Hey YA Readers!
Somehow, we’ve reached the end of November. Whether it feels like this year has gone by quick or been slow, we’re only a month out from turning over a new calendar. I’m more than ready.
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Let’s look at some new releases today, as well as a few book cover makeovers. It’s been a minute since we’ve done that, and I’ve gathered some good ones.
Bookish Goods
Wood 2024 Reading Animals Calendar by NightOwlPaperGoods
I purposefully introduced the newsletter with the thought of turning the calendar as a means of priming you for this awesome 2024 calendar. It’s wood, so it’s durable and can be repurposed, and it has these adorable reading animals. I want one! $28.
New Releases
It’s a quieter week in hardcover new releases, but we’ll make up for that with more paperbacks hitting shelves. You can peep the entire roundup of new hardcover releases here, and as always, we’ll hit the paperback highlights on Thursday.
Gwen and Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher
A queer, Medieval romcom? Count me in for this one.
Hundreds of years after King Arthur’s reign, his descendent Arthur—a future Lord himself—has been betrothed to Gwendolyn since their births. But the only thing the two of them agree about is how much they hate each other.
They’re now being forced to spend the summer together in Camelot in preparation for their marriage. It takes zero time, though, for it to become clear the two of them would be far better allies than marriage partners. Art finds himself caught by Gwen after kissing a boy and Art, for his part, has been snooping through Gwen’s diary and learns about her big crush on a lady knight in the kingdom.
The two of them decide to make a pact and cover for one another. But what will that mean for the future of the kingdom and their marriage?
Kingdom of Without by Andrea Tang
Zhong Ning’er is a thief, and when she takes her most recent job, she expects it to be quick and fast. But instead, she finds herself among a group of young revolutionaries. Ning’er doesn’t consider herself the type, but as it becomes clearer that the Beiyang Army is crushing the pulse of Beijing—which has been under its rule because of General Yuan Shikai’s emperorship 150 years ago—she might be changing her tune.
This is a cyberpunk read that sounds like it’ll be the kind of fast-paced adventure readers of Leigh Bardugo or Fullmetal Alchemist will dig.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Cover Makeovers
I love a good cover makeover. When a hardcover design—whether it’s good or not good—gets an even better look in paperback, it invites a whole new readership. We all judge a book by its cover, whether or not we admit it, and book covers are the first line of marketing for any title.
I’ve done my best to credit cover artists as possible. Unfortunately, it might be 2023, but getting this information easily and readily is still difficult. This is my regular plea for publishers and authors to put the cover design team right on the website landing page for the book itself.
Let’s begin with Adam Silvera’s Infinity Son. This series is getting a redesign, so there will be a new paperback edition of the first book hitting shelves on December 5 with the new look. The original cover, designed by Erin Fitzsimmons, with art by Kevin Tong, goes for a symbol look, while the new cover, designed by David Curtis with art by Meybis Ruiz Cruz, brings two of the main characters to the heart of the cover. I see the appeal in both, honestly, even if I’m not a big fan of illustrated covers. The new paperback gives me a lot of video game vibes.
Maybe one of the most slept-on books this year—and I say this as someone who isn’t a huge thriller reader and dug this one a lot!—The Black Queen is getting a makeover when its paperback hits shelves December 19. I think I like the hardcover a touch more than the paperback, if only because we get to see a Black face on it; we can infer that the story is about a Black homecoming or prom queen from the paperback, but the cover also looks like ten thousand other YA books with a floating crown on it (which are often fantasy titles, so pinning the genre on this one is a little less obvious). I can see the argument that the paperback’s more streamlined look will make it pop more on social media.
Neither of those covers holds a candle to the UK edition, though, which is incredible. Note that I could not find cover design information about either of the above editions.
One thing I always appreciate in a cover redesign is a clever echo of the original design in its new iteration. That is on display here for the new paperback of Ebony LaDelle’s Love Radio, available now. The hardcover was illustrated by Noa Denmon and designed by Krista Vossen, while the paperback’s designer information is not readily available.
The hardcover reminds me of a lot of other similar designs—the one coming to mind immediately is the paperback edition of Ashley Woodfolk’s The Beauty That Remains. This isn’t a bad thing, as that could likely serve as a nice read-alike tool. The paperback turns away from focusing on the couple in favor of a font-focused design. But the little throwback to the couple and the music connecting them is clever. The paperback gives off more adult novel vibes than the hardcover does, which, again, depending on the reader, could be a good thing (or a little frustrating because we don’t get to see two Black teenagers on the cover).
Here’s an interesting thing I did not notice until I scrolled back and looked at the new cover designs from a distance: we’re vibing on some deep blues and purples in paperback.
Whew—I hope that was as much fun for you to read as it was for me to write!
As always, thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you again on Thursday.
Until then, happy reading!
–Kelly Jensen