best writing advice you ever received?

Be an honest writer. I found my voice once I stopped worrying what people would think of me for writing dark books about complicated topics.

What’s your best writing advice to give?

If people say there’s no room on the shelves for the books you write, keep at it until someone makes room for you. Don’t give up.

What is your writing routine?

I am completely without routine, but I’ve always done my best writing late at night, and when I have large chunks of time to devote to it.

What gets you jazzed to write?

I’m inspired by good writing and storytelling, so: discovering new books/TV/film, my critique partners’ work, rereading old favorites.

Do you have a writing soundtrack? Care to share a bit?

I love music, but don’t write to it! In the rare instance I do, I tend to go with groups like Zero 7, Daft Punk, and Thievery Corporation.

What’s next for you?

More gritty YA contemp about black girls. I’m working on two projects that I’m unbelievably excited about, but they’re under wraps for now.

Favorite ice cream?

Only the tough questions! Tie between Ben & Jerry’s AmeriCone Dream, Häagen-Dazs Dulche de Leche, and Trader Joe’s Golden Caramel Swirl.

Would you like the chance to win Pointe? We’re giving away two finished copies. Fill out the form below. We’ll pull winners at the end of the month.

Pointe by Brandy Colbert

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Theo, an elite ballerina, walks late into dance class only to see the usual accompanist has been replaced by Hosea — the guy she kind of  knows from school, who is dating a girl she kind of knows. But what she really knows is Hosea is one of the big suppliers of the pot she and her friends are able to score when they need it.

As much Pointe by Brandy Colbert is a story about a relationship that develops between Theo and Hosea, it’s also not a story about their relationship.

This is a story about what happens when Donovan, Theo’s neighbor and best friend, suddenly comes back home four years after being kidnapped. When he won’t talk to anyone.

When Donovan won’t talk to anyone.

Because this book is complex and encompasses a lot of story within it — and successfully so — this review is full of spoilers. There’s a lot I want to talk about, and avoiding the big issues in the sake of avoiding talking about a big plot issue won’t work for me. Proceed at your own caution.

Colbert’s debut novel tackles a huge array of topics within it, but it does so by carefully braiding together threads of Theo’s past with the reality and immediacy of the present. There are balls in the air for her, including the return of Donovan, the future of gaining admission to another level of ballet that would set her on the track to big stages and a career in the art, and the budding romance with Hosea. Theo’s juggling time with her close friends, as well: she’s a girl who is social and who would never be seen as a wallflower nor the kind of person who would stay home at night, rather than go to the school dance or a party. Though it might be in her better interests not to.

In the midst of juggling the responsibilities of now, particularly the emerging romance between her and Hosea, flashbacks to life four years ago begin popping up. Slowly, Theo remembers the relationship she had with an older boy named Trent. He loved to have sex with her, and sometimes she liked it, while other times, she felt like she was being used. But Trent being eighteen and she being much younger, she went along with it. That relationship — secret to her friends and her family — made her feel good and wanted. It made her feel powerful. An older boy who physically showed her he was interested in her.

That relationship with Trent, though, wasn’t entirely a secret to Donovan. Theo met Trent when she was hanging out with Donovan. He knew they had something going on, though the extent to which he knew remains in the air.

Backpedalling a bit, though: what about those four interim years between the time Donovan disappeared and when he returned? That’s where things become really interesting, and the memories that bubble up from Theo serve as a means of giving us as readers a true sense of not just who she was, but who she’s become now. We know she’s a dancer. We know she has a future ahead of her. But we also know losing her best friend and losing the first boyfriend of her life and the stress of being a dancer couldn’t be easy. Theo spent many of those interim years struggling with an eating disorder, one she held secret until she blacked out at the mall with one of her friends. The eating disorder was her means of holding control over something completely on her own. It ultimately got her institutionalized, and it’s something from which she never quite recovered. Donovan’s return home also retriggers the eating disorder. But not because of his presence; it’s because of what his return brings up in Theo’s past.

When Theo learns that the name of the man who kidnapped Donovan is Chris, things unhinge. When Theo puts the pieces together and realizes her Trent was never the person he said he was. He was never eighteen. He was in his twenties. And his name wasn’t Trent.

