The Abandon Trilogy by Meg Cabot - Covers

I've read the first book in this series, but I definitely want to read the second and can't wait for the third to come out. It's a retelling of the Persephone story... sort of... and as you may have noticed if you read the review of The Goddess Test, I have kind of an obsession with Greek mythology, especially Persephone. I've even written my own retelling of it for a contest in which it made it to the semifinalists.

Just like the book, the covers are so beautiful:

American
  

UK
      

They're both beautiful in their own ways, and I wish I didn't have to choose. For each book singularly, I think I'd say UK for Abandon and American for Underworld; for the series as a whole, I'm going to have to go with the UK versions. I love the swirls and the fonts for the UK titles, but I do prefer the richness and consistency of the colors in the American covers.

Can't wait to read Underworld now!

~Sky

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi - Covers

My best friend Mira won an ARC of this book several months ago, and I was determined to read it after that. I'm a bit annoyed that I hadn't read it sooner, because oh my God, was it amazing.

And as if reflecting the fact that there aretoo many words for me to choose the right one to describe this book, there's no way I'll ever be able to choose my favorite of the (many, many) covers:

Swedish; American, old; American, new; German; Unknown, possibly fan art; French; Italian
                

 I can't choose just one, but I'm going to have to say that my favorites are the new American, unknown, and French covers. I really like the covers and simplicity of the new American one, although I think it could have been even better with the font and title style of the old American cover (I like the strike through the title). For the unknown one, I don't care that it's fan art; I like the picture, the format.... just about everything (except for the lack of an author's name). Then, I guess my favorite would have to be the French one - it's got a slightly different translated title, but the picture matches the story wonderfully and the stars coming through the window are absolutely beautiful.

There are also a few picture twins in here, so if you think you've seen the German or Italian ones before - you probably have. The German one has the same background as The Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon, and the Italian one has the same image as the German version of XVI by Julia Karr.

I don't think I have much to say about the Swedish one. While the picture fits the story, I don't like it or the colors very much.

So many covers for this one, but for the most part they're all very pretty!

~Sky

Ash by Malinda Lo - Covers

Several months ago, Figment hosted a contest for Bay Area teens, with four subdivisions. As described in my The Sky is Everywhere cover post, Jandy Nelson was one of the judges and awarded me third place. Malinda Lo was one of the other judges, so her newest book Huntress was included in my prize. My best friend Mira had introduced me to Lo's writing before with Ash, a debut novel and retelling of Cinderella - if Cinderella were an archer and lesbian. It's currently sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.

Here are a few covers for Ash:

UK; Italian; American
      

The American one is my favorite. I love the simplicity of it, even if the title can be a little difficult to read in the girl's skirt. I'm not a huge fan of the pink blob on the Italian cover, but it and the American one at least seem more like the Cinderella-archer part of the story; the UK cover looks a bit like a fairy, or at least someone who is less... harcore, I guess? - than Ash.

Can't wait to reread this, and maybe it's time for me to read Huntress again too.

~Sky

Breathless by Jessica Warman - Review

There is a quote from a review by Todd Strasser on the cover of Breathless, which reads "Poignantly honest and real." Those four words summarize this semi-autobiographical novel perfectly. Every word, every chapter.... it was all incredible.

This book centers around Katie, whose only escape from life has always been swimming. Her brother Will suffers from drug-induced schizophrenia, and after he tries to kill himself on the neighbor's swing set, both he and Katie are sent away: Will to a psychiatric hospital, and Katie to boarding school. Rather than being something she dreads, though, Katie finds herself looking forward to the change, where she can - and does - make herself into whoever she wants. She starts making friends under the lie that her brother is dead: Mazzie, her roommate who comes from an even worse family than Katie does, and who sees through Katie's lie to become her best friend; Estella, who makes a game of tormenting everyone, even Katie; Lindsey, who is always portrayed as nothing more than Estella's best friend; and Drew, the devout Christian and boys' varsity swimming captain who becomes Katie's boyfriend, even though his reluctance in their relationship due to his religion frustrates her. For three years life continues as normal and Katie begins to make a home in the boarding school, where she is away from her alcoholic mother and most memories of Will - but when Will does something that no one ever expected, Katie begins struggling to make it through life.

