Cover Makeovers: Good or Bad?

4:13 PM

How do you feel when a great book gets a makeover? 


As most of you know by now, I am guilty of judging books by their covers.  But really that's what covers are there for.  Their purpose is to give the reader a little slice of what the book is about so the reader can decide if they want to pick up the book and read the summary.  So you can imagine how frustrated I am when I find books being republished with new covers that are not as pretty or have nothing to do with the book.  Yes, I understand it's sometimes to target a new demographic, but still.  Why ruin a good thing.  Take a look at some changes I found.



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?
 

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