It’s been a while since I’ve put together a hardcover to paperback post, and my list of noteworthy changes continues to grow. I’ve narrowed down this post to just six to talk about, but there will be another post in the nearish future with some of the others I’ve left off. I swear as soon as I feel like I’m conquering the list of interesting changes to talk about, even more come up. Alas!
As usual, the hardcover edition is on the left side, with the paperback on the right. Of interest: the bulk of the covers below — and many I have on my list to talk about in future posts — are Penguin titles. They’re big fans of the cover change.
Of all the cover changes in this post, the paperback change for Nina LaCour’s The Disenchantments is by far my favorite. Not only is the paperback aesthetically pleasing, it’s completely relevant to the content of the book.
If you haven’t read The Disenchantments, you’d guess from the hardcover it’s a female main character. And while there IS a main female character, it’s actually told through the eyes of 18-year-old Colby. He’s on tour with his best friend Bev’s band, The Disenchantments. Doesn’t the cover on the right better convey the band feel? It looks like a tour poster or the cover of an album. Likewise, there’s a dude on it, and he looks a lot like what I sort of imagine Colby would look like. Bev, who I am assuming is the girl in the yellow cardigan and black shorts, looks as I sort of imagined her to look from the book too. This is a great cover change, and I think it’ll make an impact in readership. Plus, you can’t go wrong when your cover actually doesn’t do disservice to the content. Because as much as I do believe guys will read a story about girls and vice versa, the hard cover of The Disenchantments would never lead a male reader to think it’s a male voice telling the story.
I’m also a fan of the paperback tagline: “Maybe we always were the people we imagined ourselves to be.” The Disenchantments paperback will be available April 18.
Here’s an older book getting a fresh look for the spring: Maureen Johnson’s Devilish. The hardcover, for the most part, has a bit of a sweet look to it. Sure, there’s something devilish in the girl’s eyes, but the spare, white cover, along with the pinkish tones of the girl’s skin, shirt, and the cupcake, give it a sweet appearance.
The paperback, though, goes in an entirely different direction. It’s dark. It’s fiery. And it has a heck of a tagline: “All it’ll cost you is your soul.” The cover kind of reminds me of Karsten Knight’s Wildefire with the way the flames take up the cover. In thinking about aesthetic appeal on this change, I would think that there’s a huge appeal to female readers on the original hardcover, and I think there’s a nice gender neutrality to the paperback reissue. Having the bit about Maureen being a New York Tims Bestselling Author on the new paperback is a big deal, too.
Without doubt, this new look with breathe new life into this book. It’s one I would consider purchasing a second copy of, in hopes of reaching a variety of readers, depending on what kind of story they’re looking for here. Devilish will have its new paperback look February 21.
Speaking of Maureen Johnson, here’s another big change coming:
The Bermudez Triangle was originally titled that and the hardcover, much like the hardcover for Devilish, was light and airy. It was primarily white, though there were spots of color between the triangle hearts. You can make out three girls between those hearts. I like the effect a lot, though the cover itself is kind of bland. Which isn’t a bad thing. It’s just not entirely memorable.
Get a look at the paperback, though. Not only is it much more colorful and much more active (I love the idea of the girls taking a self-portrait and two of them hiding from the camera — this is a real captured moment) but the title was changed completely. No more Bermudez Triangle. Instead, the title is now On the Count of Three. There is a small note below stating the title changed, but it’s not entirely obvious and you wouldn’t get it immediately from the image for the book, either. The new paperback’s also got a tag line (this is the thing for paperbacks, it seems): “What do you do when your two best friends in the world start dating . . . each other?” That line tells a lot about the book and, I think, enhances the cover image in a good way.
The paperback is very appealing, and I like how Penguin is repackaging older Johnson titles to fit today’s YA book aesthetics, and I like how contemporary — and yet timeless — they feel. On the Count of Three will be available April 18.
