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: 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.

Waiting on Wednesday: Prophecy by Ellen Oh

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

Prophecy by Ellen Oh

Release Date: January 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen

Check it out on Goodreads!

The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms . . . is a girl with yellow eyes.

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope. . . .

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

I would say my reaction to this book is 3 parts "OMG YAYYY" and 1 part trepidation, because doesn't that cover copy make it sound UNCANNILY like Kristin Cashore's Graceling? (Seven Kingdoms, a girl with strange eyes, female warrior, outcast, protecting the heir to the throne?)

However, seeing as authors never get to write their own summaries, it feels unfair to make any hard and fast judgements. Probably the publisher is trying to draw those parallels to help sales and the books are more diverse than they seem. Besdies, Graceling or no Graceling, this sounds like an AWESOME way to start of your 2013 (or finish your 2012 if you're lucky enough to get an ARC!)

PERSONAL EDIT: So I'm writing this post, and I'm struck by this really weird sense of deja vu as I look at the cover, and VOILA, it hits me! For my senior thesis in high school I wrote a novella (which is a whole other long story), but my mom being the sweetie and artist that she is, quickly whipped up this picture so my thesis would look more legit than the other kids (and it totally did. She rocks. You should have seen the Renaissance costume she made me in 6th grade; another girl was so jealous she cried.)

I digress. That is SUCH A WEIRD COINCIDENCE, right?! To be honest, I have absolutely no recollection of what my story was about--and Ellen Oh's is undoubtedly way better--but between the colors/cover/title there is a lot of overlap. Maybe I can pretend to be her inspiration and get some royalties (totally kidding!)

But all that aside, I think the most important question Prophecy leaves us with is this... Yellow Eyes: Hot or Not?

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.

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*

The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 327
Format: Audiobook*
Source: Purchased
Challenges: Debut Author Challenge, ABC Reading Challenge

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Okay, enough of that. I was trying to use a mathematical equation to express how much I loved this book, but those of you who don't know a lot about math are going to have no idea what I'm talking about, and those of you who know a lot about math are going to know that I have no idea what I'm talking about. Therefore, I should probably stick to the usual format.

The Selection is that sweet sticky sour savory delectable kind of guilty pleasure that any lover of dessert or reality television will completely identify with (and likely gobble up as hungrily as I did). Imagine watching an entire season of the Hills and eating a sleeve of cookie dough and not feeling full or fat afterwards. Completely delicious and engrossing, right? Seriously people, you should use this book as a diet tool or something because I honestly did not want to put it down long enough to get actual food.

This book is marketed as a dystopian, and while I suppose that yes, technically it is, it's really more of a Cinderella story with a twist. The book starts in America's home town, where we meet her lower class family and get to know their dynamic pretty well. We also learn that she has been illegally sneaking out at night to meet with Aspen, the boy she plans to marry. Why is it secret and illegal? Well, unfortunately, he's from an even lower class than her, which is a big no-no in Illea. Anyways, we spend a while in her town and at first I was super impatient to get to court where there would be intrigue and backstabbing and ball gowns, but I'm glad we lingered because it gave us the chance to see America with her family and with Aspen, and both of those things factor really heavily into why she stays at the palace later.

So America gets chosen to be a part of The Selection (a.k.a. The Bachelor, royal edition) and she travels to the palace with 35 other girls. There she meets Maxon, and WOAH, this girl literally whips out an axe, chops off a piece of her mind and gives it to him. She is super unimpressed by the fact that he is a prince, and she makes that more than clear. Read: Bitch Fest. Like a true monarch, Maxon listens, takes it all in stride, and doesn't give America the whooping she probably deserves because he's a forgiving and compassionate dude.

Let's talk Maxon. Or should I say omg omggg SQUEE MAXON, because that was my reaction each time he turned up. He is so adorable. I loved watching him fumble through his first attempts at dating (poor guy, to have such a thing watched not only by one's parents, but the entire country). He's such a compassionate person that I felt like he got walked on some, but at the important moments he definitely knew how to stand up for himself. His back-and-forth with America was fascinating because while I love the girl, she is a force of nature and occasionally a bullheaded beeyotch and Maxon is basically a big puppy. America is used to being in control, but in this situation Maxon has essentially all of the control, and that's something they both have to navigate.

