Folks ask me to reveal middle grade covers from time to time. Sometimes I say yes. Sometimes I say no. If you ever happen to be interested in my doing so then the following elements should ideally be combined:
A nun
A smarmy man with a mustache (handlebar preferred but not required)
An unnerved woman staring at the smarmy man with the aforementioned mustache
A pig
Admittedly, it’s only once in a blue moon when I can find such a book jacket to premiere, but when I can . . . magic!!
Miranda Kenneally is known by young-adult fans for her Hundred Oaks series, beginning with Catching Jordan, the story of a girl who plays high-school football. The next four novels also focus on competitive, athletic girls in Nashville, but Kenneally takes a new turn in Jesse’s Girl, introducing a character who doesn’t understand the appeal of sports. As Maya Henry says, “I’m barely five feet two, and the only muscles I have are from holding my guitar and plucking the strings.”
