Welcome back to The Booked Shelf where we’re wrapping up some of the fantastic covers that’ve been revealed so far during the month of August! There have been 7 covers for upcoming YA novels from fantasy to thrillers, which readers can expect on shelves in 2022!
1. Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve
On August 2 Ray Stoeve revealed through their Instagram, the cover to their second YA novel titled Arden Grey which is pitched as “insightful, raw [Young Adult] novel about a young photographer navigating toxic relationships and how they influence her identity.”
Cover designer is Hana Nakamura. Arden Grey is set to be released April 26, 2022!
Sixteen-year-old Arden Grey is struggling. Her mother has left their family, her father and her younger brother won’t talk about it, and a classmate, Tanner, keeps harassing her about her sexuality—which isn’t even public. (She knows she likes girls romantically, but she thinks she might be asexual.) At least she’s got her love of film photography and her best and only friend, Jamie, to help her cope. Then Jamie, who is trans, starts dating Caroline, and suddenly he isn’t so reliable. Arden’s insecurity about their friendship grows. She starts to wonder if she’s jealous or if Jamie’s relationship with Caroline is somehow unhealthy—and it makes her reconsider how much of her relationship with her absent mom wasn’t okay, too.
2. The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder
As of August 3, Leslie Vedder revealed through Twitter the cover to her forthcoming debut novel The Bone Spindle which she has pitched as “Sleeping Beauty x Indiana Jones with 2 girl treasure hunters, 2 love stories, and a whole lot of snark!!”
Cover artist is Fernanda Suarez. The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder is set to be released January 11, 2022!
Fi is a bookish treasure hunter with a knack for ruins and riddles, who definitely doesn’t believe in true love.
Shane is a tough-as-dirt girl warrior from the north who likes cracking skulls, pretty girls, and doing things her own way.
Briar Rose is a prince under a sleeping curse, who’s been waiting a hundred years for the kiss that will wake him.
Cursed princes are nothing but ancient history to Fi–until she pricks her finger on a bone spindle while exploring a long-lost ruin. Now she’s stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose until she and Shane can break the century-old curse on his kingdom.
Dark magic, Witch Hunters, and bad exes all stand in her way–not to mention a mysterious witch who might wind up stealing Shane’s heart, along with whatever else she’s after. But nothing scares Fi more than the possibility of falling in love with Briar Rose.
3. Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
Through the Tor.com blog on August 4 was an exclusive cover reveal and excerpt for Emily Taylor’s upcoming YA fantasy pitched as The Night Circus meets Caraval set against the “backdrop of a magical Belle Époque-inspired hotel” titled Hotel Magnifique.
Cover artist is Jim Tierney and designer is Kristie Radwilowicz. Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor is set to be released April 5, 2022!
For fans of Caraval and The Night Circus, this decadent and darkly enchanting YA fantasy, set against the backdrop of a Belle Époque-inspired hotel, follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique.
Seventeen-year-old orphan Jani dreams of leaving the cramped, filthy port town of Durc, but she’s resigned to the reality of her life: working second shifts at a tannery to make ends meet and caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the legendary Hotel Magnifique—the magical hotel that appears in a new location each morning—comes to town.
While they can’t afford the exorbitant cost of a guest’s stay, Jani and Zosa can interview for jobs in the hotel. And luck is on their side—with just a stroke of ink on paper, and an intervention by the vexingly handsome bellhop, the two girls are hired and swept into a world of adventure and wonderment. But despite the allure, Jani quickly begins to realize that something isn’t quite right. None of the staff seem to remember their homes, yet Jani’s memory is perfectly intact. It’s clear that beneath the mysterious glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.
Most dangerous of all is the maître d’hôtel, a ruthless man who, Jani discovers, holds the hotel staff prisoner by the magical ink of the contracts they sign. But what Jani can’t understand is why he won’t let them leave. With Bel the bellhop as her guide and confidante, Jani embarks on a mission to uncover the secrets of the hotel and free Zosa and the other staff from the cruelty of the maître. To succeed, she’ll need to harness a power she never knew she had, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.
4. Ashes Of Gold by J. Elle
From NYT Bestselling and Junior Library Guild Select author J. Elle comes the anticipated follow-up and conclusion to her Wings Of Ebony duology titled Ashes Of Gold. On August 5, The Houston Chronicle had an exclusive feature to spotlight the cover and what readers can expect in early 2022.
Cover artist is Taj Francis. Ashes Of Gold is set to be released on January 11, 2022!
In the heart-pounding conclusion to the Wings of Ebony duology, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicole Yoon calls “bold, inventive, big-hearted and deeply perceptive,” Rue makes her final stand to reclaim her people’s stolen magic.
