These covers, y’all. If there’s such a thing as a swoon streak, I’m on it. And dibs on that ridiculous term if it hasn’t been coined already.

If the cover art for Naomi Shihab Nye’s There Is No Long Distance Now was a type of dessert, I’d liken it to a traditional black and white cookie. It’s simple, sweet, and brushed with a flair of fancy. Fortunately for me, this cover art won’t make me run three miles to work off those calories. Fortunately for you, I’ve got the woman responsible for spearheading this lovely cover on the blog today. Please give a warm welcome to Sylvie Le Floc’h of Greenwillow Books!

TCG: First things first — what’s your story as an associate art director? Have you always wanted to work in design?

SL: I always knew I wanted to work on something closely related to typography. I took extra art classes in high school, and I had a wonderful teacher who didn’t impose traditional art forms—which was good, since I’m not great at drawing. My teacher let me design posters, cards, page layouts, and create my own type. Keep in mind this was way, way, way before Macs or even Xerox machines, so I had to be very meticulous. At the time, I didn’t realize you could earn a living designing book jackets, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. 

Later on, I attended industrial design school in Paris. I created new typefaces using scratchboard and a Rapidograph.

The teacher would literally come over and use a magnifying glass to make sure all the curves and connections were perfect.  Therefore, I was exposed to many design concepts before finally enrolling at Parsons in New York.  

Eventually I figured I wanted to do covers and got my first job at Dutton Children’s Books. I’m lucky, because I’ve always been able to do what I enjoy, and I get to design for a broad age group: everything from picture books to YA novels. It keeps my job unique and interesting.

The book has 39 poems. I usually start by reading the book, then I collect images to see what works best as the cover, and made a sketch cover.

For TINLDN, I knew I wanted a typographic cover, therefore I needed an artist who could do something fun with type. I collect samples from artists I like, so I had Ryan O’Rourke already in mind. I thought it was a perfect match, and he has the coolest birdhouses!

O’Rourke’s earlier drafts

During the preliminary stages, Ryan created a series of sketches. The first few samples looked a little too young and the colors made it feel retro. I told Ryan, “I want a New Yorker cover, but for YA.” Together, we played with the type and decided to emphasize the feeling of distance, thus the map, bird, and font were created!

I once had the perfect photo for a jacket. Everything was going smoothly. The author loved it, the editor loved it, and finally, marketing loved it. 

The teen featured in the photo was good-looking, which is always a plus in YA fiction. The model captured the feeling of the novel very well, and he was gesturing with his hands, which made the picture even better, more active. I mean, isn’t that what teenagers are always trying to do? Express themselves?

Upon closer inspection, the way the model was gesturing seemed strange. It looked like he was trying to relay some secret code, or perhaps even throwing up a gang sign. So we called in an expert to analyze.   

He found NOTHING.

I decided to glance through the other pictures from the photo shoot and realized the shoot took place in Europe (I could tell by the buildings). I figured the model was just trying to seem cool and American.

Our copyeditor then checked to see if the gestures could be matched to sign language.  Turns out, the model was making the sign for “8″ with each hand. I guess he was saying “88.” Everyone at Greenwillow agreed that he had no idea what he was doing, and that it was probably harmless.

However, the same editor then Googled “88” and found out that in Europe, the sign means you’re a Neo-Nazi sympathizer. So I realized the model knew exactly what he was doing, and we decided to pass on his photo.

This might sound silly, but I like Chad Beckerman’s work. Chad worked at Greenwillow Books as a designer and now is the art director at Abrams. I’ve always admired the subtleties he brings to his jackets.

(Loving Chad Beckerman’s work will never be silly, as I am a self-professed Beckerman fangirl!)

One of my favorite jacket this season is Masque of the Red Death. I love the jacket art done by Sammy Yuen. I  like his YA covers.

Also, I’m a big fan of Paul O. Zelinsky. I like his sense of humor, and I think his art has a lot to offer. I highly recommend Wheels on the Bus in particular.

