2014 YA Cover Trends: A Look at What's to Come, Part 1
I like covers and I liked trends, so of course, I love looking at cover trends. This is especially true at the end of the year, when the covers for books coming out in 2014 have been popping up more and more. Like last year, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a handful of trends I've spotted in my cover research. In addition to talking about just cover trends, I thought it would be worth hitting on a few other trendy things I've picked up in reading blurbs and summaries of titles, so that'll be scattered throughout today and tomorrow's posts as well.
Not all of these are tried-and-true trends nor will they necessarily play out all year long, but they're common things I've noticed among a number of covers that stuck out to me. Some books will pop up multiple times, and I'll certainly miss some within the trends. It's only a glimpse of covers I've seen, too, among the publisher catalogs that are readily available to peruse. In other words: this isn't science. But I like to think of this series of posts as a look ahead to the new year in YA. Of course, if other 2014 titles which will be traditionally published fit any of these trends, I'd love to know in the comments.
Links go to the book's listing on Goodreads, since posting the descriptions with the titles would make these posts way too long. With that, let's dig in!
Feathered
Last year, I pointed out an interesting trend of birds on YA covers. We won't be getting too far away from that in 2014, actually, as books like Conversion will keep it going a bit. But what I found to be an interesting trend this year was that feathers are making quite an appearance. There are bird feathers of all sorts to be found in the coming year.
Bloodwitch by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Empower by Jessica Shirvington
Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
Fragile Spirits by Mary Lindsey
Infinite by Jodi Meadows
The Island of Excess Love by Francesca Lia Block
Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
White Space by Ilsa J. Bick -- this might be continuing the bird trend, too, but I'm looking at all of the many feathers.
Something's On Fire
It appears there's something ablaze next year in YA (no, I won't apologize for the pun). Here's a handful of covers featuring a little -- or a lot of -- flame on them. I think there's a bigger trend here, actually, of red being a predominant color on covers in 2014.
Demon Derby by Carrie Harris
Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
Incinerator by Niall Leonard
Summoned by Anne M. Pillsworth
Timestorm by Julie Cross
Daggers
The 2014 weapon of choice is the dagger. There are daggers as symbols and representative of the whole story on the cover, and then there are daggers in the hands of people. More specifically, those daggers are in the hands of females -- is there something to that? Does it make her appear strong visually or is it because a dagger is a weapon of choice for female characters? Both?
Defy by Sara B. Larson
Lady Thief by A. C. Gaughen -- Incidentally, this is one of my favorite titles of 2014. It's so simple but at the same time, it tells you so much about the story without even needing to look at the description of the book.
Passionaries by Tonya Hurley -- This series was redesigned, and I think for the better. Though, this is still kind of lost on me a bit.
Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
Summoned by Anne M. Pillsworth
The Falconer by Elizabeth May
The Queen's Choice by Cayla Kluver
Warrior by Ellen Oh
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
The Illustrated Cover
Can we call this trend what it is? It's the Eleanor & Park alike trend. Illustrated covers were very rare for YA, but there's little doubt in my mind that that book's success made illustrated covers look like a possible winning choice. But these aren't just illustrated covers: they're illustrated covers that make no illusions about the fact the story is a romance.
While we're at it, can we talk about another trend here, which is calling a number of these books read alikes to Eleanor & Park? Between Rowell's book and the comparisons to John Green and/or his book The Fault in Our Stars, I think there's definitely a push toward more realistic fiction in YA. But it's a very specific kind of realistic fiction.
Before I dive into that a little more, let's look at the illustrated covers, shall we? Some of these are fully illustrated and others are illustrated with something non illustrated layered on top.
Fool Me Twice by Mandy Hubbard
Solving For Ex by Leigh Ann Kopans -- The girl image here was used on a YA book in 2009 or 2010, and it happens to be the same stock image girl who is used in a Mango Languages advertisement, too. I can't remember the name of the book, and I think they'd changed her hair color to be brown in it. Anyone know?
Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae
These first three aren't the best at highlighting the real trend I'm noting, but I'm putting them first so the visual impact of the trend pops out in the next sets of covers.
Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff
Like No Other by Una LaMarche
**Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan -- This is called "perfect" for fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell
Love By The Morning Star by Laura L. Sullivan
One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva
**Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern -- The marketing for this book calls it The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor & Park. As, or maybe more, interesting is that the original pitch for this book was The Fault in Our Stars meets Wonder.
Trouble by Non Pratt
The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegel
Summer on the Short Bus by Bethany Crandell
Both starred titles above were compared to both Green and Rowell's books. But they're not alone in with that comparison. Here's a short list of titles out next year -- and a couple set for 2015 -- that are also comped to one or both of those in the coming year.
Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor -- this one notes that it follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars. Which I guess suggests no one wrote about cancer before?
Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy -- on Edelweiss, this one is called The Fault in Our Stars meets Sarah Dessen.
Invincible by Amy Reed -- this is just the pitch for the book, which sounds like it's due out some time next year. I'll be interested in seeing if that's the same pitch that'll be used by marketing to sell the book to readers.
The End of the Beginning by Michelle Levy -- pitched as a "darker" Eleanor & Park to be published in 2015.
Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer -- in the same week the book above was announced, this book was announced as being a cross of The Interestings and The Fault in Our Stars. This is a 2015er, too.
I could probably pull up dozens more. Of course, it's easy to call to Green and Rowell as comparisons in a pitch or with marketing. Big names. Big exposure. But I think the comparisons start to mean nothing after a while.
I point to a middle grade novel next year that's being called "John Green for the middle grade." But it's a book with magic in it. So what does that even mean? The characters are actual people?
This is a trend that I hope goes out soon because it's meaningless, it's ascribing a huge amount of power to one or two individuals/books (I mean, "in the tradition" is a weighty phrase to toss around about a book which has only been out for two years), and it suggests that realistic books are one kind of thing, when we're talking about a rise in realistic fiction. It also undermines originality with the text at hand when it's heavily used as a marketing tool, in the sense that it may disappoint many readers and may turn off many other readers. While the comparisons are certainly helpful for those readers eager for a similar next read, they're less helpful in showcasing the wide range of realistic fiction that exists. I also think it perpetuates the myth of "the next big thing."
All that said, I have a feeling we'll see this going on for another year or two at least.
& Ampersands
Remember how in 2012 and 2013 we had a lot of titles with ampersands? Let's add a bunch more in 2014, too.
Allies & Assassins by Justin Somper
Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor
Embers & Ash by T. M. Goeglein
Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
High & Dry by Sarah Skilton -- I am going to get this cover confused with Melvin Burgess's The Hit , as they're both red, with a giant pill capsule in the center and a title which is only two real words long.
House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple
Red Heads
There's a long-running joke that there are more red heads in YA fiction than pretty much there are red heads in the world. I know I've read plenty of red heads. In 2014, we'll get to see plenty of red heads on the covers of YA, too.
Did I mention a theme of red in the coming year?
Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols
Creators by Tiffany Truitt
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Deception's Princess by Esther Friesner
Find Me Where the Water Ends by Rachel Carter
Night School Legacy by C. J. Daughtery
Minders by Michelle Jaffe
The Falconer by Elizabeth May
Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick
Speech Bubbles
How about covers with speech bubbles on it to hold the title in place? This isn't a huge trend -- only three covers have caught my eye with it so far -- but it was one that did catch my eye since I haven't seen it used a whole lot.
Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas
Hung Up by Kristen Tracy
When Mr. Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan
Sunglasses
I want to wrap up today's post on a fun one, which is sunglasses. There are a lot of sunglasses in 2014 making their appearance on people's faces on covers. We've got hipster sunglasses to the straight-out-of-the-1990s look.
Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski
Geek Girl: Picture Perfect by Holly Smale
My Faire Lady by Laura Wettersten -- Check out the flip flops, too. This cover is a riot and I think is completely spot-on for readership. You know exactly who this book is for and exactly who will pick it up off the shelf.
Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Tomorrow I'll have a ton more cover trends for 2014 to show off, and I'll pull out a handful of my favorites.
Any favorite covers among these? Any trends you're enjoying? What's catching your eye? I personally love the sunglasses one, and I think that the red cover look is really great -- it pops on a shelf, since it's such a bold color.