I've heard some complaints that this book has yet another love triangle, but honestly, I don't think of the whole Aspen-America-Maxon relationship as a love triangle as much as I see it as a story about getting over first love and learning to move on, which is a huge and awful part of coming of age. Aspen (which is always what I wanted to name my first daughter, and now I'm pretty sure he's ruined that for me, so THANKS A LOT Aspen) does not strike me as a great guy. I believe that he loves America, but his pride is big enough to squash the palace, and everything he does--from dumping America to wanting her back, etc--is entirely motivated by selfishness. I'm just going to put it out there and say that I hated him. I think it's pretty clear that America falls quickly in love with Maxon, she is just having trouble fully moving on and that is the source of a lot of her denial. Whenever she would get cranky while Maxon was on another date I couldn't help but yell at the book because Eeeee, America!! You're all swoony and jealous! Don't you know what that means? Do it, girl! Doitdoitdoit!

Another element of the book that I enjoyed was getting to know the girls. You have the psycho power hungry Celeste's that are just so much fun to loathe, and the sweetheart's like Marlee that you can't begrudge for doing well in the competition. While there is definitely some drama here--and you can bet that it's nearly all Celeste's fault--most of the drama we see is between Maxon and America. The girls themselves managed to develop a semi-harmonious sisterhood; they even acknowledge at several points in the book how they see the ways in which each of the other girls would make good queens. I wish that we could have gotten to know the girls to a greater depth, but America can be a little bit of a recluse sometimes so she spent a disproprtionate about of time in her room. I think with the whittling down of girls that happens over the course of The Selection we will get more depth in Book 2. But honestly, I'm not that sad about the lack of girl time, because whenever they were in the ladies room all I could think was comeoncomeoncomeon I want a scene with MAXON! And luckily for me, I usually got one.

Complaints? I honestly feel like this book could have gotten away with being a couple hundred pages longer. It ended in such a strange place; there was a little closure and a small cliffhanger, but I was pretty confused when suddenly the whole thing was over. Books 1 and 2 could have been turned into Parts 1 and 2 of the same book, and that would have made more sense. Additionally, the whole "outsiders" plot line felt flat and undeveloped, but I'm thinking this will shape itself in coming books. Like I said before, the book qualifies as a dystopian, but the history of how the world got from its 2012 self to the monarchy of Illea was a complete mess of nonsense. Placing the whole thing in an alternate history or universe might have helped to solve the problem, then at least we could have avoided the perfunctory disaster of a chapter that attempted to explain the national debt and the American State of China and the invasion by Russia (confused yet? because it keeps going…). I know dystopians are hot right now, but unless you are going to give the history as much thought as the plot, then don't attempt to write a dystopian. Essentially, Illea is just a technologically advanced monarchy that is in the middle of a guerrilla war with both its northern and southern borders.

All in all, the biggest success for me is that fact that things changed from beginning to the end of the book. America is likable but also a piece of work. In certain ways she reminded me of Lizzie Bennet: she is humble and kind but she holds some serious prejudices based entirely on her perceptions of wealth. I think both she and Maxon learn that the quality of a person is not dictated by their caste. There are good people in the upper and lower classes; there are horrible people in the upper and lower classes (I'm looking at you, Celeste and Aspen). Watching America and Maxon change each other, and the country in the process, was extremely engaging and I'm definitely looking forward to more of it in the next installment.

Tahereh Mafi's E-Novella Reveal!

It seems that today is the day for exciting news! Tahereh Mafi, the wonderful, talented, and hilarious author of Shatter Me announced that, while she may have shattered the hearts of her many followers when the publication date of Book 2, Unravel Me, got pushed back to February 5, 2013, she's rewarding their love with a special e-novella from Warner's point of view called Destroy Me, which comes out October 16, 2012!

Now I don't know about the rest of you, but despite the fact that he is a misogynist and a psychopath, I have a strange love for Warner, so I am super excited to get to know him in a more personal way! Tahereh Mafi really made her mark last year, bursting into the YA scene with a character that had a voice very unlike any protagonist we'd ever seen. Seeing as Warner is a very different person than Juliette, I can't wait to see what she'll do with his unique voice.

For more information, here's Tahereh herself making the vlog announcement:

Q: Are you Team Adam or Team Kenji or Team Warner?

A: Yeah, you know, I don't actually play sports, so....

How great is she? Are you all excited for this release? If my mother's reaction is any indication, I am in the minority in liking Warner, and definitely in the minority for thinking that Adam is sketchy. Where do you all stand on the love triangle / love rhombus (square? parallelogram?) in the book?

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?