Le Corbusier is also on my list. 

Villa Savoye, designed by Swiss architects La Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret

When I tell people I designed a jacket, they automatically assume I made the art. Sometimes I’ll create a jacket using photo stock images, but usually the art is made by an illustrator, photographer, or typographer. So I’m more of a match-maker, putting the right artist with the right author. My contribution to the design is concept, type and assembly. The author/artist, and of course , marketing and sales also have a say.

I wish there were more gender-neutral covers. Many books feature beautiful female models and are geared toward girls. I’ll be the first to admit that I choose books based on their covers, but I expect the content to deliver what the image sells. Also, I believe in the adage “less is more.”

I will always love seeing my books as finished products on the shelf.

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog, Sylvie! Cheers to many, many more fantastic match-made-in-cover-art-heaven covers, too.

No seriously, have y’all heard about the book, The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse?

To be perfectly honest, when Courtney Summers told me about this cover art on Twitter, the first thing I thought was, “What?” The second thing I thought was, “That’s some crazybusiness.” And then when I finally decided to act like an adult, I hopped on Google, needing to find out who designed the cover as well as who was responsible for that photography.

There are some covers that are attractive by way of mystery. In fact, if I could borrow a trope from Forever Young Adult’s reviews, I’d peg this cover as falling deftly into the category of “mysterious loner dude” and call it a day. It’s the kind of cover that makes you wonder how it came to look like that. What kind of journey has this faceless girl been on? Why is she faceless? Why is a satellite there instead of her brain. And yet — it isn’t purposefully obtuse, but provocative. A layer of desaturation coated with harsh and colorful lines certainly serves up an interesting YA cover cocktail. I’m hoping The Forsaken will stand out proudly on shelves from the rest of the pack.

The lovely Lisa M. Stasse herself was kind enough to stop by TCG today and let me prod her brain a bit for even more cover-lovin’. Without further ado, welcome, Lisa!

TCG: Let’s delve a little bit into The Forsaken’s story before getting to its cover art. What is The Forsaken all about?

LMS: The Forsaken is about a girl named Alenna Shawcross who fails a government personality test (that supposedly tests for subversive and violent tendencies) and gets banished to a mysterious island called The Wheel that is controlled by machines. She has to forge alliances among the other banished kids, fight for survival, and find a way off the island. In the process of escaping, she falls in love with a boy—but her love gets tested. And she also learns some surprising things about the government, the island, and her own identity as well. So The Forsaken is definitely a dystopian novel, but one with a few big, unexpected twists! It’s being released July 10 by Simon & Schuster.

When it came to cover design time with S&S, did you have any input? If so, what suggestions were you able to make? Were you able to provide your designer/AD with covers that you liked? 

I really had my fingers crossed that I would get lucky with the cover. The credit for this cover goes completely to the fabulous designer Lizzy Bromley (as well as the photographer Dan Mountford and my editor Courtney Bongiolatti at Simon & Schuster). This is what they came up with on their own. Everyone who first saw the cover, myself included, completely loved it. I had a feeling that Lizzy would come up with something really cool—and she did. She’s done a lot of great covers over the past few years.

Lizzy Bromley certainly is an artistic genius. And Dan Mountford! Timeout folks, but you need to see this guy’s work.

(used with permission)

That’s not a Photoshop job, either. It’s an in-camera technique that produces a double exposure. Coincidentally, it also produces a need for fantastic art directors to work with you, too.

What was your reaction when you first saw the final comp for The Forsaken’s cover art. Surprise? Joy? Squeeing?

I was absolutely THRILLED when I saw the cover! It was everything I was hoping for. Something that looked really different and colorful, and would hopefully stand out. I also love how Lizzy tied it into the themes of the book as well. I think in this moment in time, it’s important for a book to stand out and have some personality.

What’s your favorite element (Yes! Only one element!) on the cover?