Related Stories& Titled: Ampersands in YA FictionHardcover to Paperback: Six YA Book Makeovers to ConsiderHardcover to Paperback: Five to Check Out
Not all of these are tried-and-true trends nor will they necessarily play out all year long, but they're common things I've noticed among a number of covers that stuck out to me. Some books will pop up multiple times, and I'll certainly miss some within the trends. It's only a glimpse of covers I've seen, too, among the publisher catalogs that are readily available to peruse. In other words: this isn't science. But I like to think of this series of posts as a look ahead to the new year in YA. Of course, if other 2014 titles which will be traditionally published fit any of these trends, I'd love to know in the comments.
Links go to the book's listing on Goodreads, since posting the descriptions with the titles would make these posts way too long. With that, let's dig in!
Feathered
Last year, I pointed out an interesting trend of birds on YA covers. We won't be getting too far away from that in 2014, actually, as books like Conversion will keep it going a bit. But what I found to be an interesting trend this year was that feathers are making quite an appearance. There are bird feathers of all sorts to be found in the coming year.
Bloodwitch by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Empower by Jessica Shirvington
Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
Fragile Spirits by Mary Lindsey
Infinite by Jodi Meadows
The Island of Excess Love by Francesca Lia Block
Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
White Space by Ilsa J. Bick -- this might be continuing the bird trend, too, but I'm looking at all of the many feathers.
Something's On Fire
It appears there's something ablaze next year in YA (no, I won't apologize for the pun). Here's a handful of covers featuring a little -- or a lot of -- flame on them. I think there's a bigger trend here, actually, of red being a predominant color on covers in 2014.
Demon Derby by Carrie Harris
Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
Incinerator by Niall Leonard
Summoned by Anne M. Pillsworth
Timestorm by Julie Cross
Daggers
The 2014 weapon of choice is the dagger. There are daggers as symbols and representative of the whole story on the cover, and then there are daggers in the hands of people. More specifically, those daggers are in the hands of females -- is there something to that? Does it make her appear strong visually or is it because a dagger is a weapon of choice for female characters? Both?
Defy by Sara B. Larson
Lady Thief by A. C. Gaughen -- Incidentally, this is one of my favorite titles of 2014. It's so simple but at the same time, it tells you so much about the story without even needing to look at the description of the book.
Passionaries by Tonya Hurley -- This series was redesigned, and I think for the better. Though, this is still kind of lost on me a bit.
Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
Summoned by Anne M. Pillsworth
The Falconer by Elizabeth May
The Queen's Choice by Cayla Kluver
Warrior by Ellen Oh
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
The Illustrated Cover
Can we call this trend what it is? It's the Eleanor & Park alike trend. Illustrated covers were very rare for YA, but there's little doubt in my mind that that book's success made illustrated covers look like a possible winning choice. But these aren't just illustrated covers: they're illustrated covers that make no illusions about the fact the story is a romance.
While we're at it, can we talk about another trend here, which is calling a number of these books read alikes to Eleanor & Park? Between Rowell's book and the comparisons to John Green and/or his book The Fault in Our Stars, I think there's definitely a push toward more realistic fiction in YA. But it's a very specific kind of realistic fiction.
Before I dive into that a little more, let's look at the illustrated covers, shall we? Some of these are fully illustrated and others are illustrated with something non illustrated layered on top.
Fool Me Twice by Mandy Hubbard
Solving For Ex by Leigh Ann Kopans -- The girl image here was used on a YA book in 2009 or 2010, and it happens to be the same stock image girl who is used in a Mango Languages advertisement, too. I can't remember the name of the book, and I think they'd changed her hair color to be brown in it. Anyone know?
Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae
These first three aren't the best at highlighting the real trend I'm noting, but I'm putting them first so the visual impact of the trend pops out in the next sets of covers.
Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff
Like No Other by Una LaMarche
**Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan -- This is called "perfect" for fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell
Love By The Morning Star by Laura L. Sullivan
One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva
**Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern -- The marketing for this book calls it The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor & Park. As, or maybe more, interesting is that the original pitch for this book was The Fault in Our Stars meets Wonder.
