Tuesday Ten: Covers from My Wishlist

This week's topic from The Broke and the Bookish is top ten covers, and I've decided to narrow the field quite a bit by doing a post dedicated to the top ten covers from my wanting list. (My "wanting" list is a wishlist shelf I keep on Goodreads. Right now it has 84 books on it and some of them don't even have covers yet.) I've included publication dates for the books that aren't yet out.

1. The Disenchantments

Nina LaCour

The huge sunglasses, the font (for me, font can seriously make or break a cover), the t-shirt and the light filtering in... everything about this cover is so so awesome. It screams YA to me without being the sort of cover that looks just like every other cover. I absolutely love it.

2. Girls Don't Fly

Kristen Chandler

Again, the font here works so well. I love the image of the bird, the top half of the girl's head/face, and all the sky behind her. This cover is just so, so cute.

3. Love and Leftovers

Sarah Tregay

I love Converse shoes (or even just Converse-looking shoes), so any cover that incorporates them so well is a win with me. Like the cover to Girls Don't Fly, this is just so cute (and even cuter in real life). I especially like the blue/red color theme.

4. Life is But A Dream

Brian James

Pub Date: March 2012

Okay, so upon closer examination the girl on this cover looks a bit, um, dead. But that's not what catches my eye! Nope, what I'm really looking at is the flowery words and the hint of sky up top. This cover has an artsy feel that's missing in a lot of YA covers.

5. Reunited

Hilary Weisman Graham

Pub Date: June 2012

The cover of this one reminds me a little bit of The Lonely Hearts Club, which I also love. And aside from that connection, it's bright, bold, completely cute and eye-catching at the same time. As far as covers go, this one feels like a must-have to me.

6. Take A Bow

Elizabeth Eulberg

Pub Date: April 2012

Oh, and speaking of The Lonely Hearts Club, here's an upcoming book by the same author. What I like most abouut this cover is all the lights. They really overtake everything and I love it. 

7. Someone Else's Life

Katie Dale

(UK cover)

Alright, here's the deal: this isn't the US cover. This is the UK cover and I really, really like it. The US cover, on the other hand, is a total dud. The two covers could not be further apart if they tried, and I wish the American one had more of the feeling of whimsy that this cover has. Between the dresser, the writing on the wall, and the picture frame, this cover is such a winner.

8. The Selection

Kiera Cass

Pub Date: April 2012

I get that pretty much everyone is sick of all the YA dystopian and paranormal covers with beautiful dresses on them. And mostly, I get that. But this particular dystopian with this particular cover, I love. The story is supposedly a sort of futuristic Bachelor-type thing, so the beautiful dress makes perfect sense. Plus, the mirrors and never-ending images make it even more striking.

9. Awkward

Marni Bates

Another oh-so-cute cover. It looks like adorable Sharpie-scribblings on a notebook, and the girl on the cover looks young enough and frenzied enough to fit with YA and with the title of this book. This cover is just altogether too, too great.

10. Never Enough

Denise Jaden

Pub Date: July 2012

If this cover were just a little different I could easily hate it. But the colors, the lighting, the font, and the girl's expression all work together really well to make it one of the more striking and beautiful covers I've come across lately.

2011 Wishes Update!

Remember the start of the year when I wrote that wishlist of things I so desperately wanted to see in my favorite genre? It looks like the universe of YA was listening to me because many of the books I've read lately have been spot on.


More contemporary stand-alone novels.
Yes, there are a lot of series coming out and there's been at least a couple long-awaited YA sequels recently, but I'm also finding quite a few contemporary stand-alones, and many of these books I really love. Flirt Club, Rival, Leverage, I'll Be There, Stay.


More family.
Authors, agents, editors, THANK YOU. Though not all of these books are being talked about as a book about family, the following all have some very strong family elements: Like Mandarin, Rival, Sean Griswold's Head, Bitter Melon, The Lucky Kind, Invincible Summer, Stay, I'll Be There, and Other Words for Love. In my list I specifically mentioned a want for YA novels that explore the father-daughter dynamic and though I still want more, a couple novels have touched on the topic (both Rival and Sean Griswold's Head) while Stay took on this relationship more fully and with, in my opinion, great results. THANK YOU.

