Cover Reveal: The Scarred Letter by Val Muller

I’m happy to reveal the cover for my upcoming Young Adult novel, The Scarred Letter. It will be published by Barking Rain Press in June. I wrote this novel as a modernization of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, taking the themes of the original but integrating them into a modern setting with modern problems instead of Puritan ones! If you’ve never read The Scarlet Letter, my novel is still a great YA read–no background knowledge of Hawthorne’s original is required!

Overview: Heather Primm never anticipated that a single blog post could ruin her life.

Heather’s scoop about steroid use by key players on the school football team sets off an investigation that strips the Orchard Valley Thunderbolts of their state title—and earns Heather a coveted journalism prize. Hated by those involved in the scandal, despised by jealous members of the newspaper staff, ignored by her newly-popular ex-boyfriend, and even berated by her mother, Heather is attacked and a chilling “T” is carved into her face.

Now stigmatized as a traitor, she becomes the object of scorn for nearly all of Orchard Valley High. But when the school offers to send her to a private academy to hush up the matter, Heather is forced to make a decision. Should she refuse to allow fear to control her life by holding to the truth, or accept the chance to escape and build a new life?

Written by a veteran English teacher, The Scarred Letter weaves themes from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter into an accessible, intelligent tale of modern isolation and a young woman’s quest for truth and acceptance.

The cover was designed by Craig Jennion. You can check out his website at http://www.craigjennion.com.

If you are a school teacher or librarian interested in ordering class sets, you can pre-order for a 50% discount directly from the publisher. Email me for details!

You can also sign up to receive a free preview of the first four chapters here.