Happy New Year! I hope you’re safe and well. As is now the tradition, the first post of the year is a look back at some of the young adult covers of last year. The usual caveats apply of course. Not much YA crosses my desk at work, which is mostly indie publishing, and it is not a category I follow closely apart from what my kids are reading, so my insight here is limited. Still, I think at some of the stuff I wrote about the industry in my 2023 post on adult covers probably holds true for YA too. The toll of the past few years has led to a certain amount of risk aversion from both publishers and designers (albeit for different reasons), and my sense is that folks are bracing for more of the same in 2024. I would guess that genre expectations within the broader YA category have limited the room for experimentation too. Some things need to look the same it seems. But even if there is some conservatism in the current design approaches (if it ain’t broke…), and things in general feel pretty grim, there is a remarkable amount of diversity and representation on the covers of YA books — and perhaps even among the designers and illustrators themselves — and that feels like something that should be celebrated. I’ve tried my best to get all the credits for the covers, but please let me know if I missed anyone out — I’ll be happy to update the post where necessary.
All That’s Left To Say by Emery Lord; art direction by Jeanette Levy; illustration by Adele Leyris (Bloomsbury YA / July 2023)
All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyer; design by Micah Fleming; illustration by Rachelle Baker (Harry N. Abrams / September 2023)
Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa; design by Kerri Resnick; illustration by Max Reed (Wednesday Books / May 2023)
Champion of Fate by Kendare Blake; design by David Curtis; art by Tomasz Majewski (Quill Tree Books / September 2023)
Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle; design by Greg Stadnyk; illustration by Signum Noir (Margaret K. McElderry Books / October 2023)
Daughters of Oduma by Moses Ose Utomi; design by Greg Stadnik; illustration by Laylie Frazier (Atheneum Books for Young Readers / February 2023)
A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen; design by Greg Stadnik; illustration by Bose Collins (Margaret K. McElderry Books / March 2023)
Ever Since by Alena Bruzas; design by Kristie Radwilowicz; art by Suzanne Dias (Rocky Pond Books / May 2023)
Everyone’s Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni; design by Corina Lupp; illustration by Otesanya (Balzer & Bray / September 2023)
Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell; design by Catherine Lee; illustration by Yejin Park (Harperteen / March 2023)
The Girl Next Door by Cecilia Vinesse; design by Erin Fitzsimmons; art by Tomasz Majewski (Quill Tree Books / May 2023)
Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite; design by Maria T. Middleton; art by Jeff Manning (Walker Books / September 2023)
Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim; art direction by Angela Carlino; art by Tran Nguyen; lettering by Alix Northrup (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers / August 2023)
Tran Nguyen and Alix Northrup also worked on the covers for Elizabeth Lim’s previous books Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragon’s Promise, which appeared on the 2021 and 2022 lists respectively.
A Hundred Vicious Turns by Lee Page O’Brien; design by Micah Fleming; illustration by Corey Brickley (Harry N. Abrams / September 2023)
This is the first of many covers featuring Corey Brickley’s lovely work on the list!
I feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea; design by Kathleen Breitenfeld; art by Rich Deas; lettering by Jordan Metcalf (Henry Holt BYR / August 2023)
I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu; design by Laura Eckes (Simon & Schuster BYR / March 2023)
Immortality by Dana Schwartz; design by Kerri Resnick; illustration by Zach Meyer (Wednesday Books / February 2023)
The cover for Anatomy by Dana Schwartz was on last year’s list. I wonder what vital organ shaped dress we will get next?
In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee; design by Kirk Benshoff; art by Deb JJ Lee (First Second / March 2023)
Invisible Son by Kim Johnson; art by Chuck Styles (Random House BYR / June 2023)
The Isle of the Gods by Amie Kaufman; design Angela Carlino; art by Aykut Aydoğdu (Alfred A. Knopf BYR / May 2023)
The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst; design by Catherine Lee; illustration by Elena Masci (Harperteen / April 2023)
The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan; design by Kelley Brady; illustration by Michael Rogers (G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR / August 2023)
Coincidentally these two covers combined would have a complete face…
Never a Hero by Vanessa Len; design by Jessie Gang; art by Eevien Tan (Harperteen / August 2023)
The cover for Only a Monster by Vanessa Len was also on last year’s list.
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi; design by Jenna Stempel-Lobell; art by Nettrice Gaskins (Balzer & Bray / May 2023)
Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin; design by Katie Klimowicz (Tor Nightfire / June 2023)
(Technically this isn’t YA, it’s categorized as “Fiction / Coming of Age,” but I figure there’s crossover here so I’m including it anyway)
The Only Girl in Town by Ally Condie; design by Theresa Evangelista (Dutton BYR / September 2023)
Painted Devils by Margaret Owen; design by Rich Deas; art by M.S. Corley (Henry Holt / May 2023)
Rook by William Ritter; design by Laura Williams; illustration by Corey Brickley (Algonquin YR / August 2023)
Algonquin also reissued the whole Jackaby series in paperback with new covers to match:
The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker; design by Kathleen Oudit & Gigi Lau; photography Lillian Liu (Inkyard Press / October 2023)
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran; design by Thy Bui; illustration by Elena Masci (Bloomsbury YA / Feburary 2023)
Something Like Possible by Miel Moreland; design by Julia Bianchi; illustration by Bex Glendining (Feiwel & Friends / May 2023)
The Space Between Here and Now by Sarah Suk; design by David Curtis (Quill Tree Books / October 2023)
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White; illustration by Evangeline Gallagher (Peachtree Teen / September 2023)
Evangeline Gallagher also provided the cover illustration for Andrew Joseph White’s previous book Hell Followed With Us.
Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou; design by Kristie Radwilowicz; illustration by Corey Brickley (Razorbill / May 2023)
The Twenty-One by Elizabeth Rusch; design by Paul Zakris; illustration by Will Staehle (Greenwillow Books / September 2023)
The Voice Upstairs by Laura E. Weymouth; design by Debra Sfetsios-Conover; illustration by Marcela Bolivar (Margaret K. McElderry Books / October 2023)
Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley; design by Rich Deas; art by Michaela Goade (Henry Holt / May 2023)
Where There’s Smoke by E. B. Vickers; design by Ray Shappell (Alfred A. Knopf BYR / December 2023)
Wise Creatures by Deirdre Sullivan; design by Nick Stearn; illustration by Corey Brickley (Hot Key Books / September 2023)
Zhara by S. Jae-Jones; design by Kerri Resnick; illustration by Sija Hong (Wednesday Books / August 2023)
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