This month's matchup features Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give. Debra Cartwright's cover art is simple but very eye-catching and instantly recognizable. The Hate U Give has been translated into multiple languages and there is some variety in the covers, but I picked the ones that stood out as having a more individual style.
 Original US cover |
 US Paperback Movie Tie-in |
 Indonesian Cover |
 Slovakian Cover |
 Walker Books Cover |
 Serbian Cover |
I personally believe that the original cover is iconic and the best. I never like movie tie-in covers, but I totally understand why it's done. The original tie-in cover was the Amandla Stenberg remake of the cover (interesting fact, FOX had to negotiate with Cartwright "to use a derivative image as the movie poster.") The latest movie based cover more closely resembles the UK cover for On The Come Up. It looks like publishers are trying to consciously brand Thomas's covers, much like the Twilight covers all had the same look.
The Indonesian cover is very interesting. The artist obviously tried to continue Cartwright's original color scheme, Starr is the only source of color and the crowd is gray and white mimicking the original blank background. However, the crowd looks distinctly Asian and Starr is carrying a funeral photo - very Asian twists on a book about African Americans. It's interesting how the artists is trying to get the Indonesian audience to understand and relate to a book from a different culture. I feel the Slovakian cover misrepresents The Hate U Give. Yes, there's a riot, but the book is about so much more. Maybe this image has a different meaning when viewed through the Slovakian culture/experience, but it's my least favorite based on my interpretation.
Now I couldn't find any information about this particular cover through the Walker Books, so I'm going to assume (always a dangerous thing) that this is the "Adult" cover for the book. Several years ago Harry Potter was republished with less kiddy covers because, apparently, adults were embarrassed to be seen reading a kid's book. (insert eye roll here.) Don't shame people for their reading choices. There's always someone lamenting the death of literacy - probably because 1) readers are mocked for pursuing their interests, 2) younger readers are mocked for reading those disdainful comics or YA books, and 3) the people who are complaining are typically literary elitists who think Literary Fiction or Non Fiction is the only worthwhile subject to read. UGH! And don't get me started on how the billion dollar Romance industry is trash and not "real writing".
Sorry for the tangent, obviously this is a sore spot for me. It frustrates me how parents and teachers unconsciously shame students for their book choices. They want kids to become readers but are contemptuous of their reading journey.
Anyway...
Last cover, and I'm not sure about this one. It's a very stark and stylized cover, much like the original, but the silhouette style seems old fashioned. It's important to remember that the subject matter is an ongoing issue, not an old time one that doesn't apply to modern life.
The Indonesian cover is very interesting. The artist obviously tried to continue Cartwright's original color scheme, Starr is the only source of color and the crowd is gray and white mimicking the original blank background. However, the crowd looks distinctly Asian and Starr is carrying a funeral photo - very Asian twists on a book about African Americans. It's interesting how the artists is trying to get the Indonesian audience to understand and relate to a book from a different culture. I feel the Slovakian cover misrepresents The Hate U Give. Yes, there's a riot, but the book is about so much more. Maybe this image has a different meaning when viewed through the Slovakian culture/experience, but it's my least favorite based on my interpretation.
Now I couldn't find any information about this particular cover through the Walker Books, so I'm going to assume (always a dangerous thing) that this is the "Adult" cover for the book. Several years ago Harry Potter was republished with less kiddy covers because, apparently, adults were embarrassed to be seen reading a kid's book. (insert eye roll here.) Don't shame people for their reading choices. There's always someone lamenting the death of literacy - probably because 1) readers are mocked for pursuing their interests, 2) younger readers are mocked for reading those disdainful comics or YA books, and 3) the people who are complaining are typically literary elitists who think Literary Fiction or Non Fiction is the only worthwhile subject to read. UGH! And don't get me started on how the billion dollar Romance industry is trash and not "real writing".
Sorry for the tangent, obviously this is a sore spot for me. It frustrates me how parents and teachers unconsciously shame students for their book choices. They want kids to become readers but are contemptuous of their reading journey.
Anyway...
Last cover, and I'm not sure about this one. It's a very stark and stylized cover, much like the original, but the silhouette style seems old fashioned. It's important to remember that the subject matter is an ongoing issue, not an old time one that doesn't apply to modern life.
Which one do you prefer? What do you think is important for a book cover to communicate, especially to a foreign audience?
0 comments:
Post a Comment