cover loved + just plain loved

Don’t you just love it when a book’s outsides are a positive little reflection of how awesome its insides are? Let’s just call this little post what it is — a PSA/book jacket porn post dedicated to a few good books I’ve read in the past few months: Wonder by RJ Palacio and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love the way the final print turned out. Chad Beckerman, Ben Wiseman and Brian Levy definitely know how to create some book eye candy, inside and out.

I read Me and Earl back in December (thanks NetGalley!), and can’t remember the last time I read a book that made me laugh so hard and so often. Greg, the book’s narrator, is the kinda weird teen I hung around in high school. He’s unabashedly self-conscious and his self-deprecating sense of humor resonated with me more than I’d like to admit. But to be honest with you, it was Jesse Andrews’ authorthoughts interview here on TCG that made me realized I will probably purchase and read anything this man writes.

I love disrobing books. It's rare to find titles underneath. Especially in SHINY GREEN.

The art on the back of Wonder made me a smile a little bit:

I would be a liar if I said I didn’t have feelings for this book. You know the kind of feelings I’m talking about. The kind of feelings that make you want to be a better person. The kind of feelings that make you want shove this hands into every literate kid you know (and adults, for that matter).

I posted a few gushy sentences on Goodreads, too. (Are we friends? If we’re not, we should be.)

To call this book charming, endearing or uplifting just doesn’t feel right. The words aren’t STRONG enough. Also, to simply say this is a “beautiful little book” just doesn’t feel like I’m doing this book justice, either. This isn’t the kind of novel that has you flipping pages because it’s plot-driven and every short chapter ends on a mini cliffhanger. Reading about life from the perspective of several different kids that focus on one remarkable little boy made me curious to know which side of the story I’d read next. 

If I were to gush about a character other than Auggie, it’d be his fierce yet gentle big sis, Via. That girl had guts. I love my sister, but she’s definitely the big sister I wish I had growing up. If you’re looking for a book that’s going to make your heart swollen with a plethora of emotions, it’s this one. I simply couldn’t walk away from this book with a slightly different outlook on life. Simply wonderful.

A quick addition to this list is Daisy Whitney’s The Rivals, which isn’t pictured here, unfortunately. (Our cover convo can be found here, though.) It’s an incredibly moving and empowering book — so definitely a recommended read.

Regardless of cover-love or not-so-love, any books that’ve stuck with you over the past few months that you’ve enjoyed?

26 thoughts on “cover loved + just plain loved

  1. This post just made me go back and read your convo with Daisy Whitney – I LOVE her new covers. The originals were unique, but not compelling to me at all. I think the new versions are fantastic! And it’s exciting that they were a result of her own wishes/ideas. Jesse Andrews’ cover might be my favorite so far this year. But my all time favorite cover? The one that I almost come back to when I’m thinking of really gorgeous covers? The paperback version of Mare’s War. It is a stunner!

    • Glad you like the new Mockingbirds covers, Katie (I’m a big fan of the originals, though!). But I’ll agree with you that it’s great knowing her team pushed hard for the re-do’s.

      Ahh, Mare’s War! Kate Gartner & co did such a fantastic job on that one.

  2. Love the colors of Me and Earl and just the over-all feel of that jacket. I also love the comment you made about Wonder, “The kind of feelings that make you want to be a better person.” – THAT is literature at it’s best.

    • Me and Earl’s cover is like bright yummy candy. CANDY I tell you. Any cover that resembles candy eases up on the eye candy scale, obvs. 😉

      Do give Wonder a read when you get a chance. It’s a great MG and I think you’ll want your students to read it, too.

  3. Just love love love these covers. Shall put them on my ‘To Read’ list (it’s very long, haha). I’ve just been devouring the ‘In Her Name’ trilogy by Michael Hicks. Awesome, awesome books! (Can’t say as much for their covers unfortunately lol – but the first one, ‘In Her Name: Empire’ is available for free download from the author’s website – sweet!)

  4. I love when you can tell that care was put into the design of a book. One that always comes to mind is The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston. (I’m excited to read both of the titles highlighted in this post by the way) (and I’m also a book disrober)

    • Holla, fellow book disrober! It’s not often that I disrobe books — only when I know I’m going to purchase them, it’s the first thing I do. Weird, right?

      I’ve heard great things about Woolston’s work (esp. Catch & Release) – will have to try out The Freak Observer! Thanks for the rec. =)

  5. I adored Wonder. I’m pushing it at everyone now. I can’t think the fact that the author is a graphic designer hurt her chances at having an awesome looking book, even if she didn’t design it herself.

    I brought home the ARC for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl today. Can’t wait to crack it open. (Although I would never actually break the spine.) I’ve already had numerous people comment on the cover without prompting from me.

    • Glad to hear you loved Wonder, Sarah. It’d be interesting to see how involved Palacio was in the design process!

      And I really hope you love Me and Earl. Empty your bladder before you read it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 😉

  6. I LOVE Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’s cover. I want to have it printed and framed in a big poster to hang in my room!

    And that back cover on Wonder – aww. 🙂

    • I’d been told that I would sob like a baby, and in most cases I would. I’ve been crying a lot at books, TV, film, you name it. But there was something about Wonder that made me helicopter around a few different emotions. It all culminated in the end when yes, I did cry, but I wasn’t a sobbing mess. A few tears slipped out, the kind of tears that accompany some slow shallow breathing in realization that I just read a powerful novel — and it all hit me at once. I don’t know how else to explain those kind of tears. But they were good.

  7. Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl is seriously one of the best reads. It’s so hilarious and I love Greg from it. The cover is also all sorts of amazing! I haven’t gotten to see the finished product – read my copy on the Kindle (via NetGalley) – so thanks for posting pictures of the hard copy. Looks amazing! May just have to buy it so I can look at it and remember what a great cover is supposed to look like!

    • We forget what a good cover looks and feels like (even smells like) when we can read books on our e-Everythings, don’t we? It does have an interesting gritty matte feel to it, but there’s no denying this book’s production is just fantastic.

  8. Both these books look so pretty! I love it when the contents of a book are just as beautiful as its cover. I haven’t read these two but I’ve been hearing such good things about them.

    “I love disrobing books.” -> LOL at the word disrobing. But yes, I like doing the same thing. I keep hoping that there’s something nice underneath the dust jacket.

  9. oh

    i LOVE the features on Earl. the spine is awesome and the interior ❤ I dont normally go for hard cover, but you have me pondering acquiring one…

  10. I love these covers. It makes me happy when publishers also make the interiors of a book look good. It makes me want to pick up Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl. You make me appreciate the wonderful design of these books a lot more. 🙂

  11. The back of Wonder…I would have thought someone would have actually Sharpied my book! AH! And I love the Earl cover…I just wish I would have liked the book more. But this is about covers, so I won’t say much about that.

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