Cover Comparison - John Green

Today is a very, very special day- the incredibly lovely and wonderful, Ebony of Daring Damsels and I are back for another cover comparisons! If you haven't seen this before, it's exactly what it sounds like - Ebony and I picked out a bunch of different covers and then we compare them. As you've probably guessed by the title, today we're focusing on John Green. Over on Ebony's blog, we looked at Wuthering Heights covers so make you sure you check that out. Finally, if you'd like to see some other ones- we've already done Jane Eyre and The Diviners. Let's look at those covers!

1. Looking for Alaska - Australian/UK Edition

Ebony: I like the simplicity of the cover, and the colours chosen. Is the daisy a significance in the story? I can’t really remember...oops. However, if it is, which I’m fairly sure it is, then I like that it’s on the cover.

Ely: I don’t know if I actually like this one. On one hand, I really like the text and the colours but the daisy seems weird to me. What I mean is, I like it as a cover but I don’t know whether it really suits the story- it seems a little too happy to me.

 2. Looking for Alaska - American Paperback

Ely: This is the cover I have, and I don’t actually mind it. It’s definitely not my favourite cover of all time, but I think the sort of dark, mysterious feel that is has really reminds me of Alaska. I don’t know how I feel about the text though- I think that could have been done a lot better.

Ebony: I’ve never liked this cover. I don’t know why. It’s just boring. It feels too mature for the story.

3. Paper Towns - American Paperback

Ebony: I never used to like this cover, but after reading the book, it’s grown on me. It’s not my favourite edition of Paper Towns however.

Ely: This is the edition I own, and I personally like it. I seriously love maps and I love the little pin thing. I haven’t read this one, but from what I know of the book, the cover seems to make sense. I also really love the text- having the title look as if it’s actually written on the map looks spectacular. 

 4. Paper Towns - English Paperback

Ely: I both like and dislike this edition. I love the colours and the actual paper town (does Bloomsbury ever not put serious dedication into their covers?) I mean seriously, they added shadows to the text and the clouds! I suppose I actually like it more and more as I look at it, the only thing I’d change is the paper plane- it looks a little out of place to me. 

Ebony: I really like this cover, and it may be my favourite edition - I really like the Australian one though too. This one is very pretty, but it also looks a little busy with the pop-up effect title.

  

5. An Abundance of Katherines - Australian/UK edition

Ebony: Again, I like the simplicity of this cover, and how it matches the other Australian/UK editions of his books. I don’t understand why there’s a light bulb though? Maybe it would help if I read the novel…

Ely: I haven’t actually read this one yet so I can’t really comment on whether it fits the story or not. I like the red though- I think red books often stand out really nicely on bookshelves and in store. I like that the text is the same from TFiOS too.

 6. An Abundance of Katherines - American Paperback

Ely: I think this one is very cute. I absolutely love the little symbols, though I don’t know whether they are actually supposed to mean something to the story or not- they just look cute. I love the look of white books too- they just look so clean and fresh!

Ebony: This cover is okay. Again, the simplictiy pleases me, but overall, it’s rather mediocre.

 7. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - American Hardback

Ebony: I don’t like this cover at all. It’s just...what? It doesn’t really suit the story and it feels as though it’s just an enlarged stock image. Not a fan.

Ely: This one is alright. I don’t completely hate but I don’t love it either. I’m usually a fan of the lights and bokeh so I like how they used them here. I don’t know- it’s just alright.

 8. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - Australian/UK edition

Ely: I love this one! I love that purple/blue colour especially against the white and the yellow. I think it’s just a really nice and simple design.

Ebony: I really like this cover! I love the colours chosen and the fingerprints. 

9. Let It Snow - American Paperback

Ebony: This is...terrible. Boring. Too stock-image-y. Yuck. Definitely my least favourite out of the bunch.

Ely: I really, really don’t like this one. Sure, it makes me feel all Winter-y and Christmas-y inside but it’s nothing overly special. I do like the use of the Christmas colours – the green text, the red gloves, the white present and background, but that’s about it.

 10. Let It Snow - German edition

Ely: I know this one looks a little more Spring-like, at least it does to me, but I love these colours. I also have this obsession with trees or plants on covers apparently? It just looks incredibly beautiful to me. Though, that text…that definitely could have been done better.

Ebony: The colours chosen are so beautiful together - and I love the tree and the illustration in general. However, this doesn’t feel like a Winter book to me. It’s more Spring/Summer time.

 11. The Fault in Our Stars - Polish Paperback

Ebony: Eh. Not a huge fan of this cover. I like the watercolour paint effect, but the rest of the cover doesn’t do much for me. 

Ely: A lot of the foreign covers for TFiOS are the exact same as the US/UK editions, so it’s nice to see something a little bit different. I love watercolours on books- I think they’re the best things ever. I like that this one still sticks with the blue while still being different from the original.

 12. The Fault in Our Stars - 1st edition

Ely: I love this one simply because it is so iconic. The moment you see that shade of blue, you know exactly what the book is and I know, personally, it brings back all the FEELS which is both and good and a very bad thing. 

Ebony: I’ve always liked this cover. I like the simplicity and the fact that it’s so iconic. However, I’m sort of sick of looking at it…

 Final Thoughts

Ebony: Overall, my favourite cover would have to be the Australian edition of Looking for Alaska, with the Australian/UK edition of Will Grayson, Will Grayson edition coming second and the UK paperback edition of Paper Towns in third.

Ely: My favourite is the American paperback edition of Paper Towns, then the Australian/UK edition of Will Grayson, Will Grayson and finally, the American paperback of An Abudance of Katherines in third place.

 

 And that's it for this round of cover comparisons! Remember to go over to Ebony's blog to see us compare some Wuthering Heights covers.