Massive Cover Roundup!

Normally, I try to feature new cover releases that I really like within their own posts, but because there have been so many in the last week (and I've been on a hiatus), I decided to do a great big roundup of books that I am looking forward to.

So, without further ado, I bring you this weeks Waiting on Wednesday, a.k.a. That Time a bunch of HarperCollins 2013 Releases caused me to drool all over my laptop screen....

Boundless by Brodi Ashton

Release Date: January 22, 2013
Publisher: Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins
Find it on Goodreads!

Two months ago, the Tunnels of the underworld came for Nikki Beckett. That night, Nikki's boyfriend, Jack, made the ultimate sacrifice. All Nikki wants is to save Jack before it's too late. All Cole wants is to find his queen - and he thinks Nikki is the one. Both determined, both desperate, Nikki and Cole form a tense alliance, leading them on a dangerous journey to The Heart of The Everneath.

Boundless by Cynthia Hand

Release Date: January 22, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it on Goodreads!

No summary released yet!

Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Release Date: January 8, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Find it on Goodreads!

No summary released yet!

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it on Goodreads!

No summary released yet!

Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Find it on Goodreads!

Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it’s that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting—or stealing—whatever they want.

No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale’s family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother’s billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there’s no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won’t let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother’s will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company’s fortune. So instead of being the heir—this time, Hale might be the mark.

Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she’s willing to save her boyfriend’s company if it means losing the boy.

Taken by Erin Bowman

Release Date: April 16, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it on Goodreads!

There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends...and he’s gone.

They call it the Heist.

Gray Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can cross and survive.

Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side?

Taken by Kasie West

Release Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it on Goodreads!

Reminiscent of the movie Sliding Doors, Pivot Point is about a girl who has the power to Search alternate futures. When faced with a life changing decision, she lives out six weeks of two different lives (in alternating chapters), both holding the potential for love and loss, and must ultimately choose which path she is willing to live through.

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Tor Teen
Find it on Goodreads!

16-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder. The setting is Arkwell.

And then it comes true.

Now the Dusty has to follow the clues--both within Eli’s dreams and out of them--to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

If You Find Me Emily Murdoch

Release Date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Find it on Goodreads!

A broken-down camper at the Obed Scenic and Wild River National Park - dubbed the Hundred Acre Wood - is the only home fifteen-year-old Carey has ever known.

Sure, coping with a bipolar mother on meth is no picnic, but beneath the sun-dazzled canopies of Hickory and Walnut, Carey's violin transports her from their bare-bones existence in the same way her little sister, Jenessa, finds comfort in her stash of second-hand Pooh books.

Life is dependable that way, until Mama goes into town for supplies and vanishes off the face of Tennessee, sending social services in her wake with a one-way ticket back to their father - a stranger in an even stranger world.

~*~ A portion of the proceeds will benefit Taylor Hendrix's Christmas Project. Sixteen-year-old Taylor, battling osteosarcoma, gathers gifts in backpacks to brighten the spirits of cancer teens in hospital during the Christmas holidays.

Who says books (and amazing teens!) can't change the world? ~*~

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Release Date: January 29, 2013
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperTeen
Find it on Goodreads!

London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true.

Juliet is accompanied by the doctor’s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

The Casual Vacancy by J.k> Rowling

Release Date: September 27, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Find it on Goodreads!

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations?

A big novel about a small town, The Casual Vacancy is J. K. Rowling’s first novel for adults. It is the work of a storyteller like no other.

Any favorites? I am partial Everbound and Boundless, personally. I would pull a serious Smeagol to get my hands on those. MIIIINNNEEE.

Cover Reveal: Sever by Lauren DeStefano

You guys, THIS is why people shouldn't have jobs. Especially new jobs that require 50-60 hours a week and make it really hard to sneak on Twitter and Blogger during the day. Because if you suddenly find yourself strapped with a very demanding (albeit fun) job, you might miss a massively awesome cover reveal and be behind the times and feel very, very sad.

Stop pointing those accusing stares at me! I would never try to sneak on social media sites during work, or go into a slightly catatonic fit when I realized I missed the release of the Sever cover. Noooooooo.

(SSSSHHHHHHHHHH, don't tell!)

I will never love a cover the way I loved Wither. However, I do still think that Lizzie Bromley is a genius of a designer, and I did feel like Fever's cover captured the feeling of the book. Therefore, I am intrigued by the vaguely Stepford-wivish quality to this one! WHATEVER DOES IT MEAN?

Listen, all I'm saying is the end of Fever may have actually caused me to have an aneurysm. I don't think a book has ever--EVER I tell you!--caused me to walk away still feeling that emotionally frustrated (in both good and bad ways). I got weeks of good workouts after I finished it because I would have imaginary conversations between Linden and Rhine in my head and these confrontations would be FUELED WITH SUCH PASSION that I would pull a Forrest Gump and not even notice when 5 miles had passed.

Summary: Sever come to meeeeeeeeeee. (Accio Sever!)

Also, Go Team Linden.

