Cover Stories: The Space Between Trees by Katie Williams

Katie Williams has one of the most jump-out-at-you covers I've seen in a while. It's got three dimensional cut-outs. Seriously! It's hard to do the cover of The Space Between Trees justice in this 2D format, but hopefully you've seen the book in person (if you haven't, definitely seek it out).

Here's Katie with the Cover Story:

"I'm superstitious, so as I'm writing something, I try hard not to think about the will it? or won't it? of publication, and that includes dreaming up cover designs. I must be very strict with myself! In fact, I try to pretend that I have the demon hand from the Evil Dead movies; my left hand may be sending out stuff to editors or my agent, but the rest of me is writing away in an oblivious, artistic bubble.

"Once I found out that The Space Between Trees was accepted for publication, I suppose I may have

entertained a cover daydream or two. I probably imagined we'd end up with the body part of a girl--so popular these days--but I never imagined anything as cool as what Chronicle did.

"Chronicle is so good to their authors! My editor asked my for input on the design. She had the idea of the cut-out branches and negative space, which came from the title (also, her idea). I suggested that the tree branches might form the outline of a girl's face, and the art team even mocked that up for us (right). In the end, though, it was too subtle an image for someone glancing at a bookshelf packed with enticing covers..."

Read the rest of Katie's Cover Story on melissacwalker.com.

Diva Delight: The Space Between Trees

I finally had an opportunity to read Katie Williams' The Space Between Trees on Chronicle Books' exceptional YA list. Engrossing, with such fresh metaphors, I was amazed with each page turn.

As the back of the book states, Evie finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. A former childhood schoolmate is murdered in the nearby woods, and she witnesses the body's removal. Before she realizes it, she's caught up in her own lies to gain friendship in her isolated life. Pursuing the killer with her new friend, Evie opens herself to more and more danger, until truly damaging choices are finally made.

There's a hint of The Crucible to me, as teen girls are caught in their own stories with severe consequences. Evie herself concludes:

"The world is not set to rights. It is a small, sad, messy world, and I am a small, sad, messy girl. I didn't understand that having a story changes you. You have to have gone through something, after all, to have something to say. Now I have my story. But I can't bear to speak a word of it."

I have to say again that Katie's metaphors were startlingly original. Here is an example where Evie is thinking of how she used to tell her acquaintances false stories for reaction:

"-how I'd weigh a phrase or spit out a particular word like I couldn't hold it in my mouth any longer, how I'd say a sentence quietly to make them lean in, how I'd collect their wide eyes and sucks of breath like beads I could string on a bracelet."

Beautiful, right? You are going to love Evie's straightforward, raw observation of people's movements, expressions, and quirks. I highly recommend The Space Between Trees. Brava, Katie Williams!

The Space Between Trees
by Katie Williams
Chronicle Books, 2010