Favourite Book Covers of 2021

A picture tells a thousand words and can sell a story

I truly believe this will become a yearly event for me: showcasing my personal favourite book covers of the year. 2021 has been another testing year for publishing as we strive to move away from the after-effects of Covid-19; a battle with no clear end in sight. Despite the trials, more amazing books have been launched into the world and with this, more glorious and stunning covers have come to grace our bookshelves.

With this list, I hope to champion the sometimes unspoken heroes behind the book cover—the illustrators, the designers, the creators, who make the art which captures our attention and are ultimately part of the reason we pick up the book.

So in no particular order, my favourite book covers of 2021 are:

1) Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor (Publisher: Tordotcom)

(Cover design and illustration by Greg Ruth)

The protagonist’s face takes over the page with her large hoop earrings, her mysterious gaze and the image of a tree imposed over her; all of it works together to invoke the African-futurism elements of the novella. The green tint of the cover reveals the supernatural powers which the girl known as Sankofa possesses. This striking cover draws us into the book’s futuristic Ghanaian setting and the girl who becomes the adopted daughter of death.

2) Ghostcloud by Michael Mann (Publisher: Hachette Children's Group)

(Designed by Chaaya Prabhat)

The vibrant mix of colourful clouds and characters flying over Battersea Power Station showcases wonderfully the genre of this book and its dystopian London setting. Ghostcloud is part alternate history, part fantasy and follows 12 year old Luke who is forced to shovel coal within a power station. He yearns for his freedom and befriends a ghost-girl named Alma who can ride and control clouds through the sky; this serves to help him dream of an escape and learn more about his own hidden secrets.

3) Kaleidoscope of Animals by Cath Ard (Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions, Imprint of Quarto Knows)

(Illustrated by Greer Stothers)

A vivid celebration of colour and the animal kingdom are explored in this book which is beautifully portrayed on the front cover of this non-fiction books for kids. The front cover utilises mirror-like imagery of all of the creatures on display, taking us head first through this kaleidoscopic journey into nature.

4) The Octopus Man by Jasper Gibson (Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

(Designed and illustrated by Arneaux and art direction from Steve Marking)

There is something forlorn and haunting about this cover: the protagonist’s shadow morphing into that of an octopus creature. I remember scrolling through Twitter and seeing this cover and being instantly captivated by it. The ominous shadow dwarfs the main character who is so much smaller but is still facing towards the sun and the small size of his shadow reflects how much influence the ‘Octopus God’ has over Tom, who is going through an experimental drug treatment in hopes the voice he hears will be silenced.

5) Maggie Blue and the Dark World by Anna Goodall (Publisher: Guppy Books)

(Cover design by Alison Gadsby and illustrated by Sandra Dieckmann)

Confession: I love cats so this was going to always do well with me. The whimsical nature of this image sparked my imagination with a giant cat spiriting away the protagonist who rides on top of it. I love the clear divide in the background behind Maggie with the buildings on the top half being more illuminated and more colourful, contrasting with the buildings below which are darker by comparison.

6) Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston (Publisher: Farshore)

(Illustrated by Brittany Jackson)

Mystery, fantasy and adventure are all combined in this magical cover which features a young black girl as the main character who is caught in the middle of the mystery of her missing brother and the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. The typography of the cover is intriguing and adds to the element of serious change occurring in the narrative with the shattered orb in the centre bleeding out into the ‘R’ of Amari’s name.

7) Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (Publisher: Rock the Boat, Imprint of Oneworld Publications)

(Designed by Terri Nimmo and illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie)

Zetian’s pose commands the cover and the story as she seeks vengeance against the man and the forces which resulted in her sister’s murder in a retelling of China’s only female emperor which includes magical mecha and East Asian Mythology. I love the use of fire-red colours and the Vermilion Bird Mecha which enshrouds Zeitan, as she prepares herself and us for the battle ahead in a highly patriarchal society.