If you were thinking I was done with Penguin cover changes, you’d be wrong. Here’s another one, this time for Jess Rothenberg’s The Catastrophic History of You and Me. The hardcover isn’t bad by any means, but it’s a girl in a dress. I do think it’s standout, regardless, but I will say I think the paperback is even better.
The paperback edition, in addition to featuring an ampersand instead of the “and” for the title (you notice those things, don’t you?), has a very Gayle Forman If I Stay feel to it. In fact, the two of the covers are eerily similar and both have a timelessness to them. But you know what really interests me about this cover change is a very small thing: note that the blurb from Lauren Oliver is slightly different from the hardcover to the paperback: where there is “yes” and elipses in the hardcover blurb, there is on the paperback. It makes me curious to know which is correct, where the change happened, if there’s actually words between those elipses or if they’re just part of the emphasis. Curious!
I do like the paperback a tiny bit more, but that’s just because of my preference for the look of not having a person on the cover. I think it’s done fine on the hardcover. The paperback for The Catastrophic History of You & Me will be available April 18.
I’ve talked before about how Katie Williams’s The Space Between Trees hardcover is one of my all-time favorites. Not only is it haunting, it’s got some neat aesthetic elements to it, including the cut out element of the trees. The cover is a piece of art in and of itself.
I was waiting for the paperback to change, of course, so when it was brought to my attention, it took me a long time to accept the change. I’m not usually a fan of the dead girl on the cover, though sometimes it can be done well and be made completely appropriate to the story. I don’t know if I think that the girl on The Space Between Trees paperback is dead or if she’s sleeping. But what I love about this cover is how blue hued it is. It’s got a coldness to it that pervades the story itself. This cover is much more commercial and much more on par with what other similar covers are doing, so there’s something to be said about that change. I dig how the design managed to keep the font consistent between the hardcover and paperback, though — there’s something different about the font, and I’m glad it stayed and the use of the more script-like lettering for “Space” and “Trees” remained. I dig, too, how the author’s name is a little bit bigger. Part of me thinks the change came not just for the commercial aspect, but also because taking the care to do a paper cut cover for paperback edition would be a nightmare — anyone who works with books knows those things get torn so easily. The hardcover is durable and can be fixed much easier than a paperback cut would be.
This is another book that I think if I had the hardcover edition of, I’d purchase an additional copy in paperback for the library. There is a difference in appeal, I think. Plus, I don’t think I could ever get rid of the hardcover because it’s so gorgeous and so different. The paperback of The Space Between Trees will be available April 23. I want to make a special note, too, that Katie’s forthcoming title Absent (April 30) is one of the most brilliant books I’ve read and it’s one to keep on your radar.
I LOVE the new Disenchantments cover. The original was fine (and it has the rainbow image), but the new one just seems more true to the story and more fun. Incidentally, I also really liked the book.
I agree — the new cover is SO true to the story and it's a lot of fun.
I agree with everything here except that the original cover of Devilish is sweet. Every time I looked at it, it freaked me out.
hah! I can see that. My definition of "sweet" might be a little wicked 😉
For the most past, the paperbacks catch my eye. The Catastrophic History of You and Me paperback makes me more curious about the book in a way that the hardcover never did.
It's a little bit more eye-catching and intriguing!
I think the new cover for THE DISENCHANTMENTS is a still from the book trailer! Nina made that trailer herself so that's why it works so well. I love it.
That actually makes me like it a little bit MORE.
I don't super mind the changing of the covers, but the changing of the title bugs me big time! It's like they are trying to confuse people.
I see people buying it for their libraries or personally and not catching the note on the bottom that it's the same book as Bermudez Triangle. But I think the cover and title change for this one do the book a lot of good.
I love when you do these posts because I always pick up on something that I hadn't noticed! For the most part, I think the newer covers are better, although I think the new cover for The Disenchantments looks a bit like a movie adaptation cover. Also, I like the creativity of the original Happy Families, even if it is VERY stark white (I have a copy, and honestly, if you took the hardcover into the sun it might blind you, the cover is very shiny, LOL).
