Middle Grade Madness

MGpt1bookcoversMGAction

I love each of these covers for different reasons. By the Grace of Todd‘s cover has a great contrast between the black & white and the color. I also like the sense of wonder you get as Todd looks down. With Caminar‘s cover it’s how different it is from most MG covers I see, which have kids on them, and the eyes plus the leaves that decorate the cover’s front. With Steering Toward Normal, it’s hands down the brother relationship you see…I can already tell it’s going to be hilarious (love the cow sticking out it’s tongue). I really like how the children, in Almost Super, are in the middle of these two, angry, opposing sides, and I like the urban feel of The Eighth Day, you don’t see that often on covers period, even though most kids live in cities. Last but not least there’s The Lost Planet, my favorite MG cover, I love all the scenes going on. It really conveys the fast-paced action of the book. The only thing I love more than this cover, it its sequel’s.

From Left to Right (& top-down): By the Grace of Todd | Caminar | Steering Toward Normal | Almost Super | The Eighth Day | The Lost Planet

Edit (7/21/14): The cover for The Inquisitor’s Mark (Eighth Day #2) is AMAZING!!! Thanks to the new follower who mentioned this to me (it’s out 1/27/15).

Pretty Fluffy 

FluffyCovers

I love how both The One by Kiera Cass and All that Glows by Ryan Graudin have covers that have this fluffiness & prettiness to them. They both seem light, and the font adds to that effect. And though I haven’t read The One (or the one before it…I wanted to wait until The One was out), I loved The Selection and from what I’ve heard the entire Selection Trilogy and Graudin’s All That Glows (which I really liked) have a light air even though the books have dark undertones. I think their covers convey that well. And boy can these two authors write beautifully; I look forward to reading whatever they produce.

From Left to Right: The One | All that Glows

The (White) Girls with Flowing Hair

Okay, now this is a trend I don’t like (for various reasons that could take up a separate post, possibly a book), but as is the thing with, well, things you don’t like there are always exceptions. These are it:

black flowing hair purple flowing hair

I love the black background + white font with the blonde hair in Panic and Uninvited, and I love the purple tones (my favorite color) in Salt and Sing Sweet Nightingale (along with the hair)! I should add I’ve read all of these books, and they live up to their covers.

From Left to Right (& top-down): Panic | Uninvited | Salt | Sing Sweet Nightingale

Black, Red, & Mysterious

BlackRedDiverse

I love how these covers have this ominous black background intermixed with a startling red font, the “Die” in Paige’s book especially draws me in. And having read Pointe, the darkness of the cover is spot on. This is not some “catty girl” ballet book, you will be blown away. Speaking of being blown away, I’ve heard Dorothy Must Die is equally amazing. I pretty much bought this book for its cover and title (yeah those are important too)… I mean who wouldn’t buy a book about Oz AND killing Dorothy? I knew there was something off about that girl, she was a little too sweet. Oh, and both of these women are authors who happen to be black. I mention their race as a side note because it is. It’s not what their books are about (and I don’t want to categorize them as “multicultural books or authors”). However, if you’re looking for some Diverse YA, here ya go. (I also have a bookshelf.)

From Left to Right: Dorothy Must Die | Pointe

Run, Forrest, Run

Ive Been Running

I LOVE thrillers, so when thrillers became the thing of 2014 (or tried to) I was like, hell yeah. These covers do a great job at conveying what the book is about (which is what a good cover should do). The wet hair plus the sweat on the upper lip of Nearly Gones cover model hints that the book is a thriller. And if there wasn’t a tagline, you might guess, from the “4” in the title that it’s a thriller that has to do with numbers. As for Fake ID the black border seems to be eating up the bright, greenish yellow background, hinting at the grittiness of the book. Then there’s the guy running, again hinting at the thriller element, and, if that wasn’t enough to sell me, he looks, well, hot… I, um, have a thing for men with strong chins.

