Cover Lust (20)

Huntress by Malinda Lo

(Little, Brown / April 5, 2011)

I featured this for my Waiting on Wednesday post two week ago, but I just have to mention it again, because I love it so much. Can we all just take a moment here to appreciate how beautiful and tough this thoroughly Asian girl on the cover looks? I like how the title font is in keeping with the title font of Ash. I hope they make posters of this cover, and I hope I'm somehow able to find one.

Powder Necklace by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

(Atria Books / Feb. 6, 2010)

More POCs on a book cover. This makes me so happy. I like how the flower and the gentle pink block of color in the text area subtly complements the picture.

Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott

(July 2011)

Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, there might be a slight theme for this Cover Lust post. Basically, yes, this is another strong and beautiful Asian girl on a YA cover, which is so appropriate since this book is kind of like a Cinderella set in Feudal Japan.

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

(HarperCollins / Oct. 28, 2010)

It's simple, but elegant, in my opinion. There's just the right amount of detail to the title font to match intricacy of the girl's feathery dress. Works for me!

Clean by Amy Reed

(Simon Pulse / July 2011)

I like how it complements the cover to Amy's first book, the shocking and powerful Beautiful. I love the "empty space" effect going on, how the girl looks like she's sitting in a fake world.

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

(Simon Pulse / May 24, 2011)

You know me. I can't ever pass up taking note of a book with a high-quality photo cover, with the DSLR foreground focus and background blurriness, yadda yadda photogeek speak. So while this may not sing particularly to you, I just finds that it evokes this feeling of...gentleness. Contentedness. Prettyyy.

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What do you guys think?! Which is your favorite??

Review: The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Tags: YA, date rape, boarding school

Summary

When Alex gets date-raped at her prestigious Themis Academy, there’s no one in the jaded administration that she feels comfortable turning to. So instead, she brings her case to the Mockingbirds, a student-run justice system.

Review

A book as impactful as Daisy Whitney’s debut novel comes along only once every few years. THE MOCKINGBIRDS is at once tender and empowering, clear-cut and sensitive. It’s the kind of book that needs to be read by everyone, yet doesn’t scrimp in the important qualities that make up good literature.

I would say read this for the mere fact that EVERYONE should be educated about the personal and societal consequences of date rape, but it’s also more than that. Yes, the book’s subject is one that everyone should be aware of: through Alex’s story, we learn about the rights of the survivor, the emotional maelstrom in the aftermath, and even the guilt and self-hatred that survivors falsely put upon themselves. But all of this is done in a smart, non-preachy manner. It’s really Alex’s story, Themis Academy’s story, and not just a pedagogical tool with interchangeable characters and side plots. Everything comes together in a way that makes it cohesive not just within the story world.

THE MOCKINGBIRDS makes its impact not just by its important subject but also by Daisy Whitney’s writing style. All too often a book will try to make an impact with an explosive issue, forgetting, in the process, to still develop characters and write in a way that makes us readers care and invest. THE MOCKINGBIRDS does not force us to wade through unnecessary descriptions or artificial relationships: each and every character has a role, has a story, and helps Alex. The book deals with its difficult subject in a no-nonsense manner, and while this can sometimes make Alex feel a little underdeveloped, so all-encompassing her date-rape case seems to be, it also makes her the “everygirl,” one whom readers will be able to relate to and empathize with, regardless of our own experiences.

THE MOCKINGBIRDS is one of those books that should be assigned reading for all teens. If everyone could be educated about date rape through Alex’s experience, the world could truly be a better place.

Writing: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Cover discussion: 4 out of 5 - I think it looks incredibly classy. I initially didn't like the color change from red to the current blue, but after seeing it in person, it doesn't even matter; it's perfect the way it is. :)

Little, Brown / Nov. 2, 2010 / Hardcover / 339pp. / $16.99

ARC picked up at BEA.

Waiting on Wednesday (89)

Memento Nora by Angie Smibert

Nora, the popular girl and happy consumer, witnesses a horrific bombing on a shopping trip with her mother. In Nora’s near-future world, terrorism is so commonplace that she can pop one little white pill to forget and go on like nothing ever happened. However, when Nora makes her first trip to a Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic, she learns what her mother, a frequent forgetter, has been frequently forgetting. Nora secretly spits out the pill and holds on to her memories. The memory of the bombing as well as her mother’s secret and her budding awareness of the world outside her little clique make it increasingly difficult for Nora to cope. She turns to two new friends, each with their own reasons to remember, and together they share their experiences with their classmates through an underground comic. They soon learn, though, they can’t get away with remembering. [summary from Goodreads]

I've been on a sci-fi/dystopian kick recently and have been looking out for ones that sound promising and fascinating. This one definitely fits the bill. Can you imagine a world where terrorism is a daily occurrence and one takes pills to forget?? I'm interested to see how this premise will play out!

Memento Nora will be released in hardcover from Marshall Cavendish Children's Books in April 2011.

What are YOU waiting on this Wednesday?

Review: Jane by April Lindner

Tags: YA, modernization, romance, secrets

Summary

Her parents dead and her cold older siblings unwilling to provide her with financial support, college student Jane Moore is forced to take on a nanny job at Thornfield Park, home to Nico Rathburn, one of the world’s most famous rock stars who is about to make his comeback from years of partying and drama. As Jane gets to know Nico, she finds that, against her practical nature, she is drawn to him. But they seem to be so different in both class status and personality, and even bigger secrets will keep them apart once they come to light…

Review

Fans of the Charlotte Bronte original will no doubt cheer for this loyal modernization of Jane Eyre. For those of us who are more ambiguous about how we feel about Jane Eyre, however, JANE does little to convince us otherwise.

What April Lindner does best in JANE is capturing the mood and tone of the original story. The tormented romance between the Janes and their employers, the enigmatic attractiveness of the Mr. Rochester character…it’s all here.

What’s missing in JANE, however, is Jane’s inner passion, a part of her that is all too easily overlooked, especially if you’re me and was lukewarm about the original. In Jane Eyre, readers see a fierce determination within her to stay true to herself and speak to her mind. Grown-up Jane, in turn, retains some of this passion and drive, even though on the surface she seems submissive. Jane Moore, on the other hand, starts out as a rather passive and flat character and remains so throughout the story. She feels like she was born an old lady, instead of like how Jane Eyre learned how to hide her fieriness.

Jane Eyre was no Pride and Prejudice for me, and I think that’s what makes it and all subsequent retellings still difficult for me to immerse myself in. I think most people either love or don’t care for Jane Eyre, and the divisions will most likely still stand for this modernization. Bronte fans will cherish the familiarity of this story—the tormented Nico Rathburn, Jane’s levelheadedness, their slowly unfolding romance. And thus the very things that bother people in Jane Eyre will most likely still bother them in JANE. Give the book a try: it’s superbly written and up to the original’s standards, but there’s little it can do to convince you to love it if you weren’t a fan of Jane Eyre in the first place.

Writing: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Cover discussion: 3 out of 5 - Moody, solitary, and evocative. Just like the story. The pink was a little unexpected, though... especially when I saw that the inner hardboard is the same color pink as the title as well.

Poppy / Oct. 11, 2010 / Hardcover / 373pp. / $17.99

Copy bought.