I love how the girl’s face is made up of those multicolored lines. I think it gives it a sort of edgy, unique look. It’s a little mysterious. And it ties in with the story too.

What’s your overall opinion in regards to cover art in the YA realm? Generally speaking, do you think that YA tends to flail in the shallow end of the design pool, or have you noticed more and more covers (like The Forsaken’s) breaking molds as of late? 

I think YA covers are getting better and better. There are definitely some covers that look fairly similar to each other, but I’m starting to see more unusual ones emerge from the pack. I love it when I discover a book with a really fantastic cover. Whether it’s just a really beautiful one, or a really strange one, I tend to get excited about it.

Name three of your favorite covers (they don’t have to be YA).

So here are three favorite covers:

1. Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma. (It’s a really gorgeous image—and the way it’s positioned makes it an extremely surreal and eye-catching cover).

2. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  (I love the black and white photo of the ghostly girl—the whole look of this cover is great).

3. Wither by Lauren DeStefano. (I love the design elements laid over that fantastic image—another great cover that was designed by Lizzy Bromley.)

There are so many opinions out there in regards to what makes a particular cover attractive. What makes exceptional cover art stand out to you?

I love covers that are unique and unusual—and stand out in a good way. I love it when designers, photographers, publishers, and authors take chances and come up with something really cool and different for the readers. Cover art that stands out to me is bold and colorful and risky and beautiful and vibrant (or at least some of those things!) The best covers should be like little works of art themselves.

Thank you so much for the interview, Lisa!

Take the cover art for Lauren Morrill’s Meant to Be, with its lovely London landscape.

No other cover here on TCG has made me immediately think such words as “bursting with vibrant romance” as this one. (See, again, this is why I’m not a writer.) In fact, this is probably going to be the only cover that makes me feel this way. A few months ago, someone tweeted about this little number, and I remember staring at this cover with a wide grin on my face. We’re talking a silly, goofy, most-likely-stupid-looking grin of ridiculous proportions here. For those of you who don’t know, I am very much a romantic. I love spark, sweetness and mushy feelings despite my snarky exterior. This cover pulls at all of those little strings, then ties them into a neat little bow. The comp pieces together layers that work in tandem – from color to texture to mood to title. It’s not an easy feat, considering that the grass shadows don’t match the subjects, nor are they in correct proportion. And the abstract explosion of pastels? All of these players are like the A-Team of cover art elements.

Enough of the swooning. So, which movie poster did this cover remind me of?

The bursts of color! The expressions on their faces! This poster makes me want to go and hug someone and twirl them around. Nuanced with romance that seeps from the details in this poster, it lights me up, just like Meant to Be. But perhaps I’m biased here, because I thought it was such a lovely little film. If you’ve seen the film, would you agree or disagree? If you’ve read Meant to Be, is it just as romantic as its cover implies?

And don’t worry, I won’t be tracking down your information or trying to kidnap your first-born (or cat) or anything. It’s completely anonymous.

Yeah, well, this version of cover talk is a little different, and far less serious. Because it’s Wednesday and let’s face it, you need a laugh. Behold, actual TALKING COVERS!

Eat your heart out, comics industry.

Now, on to the cover-lovin’!

I may be cheating a little bit here, because I’m not sure if the below cover is actually YA. All I saw was “coming of age” and a good chunk of YA shelving on Goodreads and, well, I liked the cover a lot, so in the vein of Warm Bodies, I’m lovin’ it anyway.

For such an extremely simple cover, the artwork for Durrow’s The Girl Who Fell from the Sky has a lot going on, in a good way. First of all, that girl. There’s something that strikes every curious bone in my body that makes me want to learn more about her. (Side note: I really hope you didn’t do a double take, thinking she had six extremities protruding from her rather than four.) The stacked title and small caps aren’t competing with Durrow’s name, which is always a plus. The color choice is certainly an interesting one, but its colors complement each other nicely without making the cover look too subdued. I should also mention that I’m a sucker for a soft gradient.