8) This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron (Publisher: Bloomsbury Kids and YA)

(Illustrated by Raymond Sebastien)

Botanical magic is on full display in this contemporary fantasy with the vines and flowers spreading its power across the cover. Blooming with magic, I love the sparkling use of light showing up behind the protagonist. This stunning cover features a young woman named Briseis who has the power to grow plants with a single touch. After her aunt dies, she moves into her house where mysterious people start appearing asking for elixirs and other mixtures which she begins to make, but the appearance of a witch brings danger to Briseis and her family.

9) Green Rising by Lauren James (Publisher: Walker YA)

(Illustrated by Beci Kelly and designed by Chloé Tartinville)

Trees symbolises life, growth, power and ultimately change. In Green Rising, Gabrielle, a climate-change activist has a supernatural ability to grow plants from her skin and she along with other teenagers try to save their world. The use of a tree in this YA eco-thiller novel as the protagonists try to create change in their near-future world which is on the brink of ecological collapse. The use of gold in the tree against the dark blues and greens of the city tells a bold and contrasting story of the change which seeps through the tree’s leaves, trunk and into its roots; it carefully speaks of the change which needs to happen in the real world.

10) Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson (Publisher: Viking)

(Designed by Gray318)

Following the romance between a photographer and a dancer, the cover is split into two which captures the sheer emotions and tensions in their relationship. With an immediate focus on the two main characters, everything is perfectly captured on their faces and combined with the rich use of colours, presents a striking image to resonant in the readers.

11) Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Gadden (Publisher: Canongate)

(Designed by Gill Heeley)

The most striking imagery on this cover is the wolf and the rabbit trapped in a circular formation, forever pursuing and escaping one another. The story follows Wolf, a young black writer who begins to write the memoirs of Mrs Death; the very personification of death in the form of an elderly black woman. Mrs Death takes Wolf on a journey through space and time in an exploration of the impact of death on humanity.

12) Wranglestone by Darren Charlton (Publisher: Little Tiger)

(Designed by Karl James Mountford)

Set in a post-apocalyptic America landscape amongst a community who take refuge in a national park, love blossoms between two young men Peter and Cooper. The beauty of the lake is captured fully in this cover illustration and despite the serene imagery of the two protagonists sailing at peace, the looming presence of zombies around them warns us of the encroaching horror which is never too far away.

13) Animal by Lisa Taddeo (Publisher: Bloomsbury)

(Designed by Greg Heinimann)

I am depraved. I hope you like me. A brilliant line which sums of the protagonist Joan in a nut shell: brutal, haunting and animalistic. This cover captures the essence of everything to expect from this book; Joan’s golden eye which explodes off the page in a blaze as she somewhat stares at the reader, issuing them a daring challenge to read through her story of unflinching depravity.

14) Children of the Quicksands by Efua Traore (Publisher: Chicken House)

(Designed and illustrated by Helen Crawford-White)

Bright, expressive and animated colours paint this cover and transport us to a magical West African setting, where we follow Simi who has been sent to Nigeria to stay with her mysterious grandmother who is protecting some family secrets. I love the face looking upwards as they are literally sinking with a sense of calm into the bottom of the cover.

15) House of Hallow by Krystal Sutherland (Publisher: Hot Key YA)

(Illustrated by Aykut Aydoğdu)

The eyes are the first things which jump out at you and capture one’s attention but the mixture of life and death working its way across the cover is what maintains it. We have flowers growing around the subject’s face indicating abundance and joy but we also have ants and other bugs crawling around her which symbolises some sort of rotting or decay at work. In addition to this, the extra edge of blood dripping across her face adds a dimension of horror that not everything is what it seems with the Hollow sisters.

16) The Last Bear by Hannah Gold (Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books)

(Illustrated by Levi Pinfold)

The imposing bear, the heroic girl and the mighty sun in the background convey the high stakes of the story. The narrative follows a young girl called April who journeys across the arctic setting of Bear Island to save her new friend. I love the orange-peach hues which tints the cover adding an additional allure of mystery of what is in store for April.

What were your favourite book covers of 2021? Please share in the comments section.

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— Davina Tijani (@davinatijani)