I loved the first three of four parts. Warman's writing style is so beautiful; every sentence was perfectly emotional and it was hard to tear myself away (I think I finished the whole book in less than two hours). It's really pretty hard not to fall in love with these parts, at the very least. Katie is so absolutely real, and... well, I have to admit it's hard to explain what exactly makes this book so incredible. It just kind of is.

The fourth part, on the other hand, is where things start getting strange. Katie changes into the bad-girl persona that most YA characters these days change out of. Admittedly she was never exactly "clean" - she smoked for the first time when she was twelve, and drugs and alcohol have always been a part of her life - but in this part, at least in the beginning, that bad-girl-drug-user came out a bit too strongly for my liking. While it died down as the end of the story came closer, that definitely brought down the book overall.

I loved the characters and relationships in this book, though. While I did hate how Katie treated Drew, especially near the end, she wasn't by any means a "perfect" character, and neither was he - just like how no one is truly perfect in reality. I absolutely adored Katie's relationship with her roommate, Mazzie; they were so similar yet so different in all their own ways, and though Mazzie started out distant, she gets closer with both Katie and the reader as the book goes on.

Others: The pacing was decent; it was perfect in some places, but then it would skip over several months, and I found that to be fairly disorienting. The plot was intriguing and more original than most things I've read these days. There was definitely a unique look at mental illnesses and the danger that can come along with schizophrenia. The background in the beginning was nice, something showing where Katie came from and giving readers a chance to get to know her better. And finally, considering Katie's obsession with the water, I would have liked if she focused more on swimming - especially near the end - but it was all right as it was.

It was a great book, and definitely poignant as Strasser's quote says on the cover (of which, I found, there is only one version). However, while it came close to perfect it didn't quite reach that point, so I'm going to give Jessica Warman's Breathless 4.5 out of 5 stars.



~Sky

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau - Covers

I actually saw the author of this book live, several years ago, when she was talking about her book - and its multiple covers in different countries. I haven't read the book in a long time but I remembered some of the covers, so here they are:


American; UK; Japanese

      

 Oh dear God. What on earth possessed the Japanese to make the cover look like that?? THOSE LOOK LIKE TRUFFULA TREES. THERE ARE NO TRUFFULA TREES IN THE CITY OF EMBER.

End rant. Okay. Needless to say? I hate the Japanese cover, at least in relationship to the content of the book, and ignoring the fact that the stupid image refuses to let me resize it. Anyway, while I can't say that I absolutely love any of the books, the American one is pretty clever, so I'm going to have to say that's my favorite.

~Sky

P.S. The Japanese one could have been okay on a different book. That is to say, a picture book for three-year-olds with terrible sense in colors.

Siren by Tricia Rayburn - Covers

I've been meaning to reread this book for a while - it's been sitting on my shelf for several months now and I think it's time for it to take a break from that spot. I don't normally like fantasy novels, but this was beautifully haunting, so that's what I was looking for in covers:

UK; American; Polish (I think); German

         

I am in love with the German cover. It's absolutely beautiful and everything I'd ever want in a cover for my own book if I ever do get published. The colors, the fonts... I absolutely love everything about it. Except, you know, the fact that it's in German.

After that I'd say the Polish one, then American, then UK (which is downright creepy, but there are 3 or 4 different covers for this book with the same image and different fonts, so I guess it's pretty popular).

~Sky

Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott - Covers

I love Elizabeth Scott's writing, and I think I've probably read her book Stealing Heaven three or four times. It never gets old - the romance (of course this is another romance story, what more do you expect?), the plot, the fact that someone who's normally hated by society - a girl who steals for a living - is the protagonist. Just like the rest of Scott's books, this is a wonderful, fun read.

German; American
 

I can't really say that I like the German one very much... it seems a bit too serious, too dark for this YA contemporary novel, even if the image does match the book a little better than the American one. For the colors, writing, and overall impression, though, I much prefer the American cover for this book.

~Sky

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson - Covers

I think I'm half in love with this book. Not even kidding. It's a beautiful story about love, and even though the main character Lennie lost her sister, it's not a story about grief - it's more about overcoming grief. I love the book, I love the author, and Lennie seems to be me reincarnated into book form (we both love to write, we both play clarinet, etc). It also doesn't hurt that Jandy Nelson once read my story and awarded me third place in a contest, or that she signed my copy of The Sky is Everywhere - but admittedly, my best friend Mira won a well-deserved first place, and I'm so insanely happy for her (she loves the book as well!).