Cover Reveal: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Paperback Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Find it on Goodreads!

Kelsey upon first seeing this cover: Wooooahhhhh.

And minutes later, once the awe wore off enough for language to return: Goregous! I love the dual imagery here of the snow and the pink. I wonder if everything on this cover is as thematically significant as it was with the Shatter Me cover. And if it is, what does the ice mean for our Juliette?

I have no idea Unravel Me has in store for us, so I am waiting with bated breath for the release of the publisher's summary. The only clue we have to go on now is this:

They want to find me. I will find them first.

Yikes!

*EDIT* We have a cover copy!!

tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

Cover Reveal: Mind Games by Kiersten White

Mind Games by Kiersten White

Release Date: February 9, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen

Find it on Goodreads!

In a world where psychics and mind-readers are the ultimate tools in corporate espionage, two teen girls try to save themselves and their future.

In the world of book cover lotteries, Kiersten White is definitely a winner. Somebody in design must luuuuvv her. I adore the colors in this one, and the way those creepy tile photos convey the experience of being psychic. Basically, this cover is gorgeous and I will totally hang it in that Salon I'm going to have someday.

It's no secret I have a total author crush on Kiersten. Nor that I love books with strong family elements. Nor that the protagonist from her other series, Evie, is kind of my ideal bestie. So basically what I'm trying to say is... yo, where the Galleys at? Gimmegimmegimme!

Click on me! I contain multitudes.

Sarah Dessen Cover Makeovers!

Sarah Dessen got a face lift! Her covers, that is (she's already gorgeous as can be).

You have probably seen one or more of these covers popping up on blogs lately. If you weren't already aware, Penguin Teen has revamped all of Sarah Dessen's old covers (except What Happened to Goodbye) and slowly--torturously--released them throughout the past 10 days. But as of today they are all out. So here they are:

Individually, I'm not psyched about a lot of these covers, The Truth About Forever in particular (correct me if I'm wrong, but does that have anything to do with the book?) But do like That's Summer, and I do think they look pretty spiffy all together. (Imagine them all lined up on your book case!) The old covers screamed 90s to me, so I'm glad these ones are being directed to today's youth. Sarah Dessen must be known, y'all!

To put it lightly, Sarah Dessen is a genius of mega-squee proportions. As far as I'm concerned, she is the mother of all that is good and holy about Contemporary YA. Her books are a wonderful balance of romance, personal development, friendship, and family. I absolutely adore them. In fact, I have put myself on a Dessen diet and am only allowed to read one every three months so that I don't go through them too quickly. They are too good to be squandered!

Would these new covers get you to stop in a bookstore? Have any favorites?

Paperback Cover Reveal: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Paperback Release Date: October 16, 2012
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Find it on Goodreads!

Here's the thing about the original Shatter Me cover... well... mmmmm... basically, I hated it. I'm sure it was hard to make a cover to do that book justice (it's so incredibly different and wonderful), but I felt like the original cover wouldn't really do any book justice. Let's use the Old Spice man to illustrate:

In essence, the harback cover = your man, and the paperback cover = the man your man could smell like.

We both know which one you want. I mean, LOOK AT IT. That cover is by far the best YA cover I think I have seen in years.

*swoon*

Cover Convos

Hey y'all! Usually I like to feature new covers in their own posts, but there have been so many in the last couple of weeks that it's been completely impossible to do so. Therefore, I decided to do a post on recent cover releases for some of my most anticipated titles (not including Dualed and Days of Blood and Starlight, which were my last two WoWs).

(This is by no means a comprehensive list. If you're looking for more, feel free to check out IB Teen Blog or A Reader of Fictions.)

Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

Release Date: March 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Find it on Goodreads!

Vane Weston should have died in the category five tornado that killed his parents. Instead, he woke up in a pile of rubble with no memories of his past—except one: a beautiful, dark-haired girl standing in the winds. She's swept through his dreams ever since, and he clings to the hope that she's real.

Audra is real, but she isn't human. She's a sylph, an air elemental who can walk on the wind, translate its alluring songs, even twist it into a weapon. She's also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect him at all costs.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra has just days to help Vane unlock his memories. And as the storm winds gather, they start to realize the greatest danger might not be the warriors coming to destroy them, but the forbidden romance growing between them.

I defy you to tell me that you don't like that cover. It's basically pure wish fulfillment; I see it and picture myself floating amidst an awesome wind flurry with a hot guy. And lets be real, who doesn't want to have some sexy times while flying? Besides, the word sylph makes me giggle for some weird reason.

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Harper Children's

Find it on Goodreads!

Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city’s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.

Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls’ deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but her own life.

From reading that summary, this is not the cover that I would have imagined. The summary seems like a romantic fantasy and the cover brings to mind some sort of epic monarchical tale. Even though they seem to contradict one another, I think both seem FABULOUS. And honestly, City of a Thousand Dolls is potentially my favorite title I've heard in a while, so I was sold long before I even knew what it was about. Cannot wait!