I really liked the new cover for The Catastrophic History of You and Me — it is beautiful, and the original always confused me because she is upright but the bridge is upside down. Even after I read the book I still didn't like it.
Interested to see what the next installment brings!
I don't know if I've seen a finished hardcover of the Davis book, but I did love the creativity of it.
With the exception of the last two I kind of like all the paperback covers better. The new Disenchantment and Catastrophic History covers actually look like something I would pick up while browsing and I love the new Maureen Johnson cover (although I think the title change is kind of random). I love the original Happy Endings and Space Between Trees covers though. But the new Happy Endings isn't horrible.
I will always hold the hardcover of Space Between the Trees in my heart, but I can accept the paperback as it is. I think.
I don't like the new cover for The Disenchantments. There was such a creepy focus on the main character talking about how "hot" the girls were every 10 pages. It looks like a cheap movie-tie-in cover.
I didn't read that in the book…I think he was more longing for Bev than anything. I think the paperback looks like a movie tie in, but I like it. I can see how people wouldn't, though.
Some other Penguin paperback changes were Jessica Spotswood's BORN WICKED and Beth Revis' trilogy. I prefer the originals on both. As for these….I like the original DEVILISH cover better than the paperback but am SOOOOOO excited to read Jess Rothenberg's book in paperback and LOOOOVE the cover!!! 🙂
I've blogged about the Revis trilogy change before since it went through TWO DIFFERENT changes before going with the most basic look it has now (which I dig). I can't remember if I talked about the Spotswood one — it's sort of an odd change since I thought the hardcover was pretty good. The paperback doesn't really sell it to a different readership. Just made it more … pink.
Thanks for the heads up, Kelly. I'm off to find your posts on Beth Revis' changes. Didn't know it had two different changes! I'm just sad because my hardcovers won't match my SHADES. *sigh* And yeah…I loooves Spotswood's original cover. I do have friends that say her new paperback entices them more than the hardcover BORN WICKED. Hmm…
Here you go!
http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/07/the-mid-series-cover-switch.html
I prefer all of the new covers, to be honest. (Especially The Disenchantments–I was soooo thrilled when the change was announced, because I loved that book, but the cover really appeals to the wrong group of readers.) I'm actually surprised how appealing the new look for The Space Between the Trees is, since it has elements that usually don't appeal to me (weird sleeping girl, scripty-type treatment, face as the focus point), but it works–I think it's got an intense quality that really catches the eye. The type treatment on Catastrophic History is such an improvement–no more font sandwich, yay!
I feel the same way about Space Between the Trees. It's like..the things that don't usually work for me ARE working for me. And I agree on the better type treatment on Catastrophic History. I like how warm the cover feels, too.
I love both THE DISENCHANTMENTS covers but the new one definitely reflects the events of the book better. I really like the new Maureen Johnson one, too, and it sounds right up my street–definitely going to check it out!
You've done EXACTLY what was hoped for in the redesign for the Johnson books — new interest! I think they're doing those titles a huge service with the new looks.
Definitely like THE CATASTROPHIC HISTORY OF YOU AND ME paperback way better, as well as Maureen's newer title/cover… LOVE seeing what the two of them are doing behind the girl in the front!
Jessica
Me too! And it just feels fun/relatable, too.
I don't like the changes to Maureen's books. The cover for Devilish makes me think of a story very different from what it actually is. I love the original Bermudez Triangle cover and title. The cover is incredibly memorable to me, and I would probably pass over the new book in a store, it just looks generic and cheesy. The way the original title and cover work together to hint at the story is very clever.
I'm with Amanda, especially re: the cover for Devilish. The tone of the paperback cover is all wrong — very dark and disturbing, with none of the story's humor and cleverness.
I wasn't crazy about the original cover of The Bermudez Triangle — I think it's too hard to see the image across the hearts — but I agree with Amanda that the paperback looks and sounds very generic. The Bermudez Triangle was a clever and distinctive title. I feel the same way about Julie Ann Peters's distinctive Far from Xanadu, which was renamed the much more generic Pretend You Love Me.