Without further ado, I share with you the cover of STICK.
Stick by Andrew Smith
October 11th, 2011 by Feiwel & Friends
Stark McClellan (“Stick”) hears the world in a different way. He is surrounded by cruelty and ugliness, but holds on to a powerful sense of wonder, faith, and love for his best friend, Emily, and the most important person in Stick’s world -- his older brother, Bosten, who happens to be gay. When the boys’ father throws Bosten out of their home, Stick steals a car and takes off on a three-state odyssey to find and rescue him.
Andrew was kind enough to offer more information about his new title and it's main character, Stark.
"There are gay teens in the book. I've always had an issue with people who use terms like "acting gay," because, to me, it's like saying "acting (insert stereotypical group here)." And there's no "act" about the characters in STICK. When I was a kid Stark's age, I learned that my older brother was gay, just like what happens to the kids in the book. That's really one of the big issues in the novel, which is based on personal experiences. I wanted to write a novel about being brothers, being kids, and having to contend with all the rules and limits that try to strain the bonds that connect us as human beings... and the fucked-up things people do to one another because they are incapable of seeing the huge things that really make us all the same. So I wrote this book about a kid who hears the world differently than other people, who is convinced that he's ugly and defective, but who holds on to this most amazing sense of wonder about everything that goes on around him."
I think the cover portrays a young man who is hopeful and optimistic. I love the blue tones and the heavy contrast. I would totally pick up the book off of a shelf. The design was created by Rich Deas, creative director at Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan. Rich is also the genius behind THE MARBURY LENS art work. I love that cover!
Here is what Andrew has to say about the cover art of STICK.
Let me say this: The cover of STICK is now the wallpaper on my iPhone. I think Rich incorporated a lot of the elements that are essential to the story: The cover is set on a beach (the specific beach is in Ventura County, California), and I think the expression on the character's face pretty much says it all -- there's a kind of strength and determination shown, as well as a hint of an optimistic smile. I love the colors, too, and the way the image is a kind of hybridization between photography and an almost comic-book kind of presentation. Very hip. The only cover I've ever had enlarged and framed (hanging on my living room wall) is the cover for THE MARBURY LENS. But STICK is going up there, right next to it. Really, I can't say enough about Rich. He's one of the nicest, most dedicated, hard-working and kind guys you'll ever meet.
Thank you, Andrew for letting me be a part of your cover reveal! Can't wait to read!
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