From Left to Right: Nearly Gone | Fake ID

Welcome to Dystopia

WelcomeToDystopia

Great Books. Amazing Covers. I love how all three of these books foreshadow what the book is about, what’s going to happen. And I really like the taglines they have. Aside from the fact that these authors are amazing, I pretty much bought these books because of their covers (technically I bought Dualed and Stung for their covers since they were the 1st books) and I was not disappointed.

From Left to Right: The Murder Complex | Divided | Cured

(Adult) Urban Fantasy Central

UrbanFantasy

I have a *bit* of an obsession with Urban Fantasy. I guess that’s what happens when you starting reading Anne Rice at age nine and Anita Blake at age thirteen (I understood nothing, but I fell in love). These covers are some of my favorites of the genre. And I arranged them in a special way, from Affliction, a “close up” cover to Slightly Spellbound (a series I just discovered), a full body, far away cover. They all look equally badass, although The Immortal Crown’s cover is slightly more contemplative, and, well, they’re awesome. (True confession: I like the cover of Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead (1st book in series) and the early Mercy Thompson covers better than the newer one(s) (but I do like how Night Broken seems to be returning to the style of the original covers rather than the more sexed up covers of the latter books).

From Left to Right: Affliction | The Immortal Crown | Skin Game | Night Broken | Slightly Spellbound

Bonus: Looking Backward and Forward

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The first three of these books were released in 2013, and the last three books will be released in the second half of 2014. I love them all, for the diversity and richness that’s displayed on the covers of The Summer Prince and Orleans, to the sense of mystery and wonder on the covers of The Archived and Ticker, to simplicity intermixed with the Physics formulas/map on the covers of Falling into Place and No Place to Fall. Also, I’ve read the first three and I HIGHLY recommend them. As for the last three I’m looking forward to reading my first steampunk book and some contemporary YA (I’m a big Sci-Fi/Fantasy gal).

From Left to Right: The Summer Prince | Orleans | The Archived | Ticker | Falling into Place | No Place to Fall

Do you judge books by their covers (be honest)? If so, which recent covers have you loved?

*P.S. This is just a smattering…there were so many I wanted to add and many I thought of as soon as I posted it. A cover isn’t everything, but sometimes it can be the deciding factor, especially since I get a lot of book recs from fellow writers.

Whimsically Yours,

PnC

Written by Patrice

5 Comments

quizzlerslammer

Terrific selections Patrice! I love the covers to By the Grace of Todd, The Eighth Day, Ticker, and the simple but “just right” cover for Falling Into Place. As a general point, i think Middle Grade novels have the best covers (in part, because of the range & type of topics suitable to this age group), but great covers all require great creativity & much thought. I would definitely add the brilliant cover for Gayle Rosengren’s What the Moon Said to this list—magnificent artwork that perfectly evokes the content of the book, the exuberance of the main character Esther, and the role the moon plays in the book. It is my favorite cover of the year. And the artwork at the beginning of each chapter in “Moon” is amazing as well. But, as you say, lots to choose from! A daunting task indeed to select favorites. And a job well-done by you!

Reply
Patrice

You’re completely right. MG covers are so awesome because that’s what kids want. I mean, we adults like to act like we don’t judge books by their covers but kids totally do. Also, I thought of Gayle’s book as soon as I published the post. I actually reviewed her book a while back and loved it!! The cover is amazing for all of the reason you listed.

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leandrajwallace

I just finished reading The Eighth Day for the second time a few days ago! Have you seen the cover for the 2nd book, The Inquisitor’s Mark? I like it even better than TED! Also, you have a lovely blog- I’m a new follower! =)

Reply
Patrice

Hi! Thanks for the follow 😀 And I haven’t read The Eighth Day yet but it’s on my kindle, so I’m glad to hear that. I haven’t seen the cover for the 2nd book, but I’m going to go check it out now, thanks!!

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