Saturday, January 30, 2010

Cover Lust (8): People

All too often YA book covers consist of models with their heads chopped off. Now, I read somewhere that this may have been the result of a law involving working minors, but I'm not too sure about that and don't quote me on it. It makes covers with full faces on them sort of a standout in YA lit. Here are some I've discovered that I like for the very fact that the models' full faces are on them, and are treated in an eye-catching way.


The Drake Chronicles, Book 2: Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey

Besides for the gorgeous color treatment (black and white everywhere except for their bright green eyes and the vivid purple text), I love how these models are looking right at you. How often does that happen on a cover? This makes a very nice picture.


The Immortals, Book 4: Dark Flame by Alyson Noel

Alyson Noel always gets awesome covers for her series, and the latest is no exception. The models are disgustingly overpretty, but again it's the treatment of color, lighting, and shadows that I really enjoy, something that I've actually enjoyed throughout my not-reading of this series.


The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June by Robin Benway

I mean, just...wow. Again, it's the colors and the title treatment that I enjoy here, those two things that make this a standout cover for me.


Vampire Academy, Book 5: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

I haven't even read Blood Promise yet, but when I saw this cover, I swooned. Yes, we all know that the models have absolutely nothing at all to do with Rose and Dimitri (in terms of looks, I mean), and there's the common complaint that the covers for the VA novels are all so generic and created by people who have absolutely no idea what the books are about. But... I don't... really... care. This is sexy.

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So what do you guys think? Do covers with faces on them stand out to you? Do you prefer covers when the models' heads are partially or fully cut off? Let me know!

16 comments:

  1. That headless models due to minors not being about to work long hours is a total myth. A good one though!

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  2. I really like the April, May, and June cover. Very bright. Nice post.

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  3. Great post! I have to say that I prefer to see the models Heads & Faces on the cover! All covers you posted are beautiful!

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  4. I never thought about how many YA covers don't show faces. But now that I think about it, your right. And I love the Spirit Bound cover too. Very Sexy!

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  5. I'd always figured that the cut-off head thing was designed to help the reader to think they'd be able to relate to the character better. A pretty girl on a book cover could be offputting to some, but cut off her head (er, not literally) and she's just a hint of the character. Maybe? I'm not sure.

    That said, I don't mind whether covers include the characters' faces or not, but those are all very eye-catching examples. The Robin Benway cover is absolutely amazing.

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  6. I always thought the lack of a head and/or face was so that readers can imagine the characters instead of having a picture for a set image. These covers are absolutely gorgeous though!

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  7. The Blood Feud cover is awesome. I'm really looking forward to that one.

    I gave you a shoutout on my blog today.

    http://debsbookbag.blogspot.com/2010/01/giveaway-saturday-6.html

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  8. Ooh, those eyes on Blood Feud are creepy. And I love the Robin Benway cover!

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  9. I typically enjoy NOT having the model's face on the cover, for the same reason that I don't always enjoy movie treatments of books: I like to make up my own mind about what the character looks like. It's especially frustrating to me when the model on the cover looks nothing like the character described. That said ... I absolutely love the Robin Benway cover. Such a different portrayal, and it definitely stands out.

    I don't read the VA series, but I've always found those covers to be a little bland, and very derivative. (The first VA book looks like a snapshot of Angelina Jolie to me, and the Frostbite one I find especially annoying, b/c it looks like they stole the photography angles straight from season 2 of Buffy. Shadow Kiss, too, reminds me of Buffy for some reason.) The Spirit Bound one is kind of cool--looks more like the cover of a romance book than a YA to me, but still not bad.

    Thanks for this post--I'm off to google the Benway book to find out more about it now! :)

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  10. I don't like the headless covers. I feel like part of the picture has been chopped out unnaturally and it bugs me that I can't see the rest of the image. I'd much prefer a view from the back or side if they wish to hide the character's face, rather then just removing part of the image.

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  11. I love all of those! Like a lot of people, I'm not a fan of covers missing heads, they just look a bit strange.

    That Blood Feud cover is growing on me the more I look at it.. yay!

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  12. Actually I like to see the entire face not partial or minus head. But sometimes the book it self may call for only partial head. LOL

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  13. The best one, I believe, is probably Robin Benway's cover. It's one of the best covers I've seen so far. I love how it's also sideways, which gives its creative and fun vibe. I can't wait for that one :)

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  14. Woow great books! Enjoy reading them when they come out!!

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  15. I LOVE the cover of The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June. When it comes to covers in general though, I like not having a face on the cover because then, that's the face I usually imagine while reading.

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