April
07
Tags
What I Love About the Cover for THE WAR I FINALLY WON by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
So—drumroll, please—today is the day you I have been waiting for: the official cover reveal for my forthcoming novel THE WAR I FINALLY WON. Cover reveals are kind of funky in that they assume that readers are waiting in such breathless anticipation of the release of the book that the first sight of the cover itself will generate drama, excitement, and joy. Ta-da!
I so hope that’s true.
It’s a marketing thing, of course. I’ve never had a cover reveal before. But then, before THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE, (the prequel to THE WAR I FINALLY WON), I’d never been recognized by ALA or gained a spot on bestseller lists before. So we’ve earned this cover reveal, darn it, and we’re going to enjoy it.
The cover is gorgeous. I love it entirely. It’s by Josie Portillo, the same artist who did the cover for TWTSML. I loved that one, too, but I recognize that a substantial portion of my readers did not. In her School Library Journal blog, Betsy Bird said, “again with the kids staring out into nothingness,” and my own daughter commented that my heroine was just standing there. “Standing there staring at a pony,” I pointed out, because of course staring is an active verb and ponies are always fascinating.
Nevertheless, the cover for TWIFW, while still featuring a pony, is both more active and more vibrantly colored. It’s a refreshingly honest cover. Ada’s riding at either the canter or the gallop—you can’t tell those gaits apart by the drawing—though I’ll admit it’s a gallop—and alert readers will notice that she’s riding astride (not aside as she did in TWTSML), and can guess what this means, and might notice that she doesn’t seem to be riding Butter (the pony from TWTSML) but probably won’t be able to guess what that means.
I’m a stickler for accuracy. For this book I did a lot of research on what the night sky looked like in England during the dates covered by my book, as it’s tangentially important to the plot. When I saw the first draft of the cover, I went huffing along to the internet. The scene depicted on the cover happens at a precise time—I know the date—and I wanted to know what phase the moon would have been in. I don’t know if Josie Portillo was lucky or is as much a perfectionist as I am, but the moon, even in the rough draft, was and is in the right phase.
In the rough draft Josie drew Ada riding the horse in a dress. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to ride in a dress, but it’s very uncomfortable—your bare legs chafe on the saddle and stirrup leathers. Even back in the sidesaddle days the skirts of women’s riding habits buckled over breeches they wore underneath. I sent Josie a photograph of 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor riding The Pie in the movie National Velvet and she changed Ada’s outfit to flared breeches and a blouse.
So what horse is Ada galloping in the early-morning dark? And why? And with whom? I won’t answer any of that. What I will say is that this novel took me nine full drafts and more work than I’ve ever put into a story before. I didn’t expect that; I always knew TWTSML had a sequel, and I felt like I knew enough of what was going to happen next that I ought to have been able to write it without too much trouble. Ha. It was boatloads of trouble. I threw dozens of scenes away. I threw away what was probably the best ten pages I’ve ever written, and gladly, because in the end I left only the words that needed to be there, and the story Ada needed told. I am so proud of this novel. I can’t wait to release the rest of it to the world.
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley has published sixteen books for young readers. Her most recent, The War That Saved My Life, won a Newbery Honor, the Schneider Award, the Odyssey Award, and the Josette Frank award. It hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into 11 different languages, and is included on over 27 state book award lists. Kim lives with her mostly-grown children and husband on a farm in eastern Tennessee.
Nerdy Book Club 
Thank you for sharing your new cover with us! Today is dress as your favorite book character to kick off Reading Week and I already know of two girls dressing as Ada. You have a huge fan club in Rhode Island!
I like the idea of dress as your favorite book character. Allow me to copy nd paste in my world as well.
And what IS that beacon of light cutting a path towards her? Mysteries all.
Thanks for the backstage pass to the cover design.
> >
My class in Wisconsin is going to be over the moon when they hear you wrote a prequel! What a beautiful cover! I can’t wait to read it.
oops I mean sequel!
I barely glanced at the title of the article, thinking it said, “What I loved about The War I Finally Won.” Therefore, with glee thinking it was available, I raced to Amazon to grab it quick, only to be crushed that I can’t read it until fall! Oh! The agony of an impatient reader! Just know that you crushed the soul of an East Tennessee librarian first thing in the morning!
Oh my gosh, I’m SO excited!! My current 6th graders who were in 5th grade when I read TWTSML aloud and enjoyed a Skype session with you RIGHT before you won the Newbery Honor, were JUST talking about the sequel this week!! They wanted to know when it was going to come out. I can’t wait to share this with them!! I actually loved the cover to TWTSML, and this one is awesome too!! Can’t wait to read it!!
Love the cover. Am thrilled to know that you will have a sequel to TWTSML! I still think about Ada and her story and wondered what happened. NOW I GET TO READ and REVIEW YOUR NEW SEQUEL! You really write a great book opening! Congratulations on your new book, The War I Finally Won! I hope Ada finds inner peace.
I can’t wait for this book! I have recommended The War That Saved My Life to more people than I can count. I also read the first chapter for “First Chapter Friday ” with my 7th graders. I was lucky enough to meet you and get my book signed by you in Nashville. I am so excited to read and share your new book! !!!
We are in the middle of reading TWTSML in my Grade 4/5 class. Such a fantastic story! When we finish, I will share this post with them. They are so excited that there will be a sequel.
My daughter can’t wait for this book to come out! She loved TWTSML and introduced it to her second grade class where it was read aloud as well. She was so excited to hear a few months ago that there will be a sequel, and is anxiously waiting for it to come out. The cover is beautiful!
I absolutely cannot wait to read this book and fall back into the remarkable world you’ve created, Kimberly! Thank you for bringing these wonderful characters and their stories into our lives and (more importantly) into the hearts of kids everywhere.
Kimberly, I enjoyed reading about your love for this cover and all that it means to you. Fantastic! Makes me want to read TWTSML and then this! Off to Goodreads I go!
don’t forget to add this great cover to Goodreads!
Reblogged this on Mayor of Bookopolis.
How wonderful is it when a book you’ve loved and recommended to so many, who’ve also loved it, has a sequel? Thank you for your persistence and what a great example to all our students about the writing process.
We LOVED TWTSML, and by “we” I mean my then-middle-school daughter, my husband and I! I read it aloud to her at nights, and I often found my husband listening in as well. We can not WAIT for the sequel. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Ooh, I’m so excited; I didn’t realize there was a sequel coming. Thanks for giving us such a great teaser through analysis of the cover.
Kim-I am so excited for you and for the cover reveal -I can’t wait to find out what happens to Ada and company!! I love that you are a sticker for accuracy and that you kept going and going to write the sequel. I’m sure both were what made TWTSML so epic and will make the sequel equally wondrous! Hope to see you again soon!
I am sooo excited!! I work in a Middle School Library and I recommend this book all the time!! I can’t wait for August! Thank you!
My daughter burst into tears when TWTSML ended….not because of HOW it ended, but BECAUSE it ended. She wanted to hear more! We borrowed the audio from the library. We were there tonight and she wanted to borrow it again. I had her find the book so we can read it together and savor it. I’ve already preordered the sequel for her for Christmas (she doesn’t even know there is one, she will lose her mind!) and will give her her own copy of the original then as well.
Truly heart warming to see her hugging that book like she would a friend!
Read both books and absolutely loved them! I hope there’s another sequel. There’s definitely more to the story that could be told, especially for Susan and her background. It gets a little obvious that she and Becky were more than just good friends.