Who Wore it Better is an original meme I brought with me from Drugs Called Books. In it, instead of discussing fashion or cloths, we discuss book covers from different countries, and who has the best cover. The meme is co-hosted with the lovely Amanda and Stacie from Beautiful Bookish Butterflies and will be featured on her blog every other week, so check her out as well!
This week, I brought you covers from some really cool places!
English – I absolutely love this cover. There's just something about it, you know? The grey on black, and then the huge, bold letters in purple. It looks haunting and dangerous. It looks like it might just swallow you into the void at the end of the lane. It's what really got me to read the book (though, it hasn't managed to get me to read the second book, yet).
Dutch – I kind of like this one, I guess? At first glance, it looks blank. But then you realize the're actually a girl among the darkness-or maybe she's a part of the darkness? That seems fitting to the story, all things considered.
Bulgarian - I definitely think there's something about this cover. A gate, in the woods. And beyond it, a girl you can't see clearly, almost like she's waiting for you. I would actually find this cover real pretty if not for the fact the top of the gate looks so unrelated to the rest of it. You can tell someone pasted it on the rest of it, and considering they managed to make everything else fit together, that kind of bites.
Indonesian - Wow. Indonesia, you rock. This cover is definitely a favorite for me, alongside the original. I love that the background is purple, and everything else has an inky feeling to it. The drawings are gorgeous, and I love how Ethan and Lena are on different branches of the tree. And also, that the branches look almost like living hair.
Slovak – If anybody has any idea what's going on in this cover, do share. The only think I do know is I wouldn't have bought Beautiful Creatures if this was the cover presented to me...
Serbian – I would've loved this book... if the couple wasn't it in. Aside for looking pasted on, it took me a long while to realize it IS a couple. I thought she had a strange tumor at first, and then I was like oh, it's a head! Bad sign, right there. But if the couple wasn't there, it could've been gorgeous.
Italian - This looks like it might be a movie-tie in edition, but of the good kind. You know, the kind that actually looks pretty and doesn't plaster the actors in awkward poses all over it. That kind. I love the gate and the forest - though the cover is not exceptionally pretty or eye catching in any way.
Russian - So much wrong here. Couldn't they find a model that at least has DARK hair? I'm pretty sure Lena is dark haired. And why does this look like a NA cover, like the girl looks naked. And the city behind doesn't make me think small town at all. And they don't look like teenagers. And... you get the idea.
The weird thing about all these covers is that none of them will give you the impression the book is narrated by a boy.
My favorites are the original and the Indonesian one!
= I didn't like it.
= It was okay.
= I liked it.
= I really liked it.
= LOVE!
You make a good point about the male narration not being noticed on the covers, it's strange isn't it? Personally, I like the Italian, the English/US and the Bulgarian covers, they're really pretty nice and all follow the purple theme which is also nice. Surprised we never considered these covers, seems strange to not have now! Wonderful collection too, I look forward to doing next weeks! :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorites are the English, Bulgarian, and Italian. Not so into the other covers. I still need to read this.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? When I read Beautiful Creatures, I had no idea I was going to read from ETHAN'S point of view! I was certain it'll be Lena's, or a third person pov because of the covers.
ReplyDeleteThe Italian is definitely nice, and I do like the Bulgarian!
Well, luckily for us we've got Stacie who thought of it! :D
I think I have an answer to the no impression of boy narrator. Honestly, I think this book would be more marketed to girls, because it's paranormal romance that came in the wake of Twilight, and that's what seemed to work at the time. The boy narration is unique for the title, and the genre, but the cover doesn't necessarily need to mention that? Maybe? :D
ReplyDeleteAnywho.
Yes, I really like the English cover too. I hate what they did with the English paperbacks, and all that flare of light. The extra color removes the haunting and dangerous aspect that you're describing. Ah, on this computer, I can't really tell that the Dutch cover has a girl standing in darkness. Like the concept but it's almost too dark? I see your point about the Bulgarian cover. The top of the gate looks too elaborate, like a crown rather than a gate. But the rest I also really like. Ahhh, you like the Indonesian cover? Aside from the Russian cover and the Serbian cover, it's my least favorite :(. As for the Slovak cover, it looks similar to the US one, like you know those trees with really leafy undercoverings on their branches? Like with that in the cold. It's not as good as the US with the the dark and dangerous vibe but I really like the colors and continuation of the swirly font. And yeah, I really like the movie tie-in / Italian cover. I dislike the colors a little - could we use the Bulgarian colors but this gate?
So cool to see! Didn't realize there were so many different interpretations on this cover. I thought the US one would be really popular and stay that way for most (like Divergent).
OMG Christina! I have no idea how I missed your comment!!
ReplyDeleteOh, I can understand that marketing wise, especially as you're right and Twilight reigned at the time. But I still feel like that something that shouldn't surprise me, and when I read BC I honestly felt like it slammed into me out of nowhere. And I think male narrative are really unappreciated in the romance genre so instead of hiding it we should honor it, you know?
What did they do with the PB? the PB I own is the same as the photo above.
It might be too dark. I wonder how it looks in RL because I've seen many covers like this that there was something in how they printed the hidden parts that made it visible and stand out of the actual cover.
Yes, I like it. It might be cause I also love Manga, and this kind of reminds me of it :P But it's okay we don't agree on this one! As long as we agree on the Russian one, ALL IS WELL!
Now that you mentioned it, the Slovak could be a mirror image of the English cover in another reason. The trees are leaning the same way, so maybe if the English one had light, that's what it would look like :O
Ohh, a Bulgarian/Italian mashup could be great! :D
Some covers do manage to take over the world, and some... I think it's a rights issue, because the US version did branch to many countries :)