tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post6943371966899987797..comments2024-02-06T10:13:41.248+00:00Comments on Death, Books, and Tea: The Beauty of Covers in YANina @ Death, Books, and Teahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09002356372335203320noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-30663305377578331912013-01-23T22:20:57.164+00:002013-01-23T22:20:57.164+00:00Great post! There's another cover of _The Days...Great post! There's another cover of _The Days of Judy B_ that simply shows a skinny girl. If publishers persist in choosing to keep flaws and differences off covers, I prefer when the cover is at least clever or an illustration, as in _Wonder_ and _Fat Vampire._ivanovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13694244417925801824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-27789692679411558972013-01-22T20:49:57.814+00:002013-01-22T20:49:57.814+00:00I love the pretty dress option too, but only if 1....I love the pretty dress option too, but only if 1.the girl is actually the girl in the book and 2. if she has cause to wear the dress. I get that sales are important in the design process, and I totally understand the aspiring to be like the protagonist. I think the industry should take into account multiculturalism and more realistically shaped people. Nina @ Death, Books, and Teahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09002356372335203320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-17897650883995936092013-01-22T20:41:43.599+00:002013-01-22T20:41:43.599+00:00Ooh, I never knew bookshops got a choice in the ma...Ooh, I never knew bookshops got a choice in the matter! *files info away* It's a shame that people can choose not to sell a book on the basis of its cover, but I understand the sales POV.Nina @ Death, Books, and Teahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09002356372335203320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-36598369436323456632013-01-22T20:34:35.272+00:002013-01-22T20:34:35.272+00:00Hey, diets aren't necessary unless your weight...Hey, diets aren't necessary unless your weight is affecting your health to the point you can't walk anywhere... It's really annoying how fat people tend to be relegated to side characters.... Looking on my shelves, about three of them have a curvy protagonist. Nina @ Death, Books, and Teahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09002356372335203320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-41362940675039417582013-01-22T13:33:14.866+00:002013-01-22T13:33:14.866+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Yüz Germehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14044973139527848151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-30811241252881748042013-01-22T08:17:39.316+00:002013-01-22T08:17:39.316+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313843904696172842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-57270831189648304762013-01-22T07:23:56.663+00:002013-01-22T07:23:56.663+00:00This post is really great, Nina. It is pretty upse...This post is really great, Nina. It is pretty upsetting that society's perception of beauty is so exact in most of our media, not just book covers. And this whole pretty white girl in dress trend for covers (that has died down a bit now, thank god) is not only problematic, it's just boring and unimaginative. Body image should be a bigger part of education because loving yourself and your body is real,lay important for mental health, too.<br /><br />Oh, and the girl of fire and thorns cover is a lot better than the first one, which was just a pretty white girl in a dress.Cicelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17737697388817864093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-85452541029897072362013-01-21T18:20:37.714+00:002013-01-21T18:20:37.714+00:00I really don't agree with the fact that people...I really don't agree with the fact that people on the front of covers are portrayed as perfect. This is actually quite misleading and isn't very good for self-esteem. <br />I've just started to not care about how I look to other people because, at the end of the day, if I think I feel fine, then that's all that should matter. <br />YA covers particularly annoy me because teens are at a stage in life when they need to be shown what real life is like. And real life isn't pretty girls strutting around in designer clothes.<br />This is a really interesting topic! And thank you for the mention, Nina! Lucy Powriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08449822423435674409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-82767298105627545632013-01-21T10:59:10.190+00:002013-01-21T10:59:10.190+00:00Great post. I particularly agree on Girl of Fire a...Great post. I particularly agree on Girl of Fire and Thorns, which I thought had a really compelling protagonist (not white! Not thin!), but I'm also unfortunately forced to agree with publishers on the subject of what kind of cover sells. <br /><br />The general perception is that in western culture, the majority of your *commercial* (i.e. not just heavy readers) audience for YA is white and female. So logic would dictate that if you're a white girl, you want to see a pretty white girl on the cover in order to identify with her and 'aspire' to be her. <br /><br />However crappy that attitude is, until it goes away we're left with a swathe of YA covers that feature 'pretty white girls in dresses'. There's nothing wrong with pretty girl in dress per say (I personally really like the Clockwork Princess cover, for example), but there is when the protag is actually nothing like that. Laure Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18062119625043418394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-90867381032208449242013-01-20T16:44:23.732+00:002013-01-20T16:44:23.732+00:00This is such a valid post and it's a shame, bu...This is such a valid post and it's a shame, but I think the main reason these issues are not displayed on covers, is the one you mentioned, because the people in the industry don't think they sell well, same for whitewashing. It's also not just publishers etc, BOOKSHOPS actually have a huge impact on covers. Places like Smiths can refuse to take a book if they don't like a cover, which does put pressure on the publishers to make the covers more 'acceptable'. I do think everyone (from publishers down to us) should make more of an effort to ensure accurate covers that do portray these differences. Great post Nina!<br /><br /><a href="http://thecaitfiles.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow"> Cait x </a>Caithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13185442524972510158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3695244889866768854.post-15281766840347754772013-01-19T18:39:31.548+00:002013-01-19T18:39:31.548+00:00I had been thinking about that recently too. It we...I had been thinking about that recently too. It went more along the lines of why are romance heroines usually portrayed as beautiful. Even if they are shy/quiet or wallflowers after the makeover wand has been waved or a change of clothes takes place, they become hot. Why can't we have over weight or curvy protagonists? <br />P.S This is coming out after unsuccessfully going on a diet in the last week.Escapism Fanatichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06359804270238859885noreply@blogger.com