Some of my colleagues over at The Lucky 13s got to reveal their covers recently. That means their pub dates are drawing near! I happen to love book covers--a good cover is a work of art. I think these qualify. Here they are, with summaries from Goodreads.com:
The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell
January 10, 2013, Dial Books for Young Readers
"Having already survived
six years at the Tildor's top military academy, sixteen-year-old Renee
De Winter is determined to graduate, training day and night to compete
with her male classmates. When the boys overpower her parries, she works
harder. When a bully sabotages her gear, she fights without it. But
when an underground crime group captures her mentor for its illegal
gladiatorial games, she must choose between her career and her
conscience. Determined to penetrate the group's inner circles, Renee
will leap from academia to the crime filled streets, pick up a sword,
and weigh law against loyalty."
Dualed by Elsie Chapman
February 26, 2013, Random House
"The city of Kersh is a
safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic
Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their
worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday.
Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.
Fifteen-year-old
West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her
assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her
Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with
grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of
herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of
winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from
love . . . though both have the power to destroy her."
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
January 2013, Balzer + Bray
"London, 1894. Juliet
Moreau has built a life for herself—working as a maid, attending church
on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her
life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s
gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and
continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to
find out if the accusations were true.
Juliet is accompanied by
the doctor’s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who
both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the
island only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: he has
created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave
as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is
killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father’s
dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is
mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos,
she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own
blood."
Prophecy by Ellen Oh
2013, HarperTeen
"The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms . . . is a girl with yellow eyes.
Kira’s
the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a
demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city
of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope. . . .
Murdered kings and
discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run
with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King
Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With
only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon
soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once
lost and raise a prince into a king.
Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy."
Taken by Erin Bowman
April 16, 2013, HarperTeen
"There are no men in
Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on
his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding
light descends...and he’s gone.
They call it the Heist.
Gray
Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared
to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and
starts to question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council
leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies
beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can
cross and survive.
Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes
after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be
taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side?"
So, you got a book cover, or what? They just gonna wrap it in burlap?
Actually, yes, I have a book cover, but my pub date is a ways out still, so there's no point buzzing about it too soon. In a few months, maybe I'll reveal it. Bwa-ha.