Titles often do the work of making a book's first impression. They can be long and provocative (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers) or they can be short and say almost nothing at all (IT by Stephen King).
Around here we spend a lot of time thinking about the power of language. So what about book titles: what do they do for the book? What do we expect from them? Would we read a book based on a great title alone? Have you ever read a book title and thought, Oh, wow, that is GOOD?
Recently I was browsing booklists online, and came across Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel (Sara Farizan) and I thought, now THIS is a fantastic YA title. Frankly, I had always thought of a crush as an indescribable thing. I love that the use of the word “again” suggests a conversation that’s happened more than once. And finally, this title is so evocative of the crazy uncertainty of being a teenager, as well as the adolescent impulse to solicit friends’ opinions on just about everything!
I asked some of my buddies here at work about great titles they’ve found, and this is what I learned:
Our librarian Karen plans to read Kill the Boy Band (Goldy Moldavsky, forthcoming from Scholastic in spring 2016) due to the title alone, and based on her “cruel over-exposure to boy bands.” Ah, the life of a parent. Karen is also drawn to Samantha Schutz’s powerfully direct I Don’t Want to Be Crazy.
Megan picked This is How You Lose Her (Junot Díaz). She says, “It struck me as a play on a how-to guide. But how-to guides are usually happy and productive, and this seemed dark and sad. I also loved the second person address.” (Ed note: I really like that, too.)
Morgan recently read and loved Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls (Lynn Weingarten): "It’s creepy and compelling and dark, and I’m into dark YA these days. I really liked it, and the title just enhances my enjoyment of it."
Alex was drawn to What I Saw and How I Lied (Judy Blundell). She says that she was unable to resist needing to know what the character witnessed and why they had to lie. “I love how straight-to-the-point the title is because it suggests the character simply had no other choice.”
Brittany not only likes a good title, but is a self-proclaimed “sucker for great design.” Recently she came across a big box of books and found The Murderer is a Fox, Sixty to Go, and Life of the Party. She snapped up the books and plans to read them based on the titles—and typography—alone.
Admittedly, some of my hilarious colleagues gave me titles that—while compelling—are not, shall we say, quite right for this forum. But Deimosa stood by her choice of the award-winning Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your A** (Meg Medina). Deimosa says she couldn’t get her hands on this book fast enough: “Who is Yaqui Delgado? Who does she want to fight and why? When and where is this going to go down? I was instantly curious!” (And she reports that the book is fantastic; Kirkus called it one of the best books of 2013.)
What about you: what’s your favorite title?