Some elements of a cover have you guessing where you should be looking, but this one reads in a simple swoop of the eyes, top to bottom. It’s a sharp design tactic, and it’s a smart play on words that come from its title.

If you take a look at Girl Who Fell from its side, it’s got a spine that can set itself apart from the pack, too. How many spines have you seen lately that read from top to bottom? (No neck cramps! Genius!) Designer Connie Gabbert, formerly of faceout studio, has put together an intriguing jacket design that makes me want to read this book yesterday. And after you’re done visiting Connie’s site, I don’t recommend visiting faceout’s site unless you fancy falling into an hour-long time-suck. If I ever visit Oregon, I will be stalking politely asking to tour their studio first.

Because…really?

Thanks (and no thanks) to Kelly for pointing out this cover. Did you think that crotchety covers were only relegated to female-focused YA artwork? Not so! Covers like the one above for Williams’ Teenage Rewrite show that both genders’ nether-regions are not safe from the crotchtastic cover.

Seriously, you would not believe how many times I’ve had to re-write this post to avoid penis puns. Do you know how difficult that is? I’ve never had to use a thesaurus with such frequency for such a minuscule amount of copy in my entire life.

And, just so I can re-emphasize where I stand:

Wear this badge with pride. (Not on your crotch.)

I actually have been writing, except it’s been elsewhere, actually. I’ve managed to trick convince two people that I actually know what I’m talking about, just in the past week, even! Please do give ‘em a look-see:

At YALSA’s The Hub, I talked about the fact that teens deserve good cover design too.

And at ohbygolly, I get a little more personal — and talk about the quirks of a nerdy marriage. And you may see a picture of me and hubs rockin’ our hipster glasses.

Enjoy, and I’ll be back soon. Big things will be happening around here very soon, I promise.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s another cover with not one, not two, but three faces. And faces on covers are certainly not my thing, right?

Au contraire. We have yet to discuss the case of the kick-ass heroine. There aren’t very many (that I’m aware of) in the YA realm, and I can probably only count a few on one hand that I’d pick up from a shelf. Adrienne Kress’ The Friday Society would definitely be one of them.

I think what I love most about the cover design is that it looks like a caper (and reminds me a little bit of Indiana Jones). Not the carefree and silly kind of caper, but the one that involves mystery, sleuthing, some wise-cracking dialogue and a generous helping of adventure. And weaponry-wielding, of course. Side note: if photographer Michael Frost had directed me to hold a katana I would not have been able to pull off such a look of don’t-cross-me-cos-I’ll-cut-you-ness. As for Nellie’s pose (on the far left), I think I would’ve been able to channel my inner Gambit for that role, definitely.

For a lot of elements happening all over its cover, it certainly comes together in a way that doesn’t feel overdone or overkill. Kudos to Penguin designer Greg Stadnyk for its subtleties that add to its overall design in an inconspicuous way. The artwork has bites of story, setting, tone and characters, and I’m really interested in seeing it in final print — texture would be a nice touch (no pun intended).

I’ll take a KH over a SGiPD any day of the week. What about you? What do you think?

And while you’re at it, make me swoon with your swash.

I discovered the cover art for Large Mammals, Stick Insects & Other Social Misfits earlier this month via Jacket Knack’s “Touch of Irish” post. The YA novel revolves around the life of 15-year-old Aimée that sounds just as quirky as this cover looks. The cover is designed by Fidelma Slattery (ahem, can we say awesome name?) better known as Someday. Social Misfits’ face is s a coupling of whimsical type and what I can only assume to be a sprinkling of clues that are tidbits of Aimée’s story. The combination of colors, movement, character and an interesting title on this artwork was enough to make me want to find out more about the book (and its publisher, Irish indie Little Island).

Oh, and the cupcake is a nice little bonus, too. Never mind that at the opposite end of that cupcake is a weight scale. I’ll just pretend I didn’t make that connection.