So, I’ve been working on a YA fantasy series, but I’ve also been a longtime reader of the genre. In the hopes of getting my series published, I started wondering about covers. What covers are selling, what’s not…and I thought about covers that made ME buy books, or at the very least, take a closer look.
What follows are covers and my opinions, for what they’re worth:
While I didn’t buy Enclave (not really into the zombie “flesh-eating Freaks” (as one reviewer put it) thing), this cover made me check into the content. And even the publisher’s blurb was well written and intriguing…again, until I realized what the “Freaks” are–really. 
I really love the striking orange/red/gold tons in this cover, though the seared image of the rose doesn’t really tell me anything. Still, this cover made me ask what the story was about and enticed me to take a closer look. But it was too much like Marie Lu’s CHAMPION cover (below)–and yet, I think INDELIBLE does the cover concept better. 
Lisa T Bergren has long been one of my favorite authors. After the success of her wildly popular River of Time series, she is delving into the Dystopian world–and I can’t be more excited! I love this cover, but this young girl’s face has been on too many covers for me (in particularly, a book I enjoyed and whose author I know) to fully appreciate the art. I’m hoping most readers won’t know that and will enjoy it and be enticed to buy/read it!
I’ve loved Veronica Roth’s DIVERGENT series since the first release–and I’ve preferred it (strongly) over Hunger Games. There are a few things Roth does better in her story, and they’re simply my preferences. But I love the orange/gold tones in this one. It’s strong and vibrant. 
So, this a creepy cover. And the story is peculiar, but good. Not quite as creepy once you get the hang of what’s happening. But this cover totally made me wonder what the story was about. And throughout the novel, the author ingeniously interweaves photographs of old (like the one on the cover) that are both bizarre and creepy–and the story totally works. It was for that bit of creative genius that I bought/read this book!
Now, in all honesty, this isn’t really my type of read, but I had to include it because I know and adore the author, but also because this is a very compelling cover in and of itself. It totally sells the story.
What YA covers (not necessarily the book) made you take a closer look, or even buy the book?
Comments 3
Dear Ronie,
Hi I guess I am a little old fashioned, but I like the covers for a series by L.A Kelly. I know that she has passed on but just the way the cover and actually the back of it, the way they made it look just made it so fascinating, that I just had to get it. You were talking about the Dickerson books they are ok but it isn’t just the models who sell the book for me, it has to be the what the story is about that makes or breaks it for me. I not into the freaky books that most people are interested in but sometime it is the cover and sometime it is just the author(like your books)(smile) that just I need to read them! that my thought
Rheta
I forgot to mention the name of the title of books that L.A Kelly writes one was called Talon like your book but the second was called Alistair. It was set in a medieval time period. Just forgot to add that.
Rheta
I personally think that if the book has a person on the front cover or something strange on it makes the book stick out to me. Also, if I can possibly see the kind of conflict the book might present I would maybe pick up the book and take a deeper look at it. Lastly, the title and except really get to me, the title has to be something really cool, but not horrible, inappropiate, etc.