Trouble by Non Pratt
The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegel
Summer on the Short Bus by Bethany Crandell
Both starred titles above were compared to both Green and Rowell's books. But they're not alone in with that comparison. Here's a short list of titles out next year -- and a couple set for 2015 -- that are also comped to one or both of those in the coming year.
Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor -- this one notes that it follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars. Which I guess suggests no one wrote about cancer before?
Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy -- on Edelweiss, this one is called The Fault in Our Stars meets Sarah Dessen.
Invincible by Amy Reed -- this is just the pitch for the book, which sounds like it's due out some time next year. I'll be interested in seeing if that's the same pitch that'll be used by marketing to sell the book to readers.
The End of the Beginning by Michelle Levy -- pitched as a "darker" Eleanor & Park to be published in 2015.
Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer -- in the same week the book above was announced, this book was announced as being a cross of The Interestings and The Fault in Our Stars. This is a 2015er, too.
I could probably pull up dozens more. Of course, it's easy to call to Green and Rowell as comparisons in a pitch or with marketing. Big names. Big exposure. But I think the comparisons start to mean nothing after a while.
I point to a middle grade novel next year that's being called "John Green for the middle grade." But it's a book with magic in it. So what does that even mean? The characters are actual people?
This is a trend that I hope goes out soon because it's meaningless, it's ascribing a huge amount of power to one or two individuals/books (I mean, "in the tradition" is a weighty phrase to toss around about a book which has only been out for two years), and it suggests that realistic books are one kind of thing, when we're talking about a rise in realistic fiction. It also undermines originality with the text at hand when it's heavily used as a marketing tool, in the sense that it may disappoint many readers and may turn off many other readers. While the comparisons are certainly helpful for those readers eager for a similar next read, they're less helpful in showcasing the wide range of realistic fiction that exists. I also think it perpetuates the myth of "the next big thing."
All that said, I have a feeling we'll see this going on for another year or two at least.
& Ampersands
Remember how in 2012 and 2013 we had a lot of titles with ampersands? Let's add a bunch more in 2014, too.
Allies & Assassins by Justin Somper
Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor
Embers & Ash by T. M. Goeglein
Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
High & Dry by Sarah Skilton -- I am going to get this cover confused with Melvin Burgess's The Hit , as they're both red, with a giant pill capsule in the center and a title which is only two real words long.
House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple
Red Heads
There's a long-running joke that there are more red heads in YA fiction than pretty much there are red heads in the world. I know I've read plenty of red heads. In 2014, we'll get to see plenty of red heads on the covers of YA, too.
Did I mention a theme of red in the coming year?
Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols
Creators by Tiffany Truitt
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Deception's Princess by Esther Friesner
Find Me Where the Water Ends by Rachel Carter
Night School Legacy by C. J. Daughtery
Minders by Michelle Jaffe
The Falconer by Elizabeth May
Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick
Speech Bubbles
How about covers with speech bubbles on it to hold the title in place? This isn't a huge trend -- only three covers have caught my eye with it so far -- but it was one that did catch my eye since I haven't seen it used a whole lot.
Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas
Hung Up by Kristen Tracy
When Mr. Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan
Sunglasses
I want to wrap up today's post on a fun one, which is sunglasses. There are a lot of sunglasses in 2014 making their appearance on people's faces on covers. We've got hipster sunglasses to the straight-out-of-the-1990s look.
Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski
Geek Girl: Picture Perfect by Holly Smale
My Faire Lady by Laura Wettersten -- Check out the flip flops, too. This cover is a riot and I think is completely spot-on for readership. You know exactly who this book is for and exactly who will pick it up off the shelf.
Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Tomorrow I'll have a ton more cover trends for 2014 to show off, and I'll pull out a handful of my favorites.
Any favorite covers among these? Any trends you're enjoying? What's catching your eye? I personally love the sunglasses one, and I think that the red cover look is really great -- it pops on a shelf, since it's such a bold color.
Related Stories& Titled: Ampersands in YA FictionHardcover to Paperback: Six YA Book Makeovers to ConsiderHardcover to Paperback: Five to Check Out
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