It was Chris. The same Chris who pled not guilty to kidnapping Donovan and the same Chris against whom Theo will have to testify in order to seek justice for Donovan.

The same Chris who raped Theo. Who took advantage of her being underage and naive. The same Chris who raped Theo no one knows about until that very trial.

Colbert weaves in an array of “issues” within Pointe, and while it could have become easily overwhelming, Theo’s amazing development as a character keeps them all together smoothly. Theo is a tough girl who doesn’t take crap from anyone, but she’s also a character who doesn’t quite know how to trust that instinct about her. She’s tentative internally as much as she appears steadfast and confident externally. Much of it is probably due to her being a ballerina and needing to exude that confidence on stage and shove down anything that might take away from the part she’s playing while performing. But part of it comes from being a black girl in a mostly-white suburb outside Chicago, as well as being a black girl in a mostly-white artistic/athletic sphere.

Within the story, Theo’s race plays a role in the experiences she has in and out of the classroom in ways that are painful to read but which also give immense insight into what that experience of being a minority might feel like. I can’t ever know personally, but through Theo’s actions and reactions, through the way she talks through these experiences internally, it was easy to understand where some of the external face she puts on comes from. She has to be strong, she has to be brave, and she has to stand up and fight harder than an average person would simply because of the color of her skin. It’s unfair, and that unfairness shines through.

Though it looked and felt like a good thing in the moment, Theo’s relationship with Hosea turns out to be a disaster. She and he are both aware that he’s dating someone, but it doesn’t stop either one of them from reciprocating the physical and emotional (at least her emotional) actions toward one another. Part of their relationship happens because Theo needs someone to be with her, now that the memories she’d tamped down are coming back up again with Donovan’s return. She wants to feel that physical closeness. She wants to be wanted. But when Hosea and Theo are close to having sex in the science classroom and his girlfriend sees what happens, things end. Fortunately for Theo, the only thing Hosea ever got out of her was physical. He wasn’t privy to her experiences with Chris nor how they related to Donovan.

In fact, the only person who ever knew what happened in Theo’s past was a female friend of hers, and it came out almost by accident. That friend revealed something about her own life, and Theo reciprocated by talking about how she’d dated an older guy. And then revealed more and more, until the friend managed to convince Theo what had happened was rape. It was in this moment that Pointe went from being good to being really good — not because Theo was forced to reconsider what happened, but because that reconsideration came through talking it out with another girlfriend. Not with Hosea. Not with a counselor. Not with anyone except a female friend. There is no one who saves Theo in the story except Theo herself. The boy who looked like he would be the hero falters, and it’s she who gets to walk away, knowing that it was a mistake but a mistake from which she can learn.

But it got even better when, seated to testify at the trial, Theo reveals the rape to the courtroom. When she finally owns what happened to her those years ago. When she releases Donovan, too, because her testimony ultimately sends Chris to jail for kidnapping and a slew of other charges.

That reveal wasn’t the only one she made. Theo also admits to her parents she isn’t over her eating disorder. That she’s not “okay.” That she needs help. And with that, she chooses to check herself into the same clinic she attended before but didn’t find helpful. This time, the story feels more promising, especially as she severs ties she really needs to and works to strengthen others. Going away means putting the ballet dreams on hold — but she knows, too, they’ll be there waiting for her when she’s ready  and healthy enough to visit them again.

Theo is one of my favorite characters in a long time. She makes a lot of dumb mistakes, and she’s unwilling to trust herself, even when her gut instincts tell her what she’s thinking or feeling are right. She’s not weak, but she’s also not “strong.” She’s imperfect and rough and misguided but ultimately, she wants to do what’s right. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to do that without continuing to hurt herself in the process — which she does anyway, but in recognizing that, she grows. Theo learns about trusting herself, as well as trusting others in the process.

At the end of Pointe, nothing is perfect. Theo will still make dumb mistakes. That she’ll still stumble and fall. She’ll still likely go out and party when it might be smarter not to. But we also know she’s figured out that she has the capability to own her story and work with it, rather than always work against it. To recognize that being a human being means being imperfect, and that the best relationships are the ones that take work. Especially the relationship one has with herself.