When I started searching for the different covers, I was so happy to find that they're all just as beautiful as the book itself:

 Italian; UK; American hardcover; Unknown; American paperback
       

My personal (well-loved, well-worn) copy is the American paperback version, and I think my two favorites are the American ones, especially the hardcover. Something about the heart in the middle is just absolutely beautiful, and I don't know why, but it's just a really compelling cover. Similarly, the vines on the paperback one are really cute and it seems to cover some of the events from the book. The other three are beautiful as well, though - I just prefer the American ones. (Mira has the hardcover; my other best friend MauMau and I both have the paperback.)

~Sky

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen - Covers

I've read just about all of Sarah Dessen's books (working on What Happened to Goodbye now), but Just Listen was the first one that I ever read by this YA author. It's cute but has a lot of deeper messages hidden within its pages, so that's what I was looking for in a cover (and believe me, there are plenty to choose from):


Spanish; German; American (1); American (2); unknown (possibly UK)
           

My copy has the fourth cover - the American (2) one, even though it came out before the American (1) cover. However, I'm going to say that I like the Spanish and American (1) covers the best, partly because they really feature an image that appears to be based off the title, and mostly because the colors and design are cute but elegant, just like the book. The German and American (2) covers are nice as well, but I have to admit I really just don't like the fifth one.

I think I need to go read my beaten-up copy of this book again - thankfully in English!

~Sky

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson - Covers

First off, I love this author's name - it's just one of those names that sounds so perfectly.... author-y. I must admit, though, that I tried reading her other book Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, and I wasn't particularly impressed. (I'm also ashamed to say that I kind of gave up on that one after a few chapters.) I went into Second Chance Summer expecting the same thing.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one, and so glad that I read it. It's fun and a great summer read - although, I must warn, not necessarily ideal if you aren't a fan of romance.

Unfortunately, this isn't a review, but a cover comparison, so here we go:

American; Australian
   

Definitely the American one for this one. You can't tell in the picture, but the words are written in silver, and it just looks like a simple, subdued, summery book - which is exactly what it is. The Australian cover, while it does include many of the things that are important to the book, looks like Tropical Starbursts-turned-book. I mean, just look at these and tell me they aren't the same colors. (Okay, I know that those are the gummies and not the normal Starbursts, but I liked the picture better.) Personally, I'd rather be pleased by the cover than want to eat it... so that's just a little bit about why I prefer the American cover to the Australian one. :D

~Sky

P.S. Turns out there's another book called Second Chance Summer, written by another female author with the initials MM (Michelle McAdam). That cover looks like this (and I must admit I'm not a huge fan of it... never read the book though, so maybe it fits really well!).

The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter - Review

A real review!

The summary: Aimée Carter's The Goddess Test is the first book in the Goddess Test series - technically a trilogy, but with the apparently essential Books 1.5 and 2.5, I'm not entirely sure what that makes it. Anyway, the book opens when Kate Winters, a teenage girl, and her mother Diana arrive in Diana's town of origin, Eden, so that she can die of the cancer that has left her struggling for life in the place where she was born. Here Kate meets Henry of the mysterious Eden Manor - and promises to live with him for half of the year in return for her mother's life. Her challenge is to pass seven tests within the next six months, which may seem simple before considering that the eleven girls before her have all died before the testing period ended. If she passes them all, she'll become immortal. If she fails, she will lose all memory of Eden Manor, and Henry (or, if he's telling the truth, Hades) will fade from existence.

The plot: While this seems to be a retelling of the popular Persephone myth, in reality it's merely a story loosely based off the myth, and only loosely based off Greek mythology at all. It's a refreshing take on the story, though, and I found myself staying up late at night to find the answers to my questions. Will Diana survive? Why have all of the past girls died? And - most importantly - will Kate pass the tests? It's by no means an action story, but it's a beautiful tale of contemporary Greek gods. People who are educated about mythology may be frustrated by how different The Goddess Test really is from the Persephone myth, and Kate's lack of knowledge about mythology can be a bit annoying, but the minimal mythology involved makes it a perfect YA story for both people who can't get enough of mythology and people who know very little about it.

