I Swear I Just Noticed This Today (+ Book Giveaway Contest!)

My Spring 2012 list is pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. Five Creatures -style, the three books can be classified as:Three YA novels Two incredible debuts and one strong returnOne fantasy and two realistic contemporaries Two first-person and one third-personOne author born in Mexico, one in the U.S., and one in CanadaTwo books that use split timelines and the telling of a story as motifs and one that does notOne male narrator and two female perspectives (three, really -- Irises's POV alternates between its sister protagonists) Two books set in cities and one in the deep wilderness One male author and two female authorsTwo (three) narrators of color and one Caucasian Three romances Three books that will inspire both arguments and deep thoughtsThree really powerful, resonant endings And -- here's the part I just noticed today, to my amusement -- three gorgeous covers that focus on girls' backs:


Above by Leah Bobet falls under debut, fantasy, first person, Canada, split timeline, male narrator, set in a city, female author, and narrator of color. Out in April.

Irises by Francisco X. Stork can be classified as return, realistic contemporary, third person, Mexico, does not, female perspectives, set in a city, male author, and narrators of color. Out in January.

The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin is a debut, realistic contemporary, first person, United States, split timeline, female perspective, set in the deep wilderness (Idaho), female author, and a white narrator. Out in February.

And they are all quite, quite genius, and I love them madly, and I love their covers too. I hope you do as well.

Giveaway! If you'd like to win a galley of one of them, leave a comment below using one or more of the titles in a sentence, and three winners will be chosen at random (one for each book).