It's a cornucopia of cover reveals at Upstart Crow this week!Today, we are thrilled to share the cover for Amy Allgeyer's riveting debut novel, DIG TOO DEEP (Albert Whitman, April 2016). The good folks at YA Books Central did the official reveal yesterday, and you can hop over there to enter to win a free advance reading copy.

It’s not just that Liberty Briscoe feels like an outsider in Ebbotsville, Kentucky. She expected it wouldn’t be easy to move from the city to her granny’s place for her last year of high school. Still, Liberty can’t shake the feeling that something’s not quite right. Everyone says the water’s safe, yet nobody drinks it. When Granny becomes sick, like so many others in town, Liberty starts to wonder about the water, the people who tested it, and the coal mining company that took the top off Tanner’s Peak.Now Liberty must follow her instincts to uncover secrets, despite those who think she’s crazy to ask questions, including her own boyfriend. But even as the threats become consequences, she digs deeper. What’s more dangerous: the water in the valley or the search for the truth.

DIG TOO DEEP features a butt-kicking protagonist in Liberty Briscoe--she never backs down from doing what's right, even when it puts her in danger. Be sure to put this book on your must-read list for Spring!

We are so very excited about Leah Konen's steamy contemporary romance, THE LAST TIME WE WERE US (Katherine Tegen, May 2016).

Liz Grant is about to have the summer of her life.She and her friend MacKenzie are getting invited to all the best parties and, with any luck, Innis Taylor, the most gorgeous guy in Bonneville, will be her boyfriend before the Fourth of July.Jason Sullivan wasn’t supposed to come back from juvy. A million years ago, he was Liz’s best friend, but that was before he ditched her for a different crowd. Before he attacked Innis’s older brother, leaving Skip’s face burned and their town in shock.Liz always found it hard to believe what they said about Jason, but all of Bonneville thinks he’s dangerous. If word gets out she’s seeing him, she could lose everything. But what if there’s more to that horrible night than she knows? And how many more people will get hurt when the truth finally comes out?Leah Konen’s southern romance swelters with passion, as it explores the devastating crush of lies, the delicate balance of power and perception, and one girl’s journey to find herself while uncovering the secrets of so many others.

You can read an excerpt of Chapter One at Vilma's Blog and check in for updates about signings and appearances over at Leah's author page.

[Winners in boldface, but it was a particularly strong field of nominees this year.]FICTIONKaren E. Bender, RefundAngela Flournoy, The Turner HouseLauren Groff, Fates and FuriesAdam Johnson, Fortune SmilesHanya Yanagihara, A Little LifeNONFICTIONTa-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and MeSally Mann, Hold StillSy Montgomery, The Soul of an OctopusCarla Power, If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the QuranTracy K. Smith, Ordinary LightPOETRYRoss Gay, Catalog of Unabashed GratitudeTerrance Hayes, How to Be DrawnRobin Coste Lewis, Voyage of the Sable VenusAda Limón, Bright Dead ThingsPatrick Phillips, Elegy for a Broken MachineYOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATUREAli Benjamin, The Thing About JellyfishLaura Ruby, Bone GapSteve Sheinkin, Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam WarNeal Shusterman, Challenger DeepNoelle Stevenson, Nimona

Unlike a lot of people in the publishing industry, I regularly review the books I read on Goodreads, and it has sometimes gotten me into trouble. I've been a Goodreads member since shortly after it was founded, and I have a lot of friends there whose opinions I follow. And who follow me. Some people in publishing feel no one in our industry should be on Goodreads at all; one editor noted that he won't buy books from people who have given a negative review to one of his books. Others see it as a betrayal of our small community, that we should all be cheerleaders all the time, and to ever be otherwise is to be an Enemy of Books.Well, I think that's a lot of malarky, as Joe Biden might say. Goodreads can't make or break a book—if one negative review tilts the balance, then the problem is much bigger than a reviewer's opinion on a social media site. There are tons of readers, and it is their opinions that create heat around a new book—not the musings of a forty-something former-editorial director.But more than that, the ratings system on Goodreads doesn't really allow pans. There is five stars ("It was amazing") down through one star ("Didn't like it"). There is no "This sucked" or "I hated this more than dental work without novocaine," no "Black hole of antipathy," as film critic Duncan Shepherd used to assign to movies. (Most movies; he was a difficult critic to please.)So that single-star review? It doesn't mean the reader thought the book was bad. It only means the reader didn't like it, for whatever reason. I've given one star reviews to massively successful novels such as Twilight and Divergent, because they didn't really hit my sweet spots as a reader. I could appreciate what they were doing, but I didn't care for them very much. That's all I mean by a single star. And each time, my single-star review disappeared in a sea of five-star reviews. My little review didn't move the average at all.And that's how we should take Goodreads ratings of our own books. Of course, if the reader then goes on to complain bitterly about the book—well, that's a whole 'nother story.What's your experience? Do you use Goodreads? Do you let the one-star ratings get you down? Feel free to comment about it below.

We are so very excited for today's cover reveal! THE SWEETEST THING by Christina Mandelski is a fantastic contemporary YA novel about love, loss, and cake, and it's soon to be re-released on Amazon with this gorgeous new package and some yummy bonus materials.

