Cover Talk: Amazing Books With Sad Covers

Continuing from last week's critique of YA covers and inspired by one of my favorite books, I wanted to bring attention to some of the books I love most of all (in YA especially) with less-than-stellar covers. I'll be the first to admit that I put a lot of stock in covers. More than I should, probably. And it's sad because if I'd judged these books by their covers I never would have picked them up in the first place. But one caveat: what I like/dislike as far as covers go certainly isn't the same as what everyone else likes. I know there are readers who love some of these covers that I don't care for.

Cover #1: serafina67 *urgently requires life*, by Susie Day

This is the book that inspired this post. I love love love love this book, but the cover isn't great for me. Though I do like the whole internet/blogging aspect that's going on, the colors are bright and kind of clashing (more so in real life than in this online picture) and it doesn't give much idea of the story inside, aside from the internet aspect. There's little idea of characters or plot here and it's sad because this book is so sweet and funny that I wish it had a much more awesome, less bright-and-blah cover.

Cover #2: Sequins, Secrets, and Silver Linings, by Sophia Bennett

Like serafina67, this is another UK YA with a not-so-great cover. The image and color scheme gives the book a fluffy, everything-everywhere-is-pink-and-frou-frou treatment that doesn't mesh well with the story. Because while there's a huge fashion element here, there's also lots of humor and heart that don't quite make it to the cover. The way the model is dressed is fairy generic and I don't think it's very representative of either the main character or her unique friends.

Cover #3: The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen

This one isn't limited to just one book, sadly. Dessen's novels on the whole seem to usually be wonderfully-written stories wrapped in vaguely pretty packages that may or may not have anything to do with the story at hand. I'm picking on The Truth About Forever because it's my favorite of her books and just what does that flower have to do with the story? What do most of her covers have to do with the stories within? Not much, usually. And though I don't love the UK cover for this book, at least it has a heart instead of a flower on it -- much more related to the story, I think.

Cover #4: The Naughty List, by Suzanne Young

Okay, this cover is a little cute and at least related to the plot of the book, which is about catching cheating boyfriends, but still something about it feels really off to me. Maybe it's the pairing of the photo with the fake window, maybe it's the photo itself -- I don't know. But something about it I just am not a fan of.

Cover #5: Where She Went, by Gayle Forman

I was disappointed when for the paperback of If I Stay they changed the cover from this (artsy and hopeful/bleak) to this, but then even more disappointed that the hardcover of Where She Went matches the paperback's cover. It's pretty, but it's also such a generic and melodramatic YA cover. Plus, the fact that this book is narrated by a male character isn't reflected at all (even though I definitely think the model resembles what I think of as Mia). I like this slightly changed paperback cover so much better -- it still has the windy-haired girl, but the addition of the city in the background is huge to me. (Also check out this German edition.)

Once again I have to say that I love all five of these books. They're all very awesome and very different and I'm sure plenty of people love the covers I'm not such a fan of (my sister adores the Where She Went cover). Still, in talking about judging books by their covers, I have to say that I'm so glad I didn't make the decision to read or not read these books based on their covers. (Or, in some cases, their titles.) What book do you love despite a not-so-great cover?