BOOK REPORT for American Street by Ibi Zoboi
Cover Story: Fabulous Big Face
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Talky Talk: More Than Meets the Eye
Bonus Factors: Immigration, Sisters, Haitian Culture, Detroit
Relationship Status: Friendly Exes
Cover Story: Fabulous Big Face
GORGEOUS. I love how there's a golden hibiscus to symbolize Haitian culture surrounded by the very American blue and red colors. Well played, Balzer + Bray!
The Deal:
After having left their life in Port-au-Prince behind, Fabiola ...
BOOK REPORT for The Edge of Everything (Untitled #1) by Jeff Giles
Cover Story: Bring an Extinguisher
BFF Charm: Meh
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Talky Talk: Paranormal Boy Meets Girl
Bonus Factor: Bounty Hunter From Hell
Factor: Series Starter
Anti-Bonus Factor: Instalove
Relationship Status: I’ll Be Back
Cover Story: Bring an Extinguisher
Is that snow on fire? Something tells me this kind of flame calls for something more than your standard “stop, drop and roll.”
The Deal:
A few months ...
BOOK REPORT for City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson
Cover Story: Obscured Big Face
BFF Charm: Let Me Love You
Swoonworthy Scale: 2 - Eleventy Billion
Talky Talk: Switcheroo
Bonus Factor: Untold Stories
Relationship Status: Actually, Could You Introduce Me to Your (Nonfiction) Friend?
Cover Story: Obscured Big Face
As stunning – and familiar – as this is, I like it a lot more as an image than as a book cover, which I prefer to be more ...
BOOK REPORT for That Burning Summer by Lydia Syson
Cover Story: Bucolic Battlefield
BFF Charm: Maybe
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Talky Talk: SWALK
Bonus Factor: Annoying Little Brother
Relationship Status: Keep Calm and Carry On
Cover Story: Bucolic Battlefield
This cover manages to make war seem like something that happens at a distance. It’s lovely, but it’s also a Standard Historical Fiction Cover: soft, sepia-toned people caught in a specific moment.
The Deal:
It’s 1940 in England. Peggy and her ...
BOOK REPORT for History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
Cover Story: Night and Day
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Talky Talk: Past and Present
Anti-Bonus Factor: Mental Illness
Relationship Status: Let’s Be Friends
Cover Story: Night and Day
One boy walks in the night. The other, in the day. Never the twain shall meet.
The Deal:
Theo was Griffin’s first love. But when Theo moved to California to go to college, Griffin tested out that ...
BOOK REPORT for Freeks by Amanda Hocking
Cover Story: Big Top, Big Skirt
BFF Charm: Maybe
Swoonworthy Scale: 7
Talky Talk: Cheap Thrill Seekers, Vendors and the Dealers
Bonus Factors: Traveling Carnival, Mysterious Loner Dude, Diversity
Relationship Status: Lurking in the Shadows
Cover Story: Big Top, Big Skirt
Aside from the literal “under her skirt” commentary this cover elicits, I like it—the mysterious tattooed girl, a full moon, a carnival, and a lone wolf are all elements that ...
BOOK REPORT for The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee
Cover Story: Behold, The Field In Which I Gather My Scents
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 8
Talky Talk: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme
Bonus Factors: Gardening, Diversity, Bay Area
Relationship Status: High School Sweetheart
Cover Story: Behold, The Field In Which I Gather My Scents
I’m not a huge fan of this cover. The lettering and decoration are gorgeous, but they’re at odds with the stock photo ...
BOOK REPORT for Iceling (Book 1) by Sasha Stephenson
Cover Story: Two Girls and a Buoy (Theme)
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 2
Talky Talk: Many Monologues
Bonus Factors: Conspiracy, Dog Calling
Anti-Bonus Factor: Confusing Geography
Relationship Status: Passing Ships in the Night
Cover Story: Two Girls and Buoy (Theme)
Something about Anthony Elder's illustration is a little throwback and nautical, resulting in a cover that's rather eye-catching and – wait for it – cool.
The Deal ...