When it comes to cake, Sheridan Wells is a true artist. She's happiest working in the back of her family's bakery, dreaming of the day her mom will come home. But when her dad makes an announcement that threatens to change their lives, Sheridan launches a desperate plan to find her mother before it's too late. Add to that a school art project that she can't seem to start, a moody best friend and the fact that she may or may not have been asked out by the cutest boy in school -- it's a recipe for disaster. Why can't fixing your life be as easy as decorating a cake?

Hop on over and visit Chris to learn more about her work and to keep posted on the upcoming release, and be sure to put THE SWEETEST THING on your must-read list this summer!

I'm so thrilled to wish Jessixa Bagley a very happy pub day for her debut book, BOATS FOR PAPA. I met Jessixa at SCBWI NY in 2013; that was the first conference I attended with my agent hat on after nearly ten years on the other side of the desk at Simon & Schuster. Jessixa came to my session, politely introduced herself and struck up a conversation. She was a runner-up in the Illustrator Showcase and submitted a dummy called Drift to me after the conference. I opened it and was immediately drawn into the world of Buckley, a young beaver who creates increasingly intricate boats to send to his absent and much missed Papa. And she made me cry. Tears-streaming-down-my-face cry. I sold the book to the brilliant and wonderful Neal Porter. Neal, Jessixa and the incredible art director, Jennifer Browne, made that beautiful book even more beautiful and today as BOATS FOR PAPA sets out into the world, I couldn't be prouder.Jessixa was this week named a Publishers Weekly Spring 2015 Flying Start. And her book has received FOUR(!) starred reviews. Here's what the critics are saying:"The only thing better than this title for anyone who has experienced loss is the redemptive nature of time."—School Library Journal"Reassuring, consoling, and lovely."—Booklist"Heartbreaking and hopeful, innocent and wise, a gentle story about healing and finding connection—both in the past and present."—Kirkus"A deeply empathic story with an accomplished sense of place. In beautiful tones of blue and brown, she immerses readers in the coastal world where Buckley and his mother are trying to make sense of their lives."—Publishers WeeklyFor more of Jessixa's artwork, check out her website or follow her on twitter @jessixabagley. She's posted a new drawing of a different boat everyday this month and they're all fantastic. Her next book, Before I Leave, is coming from Neal Porter books in February 2016. Congratulations, Jessixa!

We're oh-so-excited for the cover reveal of Andrew Brumbach's spectacular debut middle grade adventure novel, THE EYE OF MIDNIGHT (Delacorte, 2016). Hop on over to the good folks at Middle Grade Minded for the big reveal and an interview with Andrew.

We are pleased to announce that Upstart Crow client Erin Byers Murray has won the M.F.K. Fisher Award for Excellence in Culinary Writing. The award, presented by Les Dames d’Escoffier, is for Erin's essay "Sense of Self", which appeared in FoodThinkers in 2014.Erin is the author of Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm (St. Martin's Press 2010) and a co-author of The James Beard nominated cookbook The New England Kitchen (Rizzoli 2014). Erin is an enormously talented writer and she has many more exciting projects cooking for the future. Congratulations, Erin!

The wait is over! We're thrilled to celebrate the publication of Beth Hautala's debut middle grade novel WAITING FOR UNICORNS (Philomel Books).Kirkus calls Beth "an author to watch." School Library Journal calls her writing "poignant." Publisher's Weekly calls Beth's descriptions "spellbinding."

Talia McQuinn is much too old to believe in magic, yet she keeps a jar of wishes under her bed. When her whale-researcher father drags Tal to the Arctic for the summer following her mother’s death, she brings the jar along. During her stay, Tal learns of the ancient Inuit legend of the narwhal whale—the unicorn of the sea—she forms a plan to make the biggest wish of her life.

I discovered Beth's work while participating in the annual agent slugfest known as the Baker's Dozen Auction, a contest in which I read the first 250 words of her novel and had to bid on the rest, sight-unseen. It wasn't hard to take a chance on her--Beth's is the type of prose that just gets at you and doesn't let go.WAITING FOR UNICORNS is an incredibly special book, and it's exciting to see a debut author write with such beauty, truth, and a touch whimsy. We are thrilled to celebrate such a bright new talent. Congratulations, Beth!

I am fizzy with fangirl-ish glee! Sarah Tregay's sophomore novel, FAN ART, has been nominated by YALSA (the American Library Association) as one of the best Books for Young Readers, 2015.This isn't Sarah's first time on this fantastic list. Her debut novel, LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, was a YALSA 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults finalist.FAN ART is a tremendously special book, as it is at the forefront of the movement to create diversity in young adult literature. In FAN ART, seventeen year-old Jamie is in love with his best friend Mason, but is afraid that if he shares his feelings, he'll lose Mason's friendship forever. Ever since I read an early draft of the story back in 2011, it's been my hope that FAN ART would cross boundaries--that it would allow LGBT readers to see themselves reflected in popular literature, as well as allowing readers of every sexual orientation to bond over the universal truth about the pain and thrill of falling for a good friend.Sarah Tregay writes a heck of of a love story, and when she does, her fans clamor for it--across all lines of gender or race. It's exciting to see a novel like FAN ART on the YALSA list, and the fact that we are able to push--and redefine--the boundaries of what is "normal" is perhaps the most amazing part of working in YA publishing today.We are thrilled to see Sarah's work on this year's YALSA list among so many talented writers, and we can't wait to see what she comes up with next!