Rue has no memory of how she ended up locked in a basement prison without her magic or her allies. But she’s a girl from the East Row. And girls from the East Row don’t give up. Girls from the East Row pick themselves back up when they fall. Girls from the East Row break themselves out.
But reuniting with her friends is only half the battle. When she finds them again, Rue makes a vow: she will find a way to return the magic that the Chancellor has stolen from her father’s people. Yet even on Yiyo Peak, Rue is a misfit—with half a foot back in Houston and half a heart that is human as well as god, she’s not sure she’s the right person to lead the fight to reclaim a glorious past.
When a betrayal sends her into a tailspin, Rue must decide who to trust and how to be the leader that her people deserve…because if she doesn’t, it isn’t just Yiyo that will be destroyed—it will be Rue herself.
5. Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets by Chelsea Ichaso
On Twitter as of August 6, Chelsea Ichaso revealed the cover to her sophomore YA Thriller titled Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets in which the author has said to get ready for “sisters, suspects, and a trail full of secrets!”
Cover designer is Erin Fitzsimmons. Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets by Chelsea Ichaso is set to be released April 5, 2022!
Piper’s fall was no accident. Did someone want her dead? It’s up to her sister to discover the truth in this shocking new thriller with an unreliable narrator, from the acclaimed author of Little Creeping Things.
Piper Sullivan was in a strange hiking accident last month and has been in a coma ever since. Her older sister, Savannah, can’t pretend to be optimistic about it; things look bad. Piper will likely never wake up, and Savannah will never get any answers about what exactly happened.
But then Savannah finds a note in Piper’s locker, inviting Piper to a meeting of their school’s wilderness club…at the very place and on the very day that she fell. Which means there was a chance that Piper wasn’t alone. Someone might’ve seen something. Worse, someone might’ve done something. But who would want to hurt the perfect Piper Sullivan…and why?
To discover the truth, Savannah joins the club on their weekend-long camping trip on the same mountain where her sister fell. But she better be careful; everyone in the club is a suspect, and everyone seems to be keeping secrets about that tragic day.
And Savannah? She’s been keeping secrets, too…
6. Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
On August 11, National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi revealed through Twitter a forthcoming novel which will be a companion to Emezi’s Pet (2019) is going to explore “both the importance and cost of social revolution–and how youth lead the way.”
Cover artist is Shyama Golden. Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi is set to be released February 15, 2022!
After a childhood in foster care, Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the city of Lucille.
Bitter’s instinct is to stay safe within the walls of Eucalyptus . . . but her friends aren’t willing to settle for a world that’s so far away from what they deserve. Pulled between old friendships, her artistic passion, and a new romance, Bitter isn’t sure where she belongs–in the studio or in the streets. And if she does find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost?
This timely and riveting novel–a companion to the National Book Award finalist Pet–explores the power of youth, protest, and art.
7. The Dream Runners by Shveta Thakrar
Revealed through Twitter on August 11, was the cover to Shveta Thakrar’s upcoming YA Fantasy standalone titled The Dream Runners which will follow Tanvi, a girl who was spirited away to the subterranean realm of Nagalok. However, when she uncovers her memories from Earth she turns to the only other mortal who can help, Venkat, whose studying under an influential lord and looking to end a war.
Cover artist is Charlie Bowater and designer is Corina Lupp. The Dream Runners by Shveta Thakrar is set to be released June 28, 2022!
Seven years ago, Tanvi was spirited away to the subterranean realm of Nagalok, where she joined the ranks of the dream runners: human children freed of all memory and emotion, charged with harvesting mortal dreams for the consumption of the naga court.
Venkat knows a different side of Nagalok. As apprentice to the influential Lord Nayan, he shapes the dream runners’ wares into the kingdom’s most tantalizing commodity. And Nayan has larger plans for these mortal dreams: with a dreamsmith of Venkat’s talent, he believes he can use them to end a war between nagas and their ancient foe, the garudas.
But when one of Tanvi’s dream harvests goes awry, she begins to remember her life on Earth. Panicked and confused, she turns to the one mortal in Nagalok who can help: Venkat. And as they search for answers, a terrifying truth begins to take shape—one that could turn the nagas’ realm of dreams into a land of waking nightmare.
Additional Cover Reveals ↷
➣ In The Serpent’s Wake by Rachel Hartman was revealed through Twitter. This is the sequel to Hartman’s Tess Of The Road series (August 11, 2021)
[All Cover artists, designers, art directors, etc. are credited based on the articles, tweets, or from the authors themselves if they were mentioned / For additional information check the links provided]
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