As I've been adding young adult books to my to-read list, I've been noticing some trends for books being published this year. After doing some research, I thought I'd break down the trends I've been noticing into two groups: themes and covers. These lists are not, by any means, comprehensive, and not all the books on the list have been published yet.
Themes
Suicide: Suicide isn't a new theme to young adult fiction, but it has certainly taken off this year as one of the most noticeable trends.
Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand*
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven*
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
*Make sure you have a box of tissues by your side when you read these, because they're pretty much guaranteed to make you cry.
Books about the end of the world: I don't mean the end of the world as in some natural disaster is going to destroy the world and mankind. What I mean is I've noticed more books being published about when the world is going to end according to religious leaders. Some of the books focus on parents who have given up everything to follow a religious leader who says the end of the world will happen on a specific date, and then when the world doesn't end, the teens have to try to find their parents, who have mysteriously disappeared. Others focus on the aftermath of what happens to families when parents give up everything to follow a religious leader who says the end of the world will happen on a specific date, and it doesn't.
No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss
Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle
Books that are based on fictional works in other books: This seems to be a newer trend, and I don't know how much of a trend it'll really be. The two books that fall under this category started out as a musical written by a character in one book and as a piece of fanfiction written by a character in a different book.
Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Book Covers
A lot of what I found for book cover trends are from the blog Stacked Books. Some of the trends I noticed aren't necessarily trends Stacked Books mentioned, but are trends I noticed while looking at the trends they noticed.
Fonts that look like handwriting: This is a trend I noticed last year, and it looks like it has continued into this year.
Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills
Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas
The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne
The above cover images are from Goodreads.
The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn
Finding Paris by Joy Preble
A Sense of the Infinite by Hilary T. Smith
Light up place signs: So far, there are only two books that have this on the cover, unless you count Finding Paris, which has an outline of a light up place sign.
I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
Kissing in America by Margo Rabb
Illustrated covers: This is another trend that started last year and has continued into this year. I love it; illustrated covers, when done right, can be gorgeous.
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Thatcher
Hold Tight, Don't Let Go by Laura Rose Wagner
The Kidney Hypothetical, or, How to Ruin Your Life in Seven Days by Lisa Yee
The above cover images are from Goodreads.
Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert
Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius
The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
What trends have you noticed in themes or book covers this year?
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