Pass Brandy Colbert’s Pointe to readers who love Sara Zarr or Siobhan Vivian. Those readers who love a complex female character and a book that’s tightly written with an authentic and memorable voice will find much to love here. Readers who want a story that features a character passionate about her art — dancers especially — will enjoy Theo’s dedication and Colbert’s ability to write about it with authority. Although there is a lot of plot, ultimately Pointe is a character-driven novel, and one that will resonate with readers who are eager for solid, memorable, smart, damn good contemporary YA fiction. Colbert creates real teen characters in situations that allow them to be teenagers without offering judgment for the choices that they do and do not make, regardless of how smart those choices may or may not be.

Pointe will be available April 10. Review copy received from the publisher. Tomorrow, we’ll have an interview with Colbert, along with a giveaway. 

Get Genrefied: Realistic Teens on the Big Screen

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Last week, Vanity Fair published a piece that got many people riled up. No, the problem isn’t the excitement building over John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars getting closer to being on the silver screen. It’s not that his book Paper Towns is in the works, with Green being executive producer. It’s that the piece suggests Green is leading a teen-movie renaissance, wherein Green’s film for teens is the only one that “lacks a supernatural or post-apocalyptic bent” in recent times.  It goes on to say that his books on screen will lead a revolution in filmmaking, reviving realistic teens on screen.

The problem is there have been plenty of realistic teen stories put on film in recent years. While Green’s will undoubtedly be popular, he’s not alone here, nor should he be credited for a revolution. Vanity Fair offered up a second piece about 10 movies that could fuel a realistic teens on screen comeback, but it, too, discredits the wealth of realistic teen flicks that have been made — or are coming out soon.

We thought for this month’s installment of Get Genrefied, we’d talk about the realistic teens who have had their stories move from print to the big screen. This isn’t a revolution of any sort; it’s a spike in popularity due to a well-known and recognizable name (to teens and adults) at the helm.

Options

If you read about book news on the internet at all, chances are you’ve read about books being “optioned.” It happens a lot, much more frequently than movies actually being made from books. I (Kimberly) have learned over the years not to get too excited about a favorite book being optioned, since it doesn’t guarantee a film. An option is basically someone renting the exclusive right to make a film (or tv movie or tv series) for a certain period of time. After that period of time expires, the option becomes available for someone else. While that first someone holds the option, no one else can try to make a film out of the book.

All sorts of things can happen (or not happen, as is more often the case) during this option period. If your favorite book was optioned but you never end up seeing it at your theater, it’s possible that the filmmakers couldn’t secure funding, the script wasn’t up to snuff, they couldn’t get the actors they wanted, or they just didn’t actually like it all that much after all, but wanted to keep it available in case they changed their minds. I’m no insider; this is information I’ve gleaned from reading a lot on the web and asking a lot of questions of people who do know things. Writers Digest has a very clear and more detailed explanation of what an option entails and the next steps that bring a book to the screen.

We’re addressing this in our genre guide because news of YA books being optioned can sometimes skew perceptions and make it seem like we’re awash in YA adaptations and Hunger Games ripoffs. Often the information that a book has been optioned is used as a marketing tool for the book. Take the information for what it is. Just because the book has been optioned doesn’t mean you’ll ever see it. It’s the first step, but it’s far from a green light. 
 

What Would You Like to See?

It’s fun to dream about seeing our favorite books on the big (or even the small) screen. We’ve rounded up a few lists of YA books that readers would love to see made into films. A lot of the titles mentioned actually have been optioned – but as mentioned above, that’s no guarantee. It’s a little hope for the dreamers, at least. Which books do you wish would be adapted?

Realistic Teen Novels Made Into Movies

Here’s a roundup of the realistic (mostly — we could debate titles like The Princess Diaries but we’re including it) YA novels that have been made into movies. These are older and newer titles, all of which you can seek out and watch. Books like Caroline B. Cooney’s The Face on the Milk Carton have been left off because, while it was made into a movie, it was made for TV and isn’t as easy to track down and enjoy. We’ve included the movie images, linked to IMDB descriptions, and we included the source titles for the movie, since it’s not always obvious. After this list, we’ll dive into move movies that feature realistic teen characters and stories but which had source materials from adult books.