The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble

Release Date: 2013
Publisher: Soho Press

Find it on Goodreads!

“I found out two things today. One, I think I’m dying. And two, my brother is a perv.”

So begins the diary of 14-year-old Jenna Samuels, who is having a very bad eighth-grade year. Her single mother spends all day in bed. Dad vanished when she was eight. Her 16-year-old brother, Casey, tries to
hold together what’s left of the family by working two after-school jobs— difficult, as he’s stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Jenna is sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead.

Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her. Beatified. Literally. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that Casey didn’t survive the accident at all. He’s an “A-word.” (She can’t bring herself to utter the truth.) Soon they discover that Jenna isn’t just dying: she’s being poisoned. And Casey has been sent back to help solve the mystery that not only holds the key to her survival, but also to their mother’s mysterious depression and father’s disappearance.

Soho Press is only just launching it's YA imprint next year, so this will be one of their first titles. Since I have friends that work there, I'm a little biased, but I had already decided I wanted to read this book before I realized it was theirs, which I think that proves its worthiness on multiple levels. This book seems funny, lighthearted, and cute, and the cover conveys that well.

The Witch of Little Italy by Suzanne Palmieri

Release Date: April 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Find it on Goodreads!

The trouble started for the Amore family during the tragic and triumphant days of post-WWI America, and clings fast to the air around them still. Twenty two year old Elly Amore is only the latest in a series of Amore women to lose her way, trip into trouble, and hide behind secrets.

Elly won't have an abortion, and her mother, Carmen, won't support that decision. She's also voted "no" on Elly's idea to return to their estranged family in the Bronx. But something pulls Elly there, and whether it's the magic of The Sight she shares with them, or a simple case of family ties, she's determined to go. It won't be the first time Elly's been there. She spent a summer in the Bronx when she was ten, giving the Amore's a karmic reprieve from fading away entirely. The only problem? Elly doesn't remember that summer. She doesn't remember anything from her childhood at all.

Recapturing those memories becomes an obsession for Elly. As she falls into the past (and into love) Elly learns the secrets of her magical family, secrets that will unlock her Great Aunt Itsy's voice and reveal, once and for all, the truth that will heal or shatter the Amore clan.

Truthfully, I usually blacklist books the second they mention war in the summary. After crying myself to sleep and weeks of endless nightmares in the wake of Summer of My German Soldier, middle school me developed a complete aversion to them. Therefore, I probably wouldn't have picked this book up. Until I saw the cover, that is. Go ahead, call me shallow, but doesn't it appeal to you a tiny bit too?

What do y'all think of these covers? Any that you are looking forward to particularly? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Waiting on Wednesday: Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Release Date: February 26, 2013
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Would you live through the ultimate test of survival?

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West's confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she's no longer certain that she's the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

Elsie Chapman's suspenseful debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

This book is near and dear to my heart, as it was the center of my focus during the months that I interned at Random House last year. I can't count the number of times I stayed late at the office so I could chat about the manuscript. Seriously, can you imagine living in a society where everyone of age has committed murder? Or growing up knowing that Darwinism in its truest sense was coming to get you? What would that even be like?

Elsie Chapman is so unbelievably talented, and she is such a sweetheart too! This is her debut novel, but I am sure Dualed is only one of many incredible stories to come from her. If you're interested, you should definitely show it some Goodreads love!

Happy Wednesday all! What are you waiting for?

Cover Reveal: Asunder by Jodi Meadows

Release Date: Sometime 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.

SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.

In this second book in the Incarnate trilogy, Ana discovers the truth about reincarnation and will have to find a way to embrace love and make her young life meaningful. Once again, Jodi Meadows explores the extraordinary beauty and shadowed depths of the soul in a story equal parts epic romance and captivating fantasy.

As you can see above, this morning Jodi Meadow's released the cover and publisher's summary of Asunder, the next book in the Newsoul Trilogy! Excuse me while I throw all typing etiquette out the window BECAUSE HOW FREAKING GORGEOUS IS THAT! I don't even want this on my bookshelf; I want to hang a massive copy of it in my (theoretical) Salon so that my friends and I can take tea sitting under this delightful piece of artwork. That, my dear readers, is how much I love this cover. And I love it even better as part of a pair:

If you are a naturally inquisitive personality, stop by Jodi's blog post where she answers questions about the next book, and is holding a contest for a pair of gloves she handspun and knit herself (talented lady!)

What do you think of the Asunder cover? Would you frame and hang it in your Salon too?

Cover Reveal and Signed ARC Giveaway: Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Release Date: October 16, 2012
Publisher: Farrar, Strous, and Giroux Books for Young Readers

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

I, for one, am very happy that the dystopian explosion in YA doesn't seem to be slowing down yet. There are still so many good works coming from this trend that I would be sad to see it end. What do you all think of the cover and summary? Leave me a comment and let me know!

And for those of you who are as excited as I am, the official website for the Crewel Trilogy is hosting a signed ARC giveaway! Get there before March 22nd for your chance to enter, and good luck to all!