Category Archives: Cover Love

During lunch I typically read something from the shelves or the new cart that I can get through during the period which is usually a graphic novel, a manga, a short nonfiction book over a few days. This is in addition to the audiobook I have on for the car and housework. And in addition to the book I’m reading in the course of the day or week. So I know I’m in love with a book when my general reading book becomes my lunch reading book. That’s what happened when Emily X.R. Pan’s book, to be released in April, made its way into my life.

An Arrow To The Moon is includes elements of magical realism that were present in her first book The Astonishing Color of After. But this one had a layer of moodiness that lent an atmosphere of quiet desperation. Hunter’s family has hidden themselves away in ways Hunter has yet to grasp. But protecting his younger brother Cody helps him find purpose. He also has an instant connection to Luna, a girl who thought she wanted to be the stereotypical perfect Asian child: going to college, getting a well-paying job, doing as her parents say, staying away from boys. And that first connection (for a 90s girl who still owns the Romeo + Juliet DVD as well as the movie soundtrack) happens at a fish tank.

And the pieces begin to fit together. Pan’s use of multiple perspectives continually refreshes the story in addition to her short chapters though the book itself is a hearty 400 pages. I hurried up and then slowed down; I wanted to know what was going to happen next but I also didn’t want it to end. Though when it did I clutched it to my chest in awe of how Pan wove Chinese mythology with a pair of contemporary star-crossed lovers battling misperceptions and parental infidelity, secret-keeping and their own mythological beginnings. It has magic and it is magic.

This one was like Cupid’s arrow striking my heart, my big bookish heart that is a sucker for atmospheric and intelligent writing eager for something new and different. THIS was it.

Jennifer Dugan will publish four young adult fiction novels come May 17, 2022 with her newest, Melt With You. She does have some comics which I haven’t read, however, I have read all four of her YA fiction titles and I can tell you she works some unbelievable magic in between the pages of her books typically focused on love and coming-of-age.

First, let’s celebrate her titles and covers which are the first things teen readers see and evaluate. The titles tells you exactly what you’re getting and the covers do too. The artwork is soft but mixes the contemporary story with the illustrated style that pulls a person toward it.

Second, the books are character-centered. You can tell from the covers which all feature the main characters on the covers, but also the minute you step into the book, you’re in the middle of someone’s head: how they feel, what their conflict is, how they want to move forward and problem-solve (or avoid it).

And third, they’re feel-good stories. Yes, there is the conflict that needs to be resolved but ultimately, the issue that the character is experiencing is able to be overcome or dealt with. Dugan’s stories are the ones that make it easy to believe that teens can overcome obstacles and work through issues. Oftentimes I find as I’m booktalking in my high school library that there is death, destruction, and heartbreak around every corner. Those books have a place but too many in a row makes it seem like being a teenager is a dark, hopeless place and that’s not true. They’ll raise their hand and ask for a funny book or a romance and ask why everyone’s parents are dead.

It doesn’t hurt that Dugan is somewhat local to us here in upstate New York and as I’m writing this, I’m writing myself a Post-it reminder to contact her to arrange a visit to our school in the near future.

And as the title of my post proclaims, I hope that she doesn’t stop at four, but has plenty more to come.