Worth noting: not all of the movies based on YA books are made for the teen audience. Some skew a bit younger and others skew a bit older. It’s worth checking ratings in the event you want to show one or these in a classroom or library — Fat Kid Rules the World, for example, is rated R, despite the fact the book is a YA novel. Same with The Spectacular Now.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story based on Ned Vizzini’s book of the same title.

Speak based on Laurie Halse Anderson’s book of the same title.

The Outsiders based on S. E. Hinton’s book of the same title.

Fat Kid Rules the World based on K. L. Going’s book of the same title.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower based on Stephen Chbosky’s book of the same title.

Tiger Eyes based on Judy Blume’s book of the same title.

How to Deal based on two books by Sarah Dessen, That Summer and Someone Like You.

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist based on the book by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan of the same title.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants based on Ann Brashares’ novel of the same title.

Flipped based on Wendelin Van Draanen’s novel of the same name.

Geography Club based on Brent Hartinger’s novel of the same name.

Now is Good based on Jenny Downham’s novel Before I Die.

Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging based on Louise Rennison’s Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging.


The Chocolate War based on Robert Cormier’s novel of the same title.

The Spectacular Now based on Tim Tharp’s novel of the same title.

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen based on Dyan Sheldon’s book of the same title.

That Was Then, This is Now based on S. E. Hinton’s novel of the same title.

Whip It based on Shauna Cross’s novel Derby Girl.

Drive Me Crazy based on the Todd Strasser book Girl Gives Birth to Own Prom Date.

Lemonade Mouth based on Mark Peter Hughes’s novel of the same name. Technically, this is a made-for-TV movie, but it should be easy enough to track down and watch, as it came out in 2011.

Paranoid Park based on the Blake Nelson book with the same title.

Hoot based on the novel by Carl Hiaasen with the same title. This likely skews more middle grade, but we’re including it anyway.

The Princess Diaries based on Meg Cabot’s book with the same title.

Rumble Fish based on S. E. Hinton’s book with the same title.

If I Stay based on the novel by Gayle Forman will be in theaters August 22, 2014.

The Fault in Our Stars based on the novel by John Green will be in theaters June 6, 2014.

Realistic Teen-Driven Films Based on Books That Aren’t YA


Here’s a roundup of teen-driven, realistic movies that are based on books that weren’t published YA. These are adult fiction and nonfiction titles, as well as graphic novels, but they have good appeal to teen viewers (if that’s not the movie’s primary target audience). Note the ratings and note, too, not all of these are right for all teen viewers. But we included some titles, like The Virgin Suicides, because we know it can be a teen cult favorite.

Ten Things I Hate About You is loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shew.

I Love You, Beth Cooper is based on Larry Doyle’s novel of the same title. We couldn’t decide if this was a YA book or an adult book, since it seems to be all over the place, so we’re putting it here.

Mean Girls is loosely based on Rosalind Wiseman’s non-fictional work Queen Bees and Wannabes.

Election is based on Tom Perrotta’s novel of the same name.

Persepolis is based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel of the same name.

The Virgin Suicides is based on Jeffrey Eugenides novel of the same name.

Girl, Interrupted based on Susanna Kaysen’s book with the same title.

“O” based loosely on Shakespeare’s Othello.

Hardcover to Paperback: YA Redesigns to Consider

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In this installment of YA books getting new looks in paperback, I’ve included not only standalone titles getting new looks, but I’ve included a series getting a new look, too. As usual, some of these redesigns are great and some of them I am not entirely sure I understand nor think have improved upon original ideas. Likewise, some of the cover redesigns have been clearly inspired by new trends, and whether that’s a positive or a negative for that particular book is up for debate.

All original covers are on the left, with their new looks on the right.