Unexpected and well-handled stereotype subversions.
You know, I haven't seen a lot of this lately. Stay subverts the popular insta-love trope by showing how things in this sort of relationship could very easily go wrong, but for character stereotypes there's not much. There is, however, Kurt, from Leverage, whose vicious and intimidating look masks an unbelievably kind, protective, and good-hearted person.

Actual and realistic Problems.
I'm not sure I can even list all the books that fit this item. So many of them do and I absolutely love it. It's great reading a book with a character who's dealing with a learning disability, or one whose problems come from an extremely unstable family, or one who deals with her father's chronic illness in an unexpected way. I love these things. I love books that tackle problems that are both real and rarely-before-handled.

Books with tweets!
Truth & Dare has a story written entirely in tweets, but aside from that I haven't read any. So if you know of a book with tweets, please let me know.

A historical fiction set on the Oregon Trail.
*waits patiently*

Science Fiction YA.
Ah, yes! Publishing listened to me! Or something. Sci-fi YA books are starting to be published somewhat regularly, it seems, and though I haven't found one that completely blew me away yet, I have a feeling that'll happen. (Glow, which doesn't come out until September, came the closest.)

Non-college options explored in contemporary YA.
Oh, this is sadly lacking, at least in the books I've been reading. If you have any good recommendations for me here, let me know!

Better love stories.
Of course, by "better" I just mean love stories that I like better, which is insanely subjective. This said, both I'll Be There and Wither (though the love story isn't the central plot) have couples or potential couples that I absolutely adore. And, of course, there's one more book but listing it as a love story might be a bit of a spoiler. SO I WON'T.

Good girls (and boys).
Back When You Were Easier to Love takes care of this one -- I absolutely adore Owen. There's also the teens in I'll Be There that are dealing with some crazy-heavy stuff, but are definitely kind and good at heart and you guys, you should all read this book.

Me.
Oh. Um. Well. No.

Wishes aside, I'm so incredibly thrilled with the YA that's been coming out lately. It's well-written and amazing and has great characters and I'm loving it so much. I don't read that much in other genres and I'm totally biased of course, but I'm pretty sure YA has the best authors.

What Happens After High School in YA?

Recently on her blog, Frenetic Reader, my buddy Khyrinthia (jokingly) made a list of things YA novels have/have not prepared her for. Among the "have" was what to do if a supernatural creature is in Bio class with her and among the "have not" was how to handle college talk. While I usually agree with pretty much everything Khy posts, this is one case where I don't. While she's wondering: do YA characters even go to college? I'm wondering: why aren't characters without college aspirations represented?


Seriously. What about the characters going to vocational school? The ones who get married right out of high school and don't go to college? The ones who go to community college and continue living at home? As far as I can tell, a lot of YA protagonists are in one of two camps, post-high-school-wise. They're either going to a well-known (typically Ivy League) university with a large scholarship or they're going to a well-known university that is not the university their parents want them to attend. This is, in my opinion, an extremely limited point of view or experience.

I'm going to assume I'm in the minority here but most of the people I knew well when I was in high school and a lot of the friends I grew up with did not take that path. Many of them didn't go to college, a few (like me) started out at a community college, some went to a vocational school, others started at one college and then transferred or dropped out or... or... or...

there are so many experiences. There are so many perspectives. My thoughts on college aren't the same as yours and that's perfectly okay. What I wish though, were that there were more YA novels showing these differing perspectives. I want the books about Ivy-bound students, sure, but I also want books about students who are going to a community college, entering the workforce right away, taking a gap year, going to vocational school, or doing something totally different. I want characters -- both teenagers and the adults in their lives -- who don't see college as the most important thing. I want both characters who know exactly what they want to do and those who have absolutely no idea.

And, because I'm a fan of the varying perspectives on the whole subject of OMG WHAT TO DO AFTER HIGH SCHOOL?? here are some books with characters who make both traditional and non-traditional choices.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

Erin McCahan

This story of a high school senior who ends up getting engaged to her perfect boyfriend is absolutely incredible and the choices Bronwen makes along the way are non-traditional and completely believable. I adore this book.

