How do you feel when a great book gets a makeover?
About a week ago I was on twitter and saw that Giselle from Xpresso Reads had posted a new cover for the Across the Universe series. I really didn't like the change. If I had seen these new covers I wouldn't even pick up the book. Which is sad really (I should really learn not to judge covers), but I know I'm not the only one. I love the colors in the first one and they give you an idea that it's set in space and involve a boy and a girl. The second covers just look more boyish and metal-ish.
Shatter Me is such a great novel. I love the original cover because it shows the main character as being very powerful and it looks like she's shattering glass with her mind since her hands are behind her back. The second cover, while I think it's gorgeous, doesn't tell you a single thing about the book. And really the book has nothing to do with her eyes. If anything it should show Juliette's hands since that's where her power lies.
While both are full of soft colors they are very different. The first one, where the girl is doing a classic "he loves me. He loves me not" with a flower, kind of hints to a possible romance. But really this book is about so much more than a summer fling. It's about a girl finding herself. Still it gives you an idea that it's a contemporary novel. The second cover just confuses me. What do beads have to do with anything? I love Sarah Dessen, but I'd be skeptical to read this book if I saw only the second cover. If someone can explain the beads to me I'd be forever grateful.
I had seen the first cover around a bunch of times on blogs and never gave it any thought. Then the other day someone posted this cover on their blog. I was instantly intrigued because of the title and the image of their hands clasped in between their bodies. When I went to add the book on goodreads, I was very surprised to find it was the same book I had been overlooking all this time.
I remember reading this book back when I was a teen. This was back before I was an alleged cover slut. Now I probably would glance at the first cover and move on. It's just so bland and makes me think the book is about produce. I think this is the one and only time I'll say I like the new cover better. At least the new cover you get an idea that it's a contemp with some sort of romance. If I remember correctly I really liked this book. And did you know it's written by he author or Tiger Lily?
So now I want to hear from you.
How do you feel when great books get makeovers?
How do you feel about the cover changes above?
Sometimes I am all up for a makeover other times I am not. With the Across the Universe I like the new covers sure but they do not fit the books at all, they obviously target male readers looking for a more scifi read. If I saw the second set of book covers first then I would pick them up definitely but then I would be disappointed by the amount of romance in the book because that is not what I would be expecting or want. The first set of covers are eye catching AND they suit the books.
ReplyDeleteShatter Me, I don't like the original cover and it's the reason I never checked out the book. When I saw the new covers that's when I finally decided to find out what the book was about.
I don't like either of the covers for Inbetween or Peaches.
Sometimes I like cover changes but it all depends on how much I like the first one. The things I really don't like is when they change to the movie version. That I can't stand.
ReplyDeleteYa all the Nicholas Sparks books did that when the movies came out =/
DeleteI prefer all the original of these besides Inbetween! I think Shatter Me's cover looks more interesting but the eye creeps me out so eeesh.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with Lisa! I hate when the ychange the covers to put the actors that play in the movie version. Twilight's initial covers were beautiful but the whole Rob PAtz etc made it look cheap.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to Inbetween, I'm a little uneasy about it as I think it copies the cover of Between The Lines' trilogy by Tammara Webber.
Oh wow it really does look like Between the Lines. I just googled it. I hate when books have such similar covers. P.s. Thanks for tweeting about this post =)
DeleteCover makeovers are a hit or miss for me. I usually hate them because the originals are usually much better, but there are some times where I like the re-makes. For example, I actually love the new look to Shatter Me, Inbetween and some of the new Sarah Dessen books are pretty. But then there's re-makes like the Nightshade series and A Million Suns that disappoint me.
ReplyDeleteI just looked up the Nightshade series cover and I agree I like the original better.
DeleteI like the new Shatter Me cover, just because there is about a million books out there with a girl in a pretty dress and it has nothing to do with the book. I am however completely disappointed in the Across the Universe book. I remember getting the first one and loving the cover and then looking inside the flap and the map of the ship. I agree the new covers just dont do the book justice.
ReplyDeleteI know they are trying to appeal to more audiences but it makes me sad. plus im totally ocd about my covers matching.
haha I'm OCD about my covers matching too. I have the US version on Divergent, but I won the UK version of Insurgent so they don't match and it bothers me, but hey it was free so I really can't complain lol.
DeleteI don't really mind book makeovers except when it is a series. When they re-design the series after I've bought the 1st one! AH! Then my books don't match and I have to re-buy the 1st book again just so it matches the other books. I really don't understand a re-design half way into a series.
ReplyDeleteStand alone's it's no biggie. I think it is probably a good idea to keep targeting different demographics and keep things fresh.
I'm like that too, but it's funny because if it's on the shelf no one knows it doesn't match, but I know it doesn't so it bothers me haha.
DeleteI don't like the new covers for Across the Universe. I only kind of like the first one, but not the rest. The new Shatter Me covers are pretty but they don't tell anything about the story... as well as the Sarah Dessen covers. I like the colors of them better but you're right when you say that they have nothing to do with the story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. :)
Normally, I don't like cover makeovers. I can see the Sarah Dessen ones because they're several years old, and they redid her whole collection. But the Across the Universe makeovers, while she's still in the middle of the series? Don't like that. I'm especially offended because I absolutely adored the old purple/blue starry ones.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the new Shatter Me cover, though. And since the next books will at least match the paperback Shatter Me release, I'm good with it. Mostly because I'm completely in love with them, so it overrides my OCD senses for the most part.
Oh there are so many here that I hand't come across when I was doing up my post. I really like the cover for Peaches, the new one that is. I agree with the new Across The Universe covers being much more boyish, I think they were trying to appeal to both sexes with them but they just came out blah. Great post!
ReplyDelete