Favorite/Not So Favorite Book Cover Changes

This is a post about book covers.


                                     From this...                                                      ... To this.
                                                               

            I really liked the cover on the left, and I'm not too pumped about the second one. People in bathing suits on the cover just screams ROMANCE! and I'm not sure that is what this book is totally about. It shows none of the scifi/ fantasy aspects of the book, and makes me think of cheesy rich kid romances. However, the first is slightly mysterious and eye-catching, and I feel like it fits the book far better than the on the left.

                                                             

              The cover on the left is hands-down my favorite. The girl, lying down with the blood bird things in her hands, just screams MAGIC! INTRIGUE! while the cover on the right is just... boring. I mean, sure, the rune and fire/blood setup is cool, but it doesn't draw me in like the one on the left. Also, the left cover is a subtle tie-in to the book, with the bloody birds and all, and the dark forest in the background is creepy and alluring.


                                          

               The first cover: Boring. It shows a certain level of mystery and occult, but it is... plain. The second cover doesn't really do it for me either, but just because I don't think it relates to the book very well at all. However, I do like the third cover. The eerie purple lighting gives off a certain air of mystery, while the lettering makes me think that the book is set in an older time period. The whole thing is eye-catching and appealing to the reader, and I think it just fits the book better than the others.

                                                               

                The second cover is probably my favorite, because I feel like it represents the book better than the first one, which looks girly and fake. Also, the second one has a more... dynamic feeling than the first one, and makes me want to read the book more than I normally would.

                                                               

                  Hands down, definitely the second one. It is dynamic and eye-catching, completely unlike the first one, which is just a face. I can't say I really enjoyed the book, but I love love love the second cover.


                                                             Now for movie covers.

                                                     

                    The first one is the version I read, and I can't say I like the cover. It seems plain, and not at all like the action-packed book. However, Version 2, the movie cover, is dynamic and lets us see the danger that being Ender represents, if you get what I'm saying. Anyway, the second one is definitely better.

                                                                 

                      For me, I like the first cover better, even though it really has next to nothing to do with the book. It's mysterious and alluring, and catches my eye and makes me want to rip it off the shelf and plow through it in four hours. The second cover, however, just screams CHEESY ROMANCE MOVIE, and when I look at it, I think, "Pfff, great. Another romance. Whoop-de-doo," and shows no promise of really anything actually happening.
                                                      

                 Okay, the second one isn't strictly the book cover, but I did see it on a book cover at the bookstore, even if I wasn't able to find an image of the actual cover. But whatever. Anyway, I think the second book cover is my favorite- it just holds a certain allure that the first one doesn't have. I do like the first cover a lot, though, and it's pretty close competition.

                                                          

                  I think this one is a tie. The first cover is marvelous in its simplicity, much like Twilight, bur the second one is eye-catching and... cool. I know that sounds weird, but it is. It's cool. I am glad they kept the title font for the second book cover, as well,  because it's awesome. Just saying.

                                                               

                 This one is a tie as well. I love the original cover, with the creepy eye and such, but I also like the movie tie-in cover. They both scream SCI-FI with the lens-flare type "ring" of sorts on each cover, and they are both slightly mysterious, the first one probably a little bit more than the second. But I think they both work for this book.

     These comparisons are completely my opinion, and in no way are you required to feel the same way about any of them. Leave a comment below saying which is your favorite- I'd like to know!

Book Review: Article 5, by Kristen Simmons

Book Review: Article 5, by Kristen Simmons
Spoilers alert!

Synopsis:

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.


Book Review:

     I recieved Article 5 as a Christmas present and plowed through it in one sitting. Yes, it was that good. I was hooked from the very first page, entranced by this dystopian world in a way I have not been since Divergent and The Hunger Games. Kristen Simmons effortlessly entwined danger, heartbreak, excitement, and romance into an enthralling tale of a world where there are virtually no human rights, no freedom of speech or anything else, and a desperate bid for survival.
     Ember's mother is taken by the FBR for noncompliance with Article 5, and Ember is transported to a reform school run by vicious "sisters" and soldiers, where she makes a desperate bargain for escape. However, this attempt is compromised, and then a soldier shows up to take her away. This soldier is none other than Chase Jennings, Ember's ex that she hasn't seen in over a year.
     At first I was like, oh, great, another book about rebelling against the military- now with romance! Yaaay... Not. But Article 5 proved to be different from anything I could ever have imagined.
     From early on in the book, it is clear that Chase would do anything for Ember, even if he is cold and heartless around her. But he quickly softens, and their romance blooms amidst running from the military, shooting things, being captured over and over, and miraculously finding enough money to survive on the run.
     Simmons inserts little flashback segments randomly throughout the book, but they are, in fact, perfectly placed and offer a glimpse into what Ember's world was like before her mother was taken and Chase was drafted for the military. These flashbacks were just enough to keep me starving for more, and every so often I would sit up and be like, "Ohhhh, so that's what happened."
     Article 5 is completely different from any other dystopian book out there (probably- I haven't read them all, so I wouldn't know) and the cliffhanger at the end will make you want to jump up and run to the bookstore for book two.
     I strongly recommend this book for fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent, as well as anyone 12 and up.
     Five out of five stars.