Bitter Melon

Cara Chow

Set in the 1980s, this is the story of a Chinese-American girl with an incredibly strict mother who has her future all planned out for her. However, Frances discovers a love for public speaking that challenges her mother's dreams for her.

Suite Scarlett

Maureen Johnson

In this case it's not the protagonist, but instead her older siblings (especially her brother, Spencer) whose choices are interesting. Spencer, who takes a year after high school to pursue his acting career (with parental support) is especially interesting and hilarious.

The Kid Table

Andrea Seigel

This is one of the few books I've read where the protagonist honestly has no idea what she wants to do after high school. Aside from the fact that I really enjoyed this book, that fact alone makes it realistic in my opinion.

2011 Wishes

YA WISHES

1. More contemporary stand-alone novels. I hate ranting against series because I really don't have anything against them except for the fact that there are so many and so many books that make incredible stand-alones are turned into series, which I'm definitely not a fan of. Contemporary is one of those genres that does really really well with the one-shot stories and I want to see more of them in the coming year.
2. More family. It's no secret that I adore novels about family and I think it's largely overlooked in YA. Though 2010 saw some great stories centered around family relationships I'm always wanting more, and I'd especially love for the father-daughter dynamic to be explored because I haven't found much of that in teen books.
3. Unexpected and well-handled stereotype subversions. Cheerleaders who kick butt and take names (a la The Naughty List) and super-smart models (a la Plus) are both awesome and I'm eager for more stereotype subversions that make for really well-rounded characters.
4. Actual and realistic problems. I'm starting to hate the female YA protagonists who are drop-dead gorgeous, have (at least) two guys after them, get great grades, don't worry about money at all, are healthy and happy and normal -- their problems never seem real to me. I want characters who are legitimately struggling, either with self-confidence, looks, grades, guys, the future, family, money... whatever. These are real things that real teenagers actually deal with and I'd love to see that portrayed more in books.
5. Books with tweets! Um, just yes please. Especially if most or all of the story is told in tweets like Tweet Heart was.
6. A historical fiction set on the Oregon Trail. Sure, blame this one on the fact that I've been playing The Oregon Trail as if I'm nine years old again but I just think that would be awesome. Get on that, somebody. (Or if it already exists... alert me to it!)
7. Science Fiction YA. I'm so hyped up to read Beth Revis' debut, Across the Universe and wish there was more sci-fi in the YA world because I love science fiction but I'm incredibly picky about it and I feel like sci-fi with a YA twist would be more awesome.
8. Non-college options explored in contemporary YA. I want characters who end up going to a community college after high school, who go to a vocational school or straight into the workforce or get married or move away or... or... or whatever. Everyone doesn't take AP classes and get scholarships and go away to college and even though most YA doesn't cover "the college years," it definitely covers the junior and senior years of high school where these decisions are made and I really feel like there's a whole demographic (many demographics) of people that aren't represented because of this. I'm not saying they're all the best choices, but they are choices people make all the time.
9. Better love stories. Sadly there are very few couples/potential couples in YA that I feel like are really, really great. And I don't even read paranormal! I love finding realistic and cute and aww, so perfect toether! couples in YA lit and when I do I'm completely spazzed-out happy about it so I hope 2011 brings more of these couples.
10. Good girls (and boys). I feel like for a long time there has been this big push for "edgy" YA, whatever that means -- drugs, sex, pregnancies, explorations of "real life" problems and things that teens deal with. And I'm not denying that these are real things that teens handle and deal with or saying that they shouldn't be explored in YA literature, but I've never been that kind of person. I was/am a "good girl" and I do sometimes get a little annoyed at all the super-edgy characters in YA (like, um, Bianca from The Duff) and the books that seem to assume these types of teens don't exist. I want to read about good people! Flawed, confused, and messed-up, sure, but also good.
11. Me. I can't help it. I want an agent, an editor, a book deal. I want to be a part of YA as a writer and not just a reader/blogger. True, it's nearly impossible for it to happen in 2011, but I would like to be on the path by the end of this year.