Never Judge a Cover by Its Book

I did not realize how strongly I felt on this subject until asked to write about it, and I think this post will show you what I mean.

I read a lot of YA Fiction books, so I feel pretty acquainted with the general theme of YA Fiction books covers. I honestly think they're some of the coolest covers ever, but that's just me.

So you can imagine that I went home and started to pull some books off my shelf. I have 154 YA Fiction books on my shelf and I pulled out 18 that I would love to show off.

I don't really like simple book covers, I've learned. I like book covers that are more in your face and pop out at you screaming "READ ME!" because then I feel more inclined to do so. I'll give you the full list of the 18 books at the end, because you should read them, they're all pretty good and I'm going to be talking about the covers, not the books.

This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills
First and Then by Emma Mills

I'll talk about these two first. LOVE LOVE LOVE, okay? Sure, maybe I'm a bit of a hypocrite, because First and Then's cover looks a little simple but when you pull the jacket OFF . . . let's just say nerds love it when the actual book has designs on it. Nerd love number one: designs on the actual book. Can I be Emma Mills? I want my books to look like hers because they are so beautiful and I strive for my books to have designs on the actual hard cover of the book.

When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore

Again, you might say that The Weight of Feathers looks simple, but it's not. It's an eye catcher. I fell in love with the magical way the covers feel just looking at them, and it works because they're both magical realism. The colors, too, are gorgeous, and they pop out against the lighter pinks and yellows and whites that a lot of YA Fiction books have.

Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins

Yeah, yeah, I guess you're catching the theme now. All the books so far have been pairs by the same author. Don't worry, that'll end soon. These two books are just so fun. So fun! And the awesome thing about the covers is that there are twelve couples--so twenty-four people--that match the twelve couples written about in each story. It's so fun to figure out which couple was written by each author . . . and if you have no idea what I'm taking about, you should just go and buy the books. It's worth every penny, trust me on this.

A Million Worlds with You by Claudia Gray
Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray
A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

My family members have learned by now that if they give me cash for my birthday, I will spend it at Barnes and Noble, so they just give me a Barnes and Noble gift card instead. My birthday last year, just about this time, mid/late November, I went to Barnes and Noble with some birthday money and found A Thousand Pieces of You and Ten Thousand Skies Above You and I bought them because of their book covers. There's a fantasy element to the book, and you can feel that through the way the two pieces of scenery on each cover blend together and are almost mirror opposites in the sense that one is upside down, but aren't. Either way, magical books, you should totally read them!

A Million Junes by Emily Henry
The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry

Yes, I know that I mention her A LOT but she is one of my favorite people ever. Sort of the same story. I went to BN and saw the book cover for TLTSTW and I just had to have it. Also, the book character's name is Natalie, and my name is Natalie, so that was fun. But for real. The cover is gorgeous, and the colors are so beautiful and the scene depicted on the cover is a symbol, but I can't tell you for what, you'll just have to read and find out!

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

These covers are the epitome of "Let's just, like, throw a bunch of stuff on the cover and hope it attracts the young people who still read." Okay, maybe not quite like that, but if you look at the cover of Everything, Everything it does look like an artistic person (actually, Nicola Yoon's husband, I think) drew a bunch of fun stuff in pretty, bright colors and it works. I don't think I've met one person who's not like the cover of Everything, Everything and the day I do will alert me to the day the apocalypse is actually coming.

The Last Beginning by Lauren James
The Next Together by Lauren James

Maybe I do judge books by their covers. I mean, I ran across this book online, and she's a British author, so her books are only available in the UK and Australia and guys. I had her book shipped in from Australia because I was so desperate to read it based on the cover (and the story line, yes, but the cover drew me in). The whole concept of the book cover for The Next Together matches the story very well: the two main characters are reincarnated into different centuries, and the book cover shows all the time periods sort of overlapping in this fantastical way. How do you not fall in love with these covers? I think Ms. James posted something to her blog about the process of the book cover for TNT too, you should check that out, it's really cool.

The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone

(Finally, no more pairs!) This is actually not one of my favorite books. I was disappointed by this book, but we're not here to talk about that. The cover is absolutely amazing. Like Emma's books, you could pull the jacket right off and toss it (don't actually do that) because the hardcover is so beautiful, too. I think only the picture does it justice.

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

Another epitome of "Hey, let's just throw some stuff on this cover and make it look appealing to the youngesters." It works, and it's gorgeous. Again, pictures really do the covers justice, not me fangirling over them. Honestly, what has been the point of these paragraphs?

When We Collided by Emery Lord

This cover is beautiful, and the book it too. It's full of craziness, and falling apart and being put back together and canvases and painting. The cover, even though it may be "simple", is actually not when you've read the book to know what it means.

Lastly, let's talk movie covers.

No. Just no. If I went to BN with the intent of buying this book, and all they have is the movie cover, I will not buy it. I will walk right out without buying it. The only book I own that is a movie-tie in cover is The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp, because that is the ONLY movie-tie in cover that does the book justice. I'm going to be a bit of a hypocrite here, I think, so please forgive me.

Why would I buy a book with Shailene Woodley on the cover if it is not Shailene Woodley's book? Shailene Woodley did not write the story, she did not edit the story, she did nothing for the story until she acted as one of the characters in the story. I'm betting that she did not know the story existed until they casted her for the role. (I'm talking about Divergent here, sorry if that was unclear, I'm on a roll, I think.)

So why would I buy a book with someone on the cover who did not help with the process of creating this book? Sure, you could talk about models or whatever, but I'm talking strictly movie/tv-tie ins. The easy answer is, I won't buy it. I won't buy it because that's putting a cover on a book that does not accurately represent what the book is about. If it is about craziness and love and heartbreak and canvases and paint and falling apart (When We Collided) I want a cover that represents that, not some actors on the cover playing a role. I want the real deal. Actors posing for a story that haven't done anything for except to bring it to the silver screen do not have the right or the responsibility to advertise it at a book store.

I think I'll stop there on the subject or else I'll get way into it until there's no turning back. Like promised, here is the list of books I mentioned above, compiled into one spot:

This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills
First and Then by Emma Mills
When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore
Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins
A Million Worlds with You by Claudia Gray
Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray
A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
A Million Junes by Emily Henry
The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
The Last Beginning by Lauren James
The Next Together by Lauren James
The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone
Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke
When We Collided by Emery Lord

These are all pretty great books, and I totally recommend. And, if we're still being honest, they will make your shelf look prettier :)