Beta by Rachel Cohn came out back in October 2012 and honestly, I kind of forgot about this book and the fact it’s the first in a series. I think some of it has to do with the fact the hardcover isn’t memorable. In fact, I think this cover looks like many other covers that came out at the same time — it’s a single girl’s face and that face isn’t necessarily memorable. Sure, she’s got a floral design on her skin, but that’s not enough to make this cover stand out from the crowd. When a book has a cover like this one, while it might be on trend, it’s also remarkably boring and forgettable. What is this book about vs what other books featuring a big face are about? I’m not sure. I have no idea what genre this book is, and even the blurb on the cover from Melissa de la Cruz doesn’t offer a whole lot. It’s a riveting novel about what? What the cover does have going for it is the title and font, which suggest this is perhaps science fiction of some flavor.

The paperback redesign of Beta came out last summer; like I said, this is a book I kind of forgot about because while it may have made a splash initially, it didn’t get on my radar nor have I read a lot about it. The redesign is much better than the hardcover, though I don’t know if I love it, either. Rather than make use of de la Cruz’s blurb, the redesign uses a tag line that . . . also doesn’t tell you a whole lot about the book, other than there will be romance (which can be the hook for a lot of readers, regardless of genre). I do like the color scheme going on, and I like the feel of the cover, since it’s clearly set in a warm, tropical, and likely exotic place. I like that the original font from the title carried over, as I do think between that and the image itself, there’s a little bit better genre placement. It’s still not perfectly clear, but it’s better.

But can someone explain to me what’s going on with that model’s foot? Why does it look bent in the wrong direction? She looks exceptionally uncomfortable like that.

For me, the paperback edition of Beta wins for better cover, and I think it’s fitting with the second book in the series, Emergent. When you look at that cover, the cover for Beta makes a little more sense, as the people look more robotic than they do human.

Speaking of Rachel Cohn, three books she co-authored with David Levithan are getting recovered for the fall.

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares

Naomi & Ely’s No-Kiss List

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist 


There’s nothing particularly remarkable about any of these cover makeovers. They’re all pretty nice, though I’m not sure how much up to date they are compared to the original looks. One of the reasons it was noted that these books were getting redesigned was to play off the popularity of contemporary YA in the vein of John Green and Rainbow Rowell (of course). I don’t know so much that I see the influence of either of those authors’ books on these covers, especially since the original covers were themselves pretty iconic — maybe if I see it at all, I see a little of Will Grayson in the Nick and Norah cover. What I do like on all of the redesigns, though, is that the font is the driving force for the cover, and I think that good fonts are at play here. I also do like that both authors — who are each known for being pretty prolific — have had the size of the font for their names made bigger.

Interesting tag line of sorts, though, on Nick & Norah that I’m not sure I entirely understand: “The He-said/She-told New York Times Bestseller.” What’s the difference between he-said and she-told? I have read the book and saw the movie but I’m not sure I get that.

All of these Rachel Cohn and David Levithan paperback redesigns will be available September 23, 2014.

The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar is getting a redesign that I don’t think is better nor worse than the original. I think that they’re maybe missing the right audience for this book all together, as the hardcover reads really young and the paperback reads much more adult. Neither sort of hit that middle ground of young adult. I kind of like both covers, but I like them in context of one for younger readers and one for adult readers.

The original hardcover on the left has a tag line to it that, when you read it and look at the cover, doesn’t add or mean much: “He can grant all her wishes. But only she can save his life.” It looks to me like those are two girls laying on that bed, but I suppose it could be a guy on the lefthand side there laying beside a girl. If that’s the case, maybe the tagline makes a little more sense. I do love the font and placement for the title quite a bit.

On the paperback, the tag line is gone, but now there is a prominent blurb beneath the title. What stands out is how big and loud Tamora Pierce’s name is on the cover — it’s more obvious to me than the author’s name, which sort of fades into the background because the font is so thin and it’s hidden on the bottom (at least with the hardcover, her name is dark and easily pops out). The font choice for the title here confuses me a bit because there’s almost too much going on. For four words, there are three different fonts, including one that uses a mixture of capital and lowercase letters. As for the image, it’s clearer now that it’s a male and a female on the cover than it may be on the hardcover (I still think it’s two girls) but their stance is much more defensive than it is inviting to readers. Are they angry? I can’t say I am a huge fan of the red dots along the right-hand side, nor am I particularly keen on the faded effect. Is that snow on the ground or just how the image looks? I’m not entirely sure.