The characters: Kate was a fun narrator to follow through her story, and I was rooting for her the entire way. She's very relatable - to me, at least - and I loved reading about her. (Bear in mind that I've read this book at least three times and I still can't get enough of her. She's just incredible.) As for Henry, he started out fairly distant, which made his change later in the story (no more details on that - don't want to give out any spoilers!) a bit unbelievable, but I came to love him by the end of the story as well. The other characters, unfortunately, were less than remarkable. Other than Ava, Kate's friend, Carter never gives many details about any of them, and there are a few who are only mentioned once or twice but seem fairly important posthumously. Those characters who end up being gods don't seem to share many qualities with their gods, so that was somewhat frustrating, but it's understandable that Carter would want to make the characters her own instead of sticking to the Greek myths. (Calliope especially frustrated me when it came to this.)

The romance: Okay, I absolutely love romance books, and this one didn't fail to impress. It's impossible to think that a story based off Persephone could not have a romantic relationship of some sort, and it's that relationship exactly that made the second half of the book so fun, and why I especially couldn't bear to think about Kate failing her tests.

The score: I'd probably give this a 3.5/5 stars. It's a fun plot with a great love story, but the characters were sometimes annoying in that they weren't very much like their respective gods and that they weren't ever described in very great detail. I also wish it stuck to the idea of Persephone a little more, but it's still a good book as it is.

The cover: I really love the Australian cover, just because of the beautiful picture and fonts, but it doesn't match the plot at all and, as another blogger revealed here, the image is anything but original: it's the same background as Saundra Mitchell's The Vespertine, Eden Maguire's Dark Angel, and Maite Carranza's Eine magische Sommernacht, and (according to the model) from the same shoot as Lisa Kleypas's Un jour tu me reviendras and Janet Fox's Forgiven. So, for the sake of the plot and originality, I'm going to have to go with the American cover on this one.

Australian; American
 

~Sky

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - Covers

Okay, so my copy of Code Name Verity is in the same order as my copy of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, so I haven't read it for a few months and I'll be sure to review it after I reread it. I can tell you this much: it's a bit of a long read, and I almost cried at the end, but it's perfect if you like history, WWII, or airplanes (I just happen to be a sucker for all three). Here's another cover comparison:


Canadian; UK; American
      

I'm going to have to go with the UK version for this one. Somehow the cover artist managed to put everything necessary on the cover without making it seem cluttered: the girl (the silhouette is stunningly appropriate, given that she refuses to reveal her identity), the airplanes, the explosions, the quote "I have told the truth"... it's all perfect. Unfortunately the copy I'm getting is the American cover, which is at least a little better than the Canadian cover - I'm not a huge fan of the fonts of the Canadian one, but I do like that both the Canadian and American covers have the idea of friendship.

I can't wait for this book to come so I can reread it!

~Sky

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith - Covers

I absolutely adore The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. It's such a cute book but (like The Probability of Miracles) I haven't read it recently enough to write a decent review of it. Hopefully I'll be able to soon then! I ordered a copy and it's scheduled to show up next week :)

So here's another book cover comparison:

UK1; American; UK2
    

I don't know enough about the first and third covers to tell you any more than that they're from the UK, but I can say that I think the third one is probably my favorite. Like the book, it's super cute with the fonts and colors and background picture. It's not really a scene I remember very well - in that case the American one in the middle is the best, in the airport scenario - but the little plane in both of the UK covers gives people a better idea of what the book's about. Unfortunately the book I ordered is the American one, but it's also pretty cute so not a big loss :)

~Sky

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder - Covers

I first read this book... gosh, probably two years ago, and I really can't wait to read it again. After reading a quick excerpt I suddenly remembered just how funny the main character, Cam, is, and so to keep myself from totally ripping apart all of the libraries near me in order to find it, I'm going to quench my thirst a little and do something I've seen some other people do: compare different covers for the book.


 American paperback; American hardcover; UK
            


Personally I think my favorite is the American paperback. I love the colors, and the feathers make it seem a little more fun than the others, which matches Cam pretty well. And now I really can't wait to reread it again :D

~Sky