Cover Reveal: The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan

I'm thrilled to be revealing the cover of Tara Sullivan's The Bitter Side of Sweet this morning along with Icey Books, Jen Bigheart, and YA Books Central!

You might remember Tara Sullivan from her debut novel, Golden Boy, which was about the Tanzanian Albino killings and earned a spot as a top ten YALSA Best Book. Her new book looks equally compelling:

Fifteen-year-old Amadou counts the things that matter. For two long years, what’s mattered are cacao pods. The more Amadou can chop down in a single day, the better his chances are of keeping the bosses’ beatings at bay, keeping himself and his little brother, Seydou, alive and then maybe, just maybe, returning home to Baba and Auntie. At least he hopes so. But the bosses won’t tell him the number that matters most—the number that equals freedom. 

When the boys first left their farm life in Mali, they only wanted to make some money to help their impoverished family survive the lean times. They never imagined they’d end up as forced labor on a cacao plantation in the Ivory Coast. But that’s exactly what happened, and each day that passes, they lose a little more fight, a little more hope that they’ll ever be free or see their home again. 

Then one day, a girl—Khadija arrives at the camp. There’s never been a girl on the farm before and she is a wild thing; she fights every day to get away—reawakening old impulses in Amadou to run. But when the bosses finally break her, and the unthinkable happens to Seydou, Amadou understands the only choice left—the only choice they’ve ever had—is to run . . . or die without their loved ones ever knowing what happened to them. The three band together as family and try just once more for home.

 Intrigued? Now check out the fantastic cover art below...

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I love the textures and colors used for this cover. It successfully conveys the seriousness of the novel while still feeling like a MG cover. I'm very much looking forward to reading this novel, which promises to be just as powerful as Sullivan's debut.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Don't forget to add this book on Goodreads HERE! 

You can follow Tara Sullivan on Twitter HERE!