I don’t think either cover is great, and I don’t think either is terrible. Both are sort of middle ground. The paperback for The Art of Wishing will be available June 12, 2014, and the second book in the series, The Fourth Wish, will retain the style of the redesign (and, I think, looks much better than the paperback redesign).

Like with The Art of Wishing, I have a lot of neutral mixed feelings about both the hardcover and the paperback redesign of Alex London’s Proxy. On one hand, the hardcover is pretty distinctive, even if it’s not the most visually appealing. It’s distinctive because it’s jarring and because it forces you to pause and try to make sense of it. It makes use of a mirrored effect, but it’s not a perfect mirror image. The font is, but if you look at the two faces on the cover, they’re much different — and that is, in many ways, really eerie to see. I’m not a huge fan of the bars running on either side of the split, but again, I think that’s what makes this cover pretty distinctive and memorable. I can see a teen asking for this book by asking for the book with elements of this cover (i.e., it’s red and white, kind of like it’s a reflected image and there are a lot of black lines). I dig how the tag line, “Some debts cannot be repaid,” is right in the middle of the cover, splitting it in two. I also think it’s just a nice tag line, even if it’s not particularly memorable nor telling of the story inside. It’s catchy.

The paperback, on the other hand, looks like a dystopian novel and that is one of the big things that works both in its favor and against it. This book looks like a lot of other books out there, and for teens who love that genre, this will be what they’re looking for. The redesign also features a blurb quite prominently, and that blurb from Marie Lu is pretty smart — readers who like Lu’s books will likely want to try London’s series. I think it was smart to carry over the same color palette to the new design, though the use of a cityscape for the driving image here isn’t particularly memorable (a teen comes to the reference desk asking for the book with a city on the cover is going to yield too many results). I find the placement of the tag line and how it’s in two different sized fonts to be a little unsettling and I think it overwhelms the cover. For some reason, the period there bothers me a lot. It’s not there in the hardcover, and it looks out of place. Why is “some debts” so much bigger than “cannot be repaid?” I’ll also say that the font for the title isn’t my favorite. The lack of a center for the P, the R, and O makes it feel uneven.

Again, neither cover is terrible but neither knocks it out of the park. Proxy will be available in paperback on May 1, 2014. The second book in London’s series, Guardian, will follow in line with the design in the paperback makeover.

Here is a series for younger teen readers that’s getting an entire facelift:

Last Shot 

Vanishing Act 

The Cover-Up

The Rivalry 

Change-Up


If ever a series needed a redesign — one that would bring unity and cohesion to the series itself — it’s John Feinstein’s sports mystery series. I’ll be honest and say that I’m not even sure I’ve collected the original cover images on the left. I know I have in some cases, but I feel like I’ve seen other covers for these books, too. For readers who might not be familiar with this series, it’s a really good choice for those who like sports books or mysteries, and it’s a good choice for readers (or parents) who are concerned about content. It’s not written down and because it’s a series, it’s a way to get readers who might be a little more reluctant to get hooked and keep reading. The catalog calls this a series for readers 10 and older, but in every library I’ve worked in, it’s been shelved in YA. It’s fine for younger readers, but I think the prime audience is that 12-16 or so range.

I’m a huge fan of the redesign, as I think it nicely unifies all of the books in the series while also making it clear they’re about different sports. While we get that from the other designs, what we don’t know from the other covers is that these books all go together and that they’re a series. There’s not anything unifying them in their looks. The new covers are very clean and crisp, with just a minimal amount of coloring. What’s interesting, too, and what I think is maybe smart is that because the players on the new covers aren’t easily identifiable, they look ageless, if not older than teens themselves. That can be a big factor of appeal for a lot of readers, who may feel like they’re reading much older books.

This series redesign/rebranding is a big win in my book. John Feinstein’s books will be available in their new looks on August 5, 2014. If you’ve had this series languishing on your shelves, I would consider springing for the series again with their new look. I bet it’ll spark new interest — plus, it just looks really good.

