Today’s post is sponsored by Melanie Conklin and Crushed!
Title Crushed
Author Melanie Conklin
Intended Target Audience Middle Grade
Publication Date July 16th 2024 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● Blackwell’s ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
A heartfelt middle grade story about changing friendships, peer pressure, and the courage to speak up when lines are crossed, perfect for fans of Starfish and Finally Heard.
Sophie Valentine would rather be at home, doing school virtually. Instead, she’s waiting in a crowded middle school building for her best friend, Eve, who’s finally back after an extended absence, which only Sophie knows the truth about.
But when Eve returns, things aren’t the same. First, Eve stops walking to school with her in the morning. Then, she’s ditching Sophie to hang out with the Crash Crew, a group of popular kids notorious for their social media dares. Eve seems to fit right in, but Sophie is devastated: Did she just lose her best friend?
When rumors surface that Eve is hiding a painful secret she didn’t share with Sophie, Sophie is spurred on an investigation to discover what — or who — caused the incident behind Eve’s sudden change…and why all clues lead back to the Crash Crew. Using lessons from her forensics class and the help of a new friend, Sophie will have to uncover the truth before more harm is done.
Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover is a regular feature on Pop! Goes The Reader in which I pay tribute to some of the best and brightest the publishing world has to offer in the way of book cover design.
Please Note: As always, I’ve done my best to credit the designers and artists responsible for the stunning covers below, but was unable to find this information for a number of those listed. If you know of an uncredited designer and/or artist responsible for any of these book covers or if I’ve credited someone incorrectly, please let me know and I would be happy to include proper attribution in this post. Their work is important and deserves attribution.
01. The Curse of the Dead Man’s Diamond by Christyne E. Morrell
Cover design by Michelle Cunningham, Cover art by Diana Dementeva
02. Camp Twisted Pine by Ciera Burch
Cover design by Greg Stadnyk, Cover art by Alessia Trunfio
03. A Strange Thing Happened In Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga
Cover design by Julia Tyler, Cover art by Matt Rockefeller
04. Unsinkable Cayenne by Jessica Vitalis
Cover design by Paul Zakris, Cover art by Celia Krampien
05. The Queen of Ocean Parkway by Sarvenaz Tash
Cover design by Carol Ly, Cover art by Ericka Lugo
06. Chai Jinxed by Emi Pinto
Cover design by Julia Tyler and Jenna Stempe, Cover art by Lavanya Naidu
07. Carter Avery’s Tricky Fourth-Grade Year by Rob Buyea
08. A Brush With Magic by Flora Ahn
Cover art by Jenny Park
09. When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman
Art direction by Elizabeth Parisi, Cover art by David Curtis
10. The Witching Wind by Natalie Lloyd
Cover design by Chris Stengel, Cover art by Leo Nicholls
11. The Mythmakers by John Hendrix
Cover art by John Hendrix
12. The Ghosts of Bitterfly Bay by Mary Averling
Cover design by Kaitlin Yang, Cover art by Alla Khatkevich
13. Black Girl Power by Leah Johnson
Cover design by Marci Senders, Cover art by Vashti Harrison
14. Ain’t It Funny by Margaret Gurevich
Cover design by Mary Claire Cruz, Cover art by Catarina Oliveira
15. The Daggers of Ire by J.C. Cervantes
Art direction by Joel Tippie, Cover art by Paula Zorite
16. Breaking Into Sunlight by John Cochran
Cover design by Marcie Lawrence, Cover art by Berat Pekmezci
17. The Creepening of Dogwood House by Eden Royce
Cover art by Geneva Bowers
18. The Pumpkin Princess and The Forever Night by Steven Banbury
19. The Beautiful Game by Yamile Saied Méndez
Cover design by Sylvia Bi, Cover art by Lauren Dimaya
20. Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat by Li Chen
Cover art by Li Chen
21. Not Another Banned Book by Dana Alison Levy
Cover design by Suzanne Lee, Cover art by Ellen Duda
22. On A Wing and A Tear by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Cover art by Natasha Donovan
23. May The Best Player Win by Kyla Zhao
Cover design by Kristie Radwilowicz, Cover art by Chelen Ecija
24. The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Cover design by Jim Tierney, Cover art by Jim Tierney
25. Scrimshaw by Ethan M. Aldridge
Cover design by Molly Fehr, Cover art by Ethan M. Aldridge
26. Let It Glow by Marissa Meyer and Joanne Levy
Cover art by Celia Krampien
27. The Long Way Around by Anne Nesbet
28. The Lonely Below by g. haron davis
Cover design by Omou Barry
