The Best Book Covers of 2022

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I preordered this graphic caller the 2nd that enactment was disposable based solely connected my absorption to the cover. Look astatine this beauteous Latina miss and her gorgeous hair! I emotion the mode her garment and inheritance are the aforesaid colour communicative successful specified a beauteous pastel mood, and her hairsbreadth gets its shining moment. 

—Jamie Canavés

I thin to emotion a elemental but bold publication cover, and this effort postulation surely has a striking rubric intelligibly displayed. But the existent quality of this screen is successful the details. When you look closely, there’s truthful overmuch much to explore. The colour combinations truly pop, and I could walk a agelong clip looking astatine the illustrated figures acting arsenic the backdrop for this cover. Stunning screen creation — and it’s a large effort postulation too! Funny and moving and nostalgic successful each the champion ways.

—Susie Dumond

In a satellite of blobby publication covers, I truly admit the angularity of this one. I besides admit however overmuch it communicates astir the story. First, you spot the titular rose, which is really a notation to Jane Eyre. That notation speaks to the self-determination of Half-Blown Rose’s protagonist Vincent. Then you spot a cityscape, and that’s the Paris backdrop of this lush and leisurely novel. Third, you tin announcement the painterly effects that blend the metropolis into the rose; Vincent’s creation vocation has brought her to Paris. It’s romantic, artistic, and positively dreamy.

—Isabelle Popp

I’ve work each azygous 1 of illustrator Kaylani Juanita’s children’s books, but this 1 is my favorite. Her screen illustration for it makes maine instantly melt. It’s the implicit sweetest, truthful brushed and beautiful, and it perfectly encapsulates the book.

—Margaret Kingsbury

The screen is giving pistillate rage and retribution and I americium present for it. The greenish occurrence from the sword cuts straight done the O connected the screen and licks astir the writer and title. I conscionable emotion it all, from the tiny angiosperm details connected the curtain to the impeccably drawn outfit and the bladed borderline of vines that framework the cover. 

—R. Nassor

My favourite screen of past twelvemonth was Last Night astatine the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, truthful it should travel arsenic nary astonishment that Lo’s caller publication is this year’s favorite. First of all, there’s conscionable however instantly striking it is due to the fact that of however colorful it is, and however the swooping lines adhd an abstract constituent — which ties into creation mentioned successful the book. And, of course, I person to notation the truck, due to the fact that I wrote a full station called Why Are There So Many Pickup Trucks successful Queer YA Books? What truly gets me, though, is this circumstantial infinitesimal frozen successful clip connected the cover: Aria reaching retired towards Steph, Steph looking astatine her hand. At this precise moment, it’s intolerable to archer whether Aria volition person this affection returned, and it’s specified a yearning, susceptible tableau. 

—Danika Ellis

This screen perfectly evokes nostalgia for ’80s phantasy cult classics similar Labyrinth and The Neverending Story. The fake wearing astir the spine and the gorgeous metallic rubric font springiness it a consciousness of authenticity. It would not consciousness retired of spot arsenic a movie screen adjacent to existent films from that era. My 1 ailment is that due to the fact that the screen (and the communicative itself) was truthful enticing, it made maine privation The Shadow Glass was a existent movie truthful I could ticker it!

—CJ Connor

If each illustrated clinch screen was this good, determination would beryllium nary request for different designs. The gorgeous bluish inheritance allows some the characters and the lettering to popular connected the cover. Having 2 abdominous protagonists with undeniable chemistry connected an illustrated romance screen is fantabulous successful and of itself, but erstwhile it is this good done, you person to observe it. 

—R. Nassor

Sometimes a “simple” screen is by acold the astir effective. They could person leaned into big, intricate aureate property Hollywood patterns and illustrations, each glitz and embossing and glitter. But alternatively they went for this. A dreamy, blue-silver overlay. A gorgeous pistillate who you cognize instantly is a Hollywood starlet, but she holds your regard with a situation successful her eyes. Smoke leaking retired of lipstick lips. How tin you not prime up this book? Genius.

—Leah Rachel von Essen

It has been a bang-up twelvemonth for personage memoirs, and Pentland’s publication is among them (though possibly near-celebrity is simply a amended statement for her specifically).

In summation to the stories being bang-up, the covers person been, too. I emotion this simplicity of this ’90s VHS benignant cover. It’s nostalgic, portion besides being precise overmuch of the epoch erstwhile Roseanne was a immense hit. The colour palette is perfect, the lower-letter titling evocative, and its popular civilization roots clear.

—Kelly Jensen

This illustration is perfectly wild, and I accidental that with the deepest love, due to the fact that truthful is this book. This caller is astir portals, clip travel, and the menace of clime change. It’s queer and weird and kinky and shows each the ways we could rewrite our satellite if we paid attraction to the voices of the marginalized radical passim history. This screen fits each of that perfectly — from the copper coin-like caput to the turtle to that coiling, twisting rope, not threatening but connecting, embracing — and I emotion it.

—Leah Rachel von Essen

The longer you look astatine this futuristic screen for a publication astir the vagina, the much unthinkable it becomes. The details are retired of this world, the allusions clever, and of course, the thoughtfully-placed vulvas a existent delight. The colors are perfect, and adjacent if the book’s contented weren’t capable to merchantability you connected it, the screen and rubric surely would. Rarely does communicative nonfiction look similar this.

—Kelly Jensen

This is 1 of those covers truthful beauteous that I would bent it arsenic creation successful my home. It’s visually stunning, with beauteous colors and question and depth. I’m truthful gladsome this YA caller astir a queer, biracial teen searching for herself amongst household turmoil got a screen arsenic gorgeous arsenic the publication itself.

—Susie Dumond

The mode it’s conscionable truthful green! The scales amongst the leaves! The pops of colour provided by the flowers and the stark opposition of the achromatic lettering! I emotion everything astir this cover.

—Annika Barranti Klein