The Girl Who Cried Killer Unicorn

Remember when I told you that this was the cover of RAMPANT?

How about this one? Or this one?

I fooled my own mother-in-law when I posted this one:

Which is why I’m pretty scared right now. You see, I feel like the Girl Who Cried Killer Unicorn. I feel like there’s no way you guys are going to trust me when I tell you that I finally do have the actual, real, honest-to-goodness cover of RAMPANT.

And here it is:

Isn’t it gorgeous? Isn’t it stunning? Doesn’t Astrid look like she’s ready to eviscerate that unicorn charging right at her? (Careful, Astrid. Objects reflected in the sword are closer than they appear.)

Want to see the spine? the spine might be my favorite part.

Now, naturally, all authors want their books to be face out on a bookshelf, but I think, even spine-out, this is seriously eye-catching!

So, any of you out there who are currently featuring the old cover, please grab this jpeg. This is the new cover. No lying this time. (And any of you with the low res comp version that was leaked over the weekend on the Harper catalog, please switch to this one, if you please. It’s so much prettier and all-official.)

Squee! Pretty! Pretty cover!

And I’m so happy to have come out of what feels like the longest cover design process of all time with such a gorgeous result, so reflective of the book itself. I’ve been describing this cover concept to people as Uglies-meets-Graceling — two covers that I aboslutely adore, and which both share elements with this one.

And the funny thing is, my book is a little bit like both those books, too. Like Katsa, Astrid struggles with a magical ability that allows her to kill things, and questions her right to use the ability. Like Tally, Astrid is a normal girl thrust into a world far beyond her preparation, and must struggle between her desire to have the normal life she intended for herself, and her growing awareness of her own potential.

Pretty fitting, huh?

Thank you, Harper Teen! You kick killer unicorn butt!