Let’s round out this post on a cover redesign I’m not entirely sold on because I’m not sure it nails it in the way that the hardcover does. David Iserson’s Firecracker came out last year, and it’s one of those books I keep meaning to read but haven’t picked up yet. It’s supposed to be a funny story about a girl who is told by her parents she’s being moved from her boarding school to public school. The reviews I’ve read have suggested it’s quirky without being “quirky,” and it’s a fun read. The hardcover nails that feel. I love the fact we don’t see a whole girl, but I do love the fact we see a girl on the cover, and she’s
wearing a bright, fun, and yet really wild collection of clothes. The rocket in her hand is representative of a big element in the story, which is that the main character lives in a rocket ship in her parents backyard. The way the title is angled across the lower half of the cover, along with the somewhat billboard-esque font choice is fun and eye-catching, and Iserson’s name also stands out because it’s angled and done in a contrasting font. Everything This is a bright, fun cover that is super eye catching because it’s so different and yet, it’s really not that different at all. The slighter things — her clothes, the rocket ship, the font and layout — are what make it stand out.

The paperback for Firecracker is boring. It lacks the life and verve that the hardcover has, and I think it’s because it’s sort of a lifeless pink, with a lifeless — and faceless — girl in the middle. It feels like they were going for a design that mirrored the hot and trendy illustration wave, but in doing so, they removed the fun from the cover. Even the title placement and the font used is dull. If anything, this book will have a much better appeal to adult readers than to teens, which might be the point since, like with the paperback, it’s noted that Iserson’s a writer for New Girl and SNL (both are shows I think that appeal to the 20-something audience more than the teen audience). This cover makes me miss the spunky girl on the original quite a bit, since this girl…she’s got a loose tie and no face and thus, no expression whatsoever.

Hardcover wins this round without question, and in fact, every time I see that hardcover I’m reminded how much I want to pick up and read this book. Firecracker will be available in paperback June 12, 2014.

What do you think? Which cover redesigns here are winners and which ones aren’t going to be making the most memorable list?

Quick Saturday Links: March 29, 2014

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I like to save links to roundup on a biweekly basis just because it’s easier for me time-wise, and it lets me read more stuff before I share it. But I had a few things that I wrote this week I wanted to share, and I saved a few things from other sources I really wanted to share sooner, rather than later. Thus, a quick links round up.

  • This week, I was alerted to this incredible video regarding the allegations of sexual abuse within the DFTBA community. But this is a video that’s about much more than that. It’s about consent, it’s about adult-teen relationships and the necessary boundaries and protections that should be in place, and it’s a plea to be a female and be heard within the male-led community. This is a lengthier video, but it’s worth every minute — I found it really chilling when it hit the 8 to 10 minute mark especially. The girl who made the video is 16, and she has been posting about her efforts to have her voice heard in the community at her tumblr (which is definitely worth checking out). Aside from what the video covers, watching this reminded me why making an effort to not just listen to, but amplify, the voices of girls is so important. 
  • At Book Riot, I wrote what might be my favorite thing I’ve written, which is a censored history of ladies in young adult fiction. I don’t tend to get worked up about comments a whole lot, but I found it fascinating how many of the comments thought I was writing an opinion about the history of women in YA fiction, rather than writing an actual history. This piece isn’t in the least discrediting the fine work men have done in YA; it’s instead saying that ladies have done really great work too. Their work has tended, though, to be the most readily challenged, censored, or overlooked. (Also, I heard from a lot of people they didn’t know S. E. Hinton was a woman — it wasn’t just one or two people, it was a pretty impressive number).
  • I’ve been having a lot of fun writing the Book Fetish posts every other week for Book Riot. I’m not a shopping person in the least, yet I think looking for really cool bookish things you can buy is a riot. Here’s this week’s round up, which includes comic book boots, a Dr. Seuss charm bracelet, a Library of Congress tote bag, and author pins you can wear. 
This week in books, I read This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, which was a nice graphic novel though I think maybe better appreciated by adults than most teens (not all, though!) and Wildlife by Fiona Wood, which is out-of-this-world good contemporary realistic fiction coming out this fall.