Gender and Book Covers: let's look at YA

[_ocelott_]

Hey, guys! It's clearly time to discuss cover art again! Sorry, there's no new photoshoot to go with this post, because I don't think today's subject needs much help to emphasize itself

Comments

Sabriel

[anonymous]

This is an excellent post pointing out something that has been annoying me about YA cover art recently. One of the things I find most interesting is that the original cover art for Sabriel was very different - it was a woman, with the trappings of the Abhorson, about to battle a menacing creature. It's so much more active cover, and it was the reason I bought the book on a whim when it first came out, when I was 13. That was when I had no idea who Garth Nix was, and I didn't have a whole lot of disposable income, so the fact that I bought the book without first getting it from the library is even more impressive. I can say, without hesitation, that the current cover would not have inspired me to do the same.

[janicu]

Hmm, yes, I feel like there must be women with swords in covers somewhere, but maybe not so much in YA lately, cause I can't think of many. I was going to say Robin McKinley's THE BLUE SWORD and THE HERO AND THE CROWN have a girl with a sword on the cover, which is why I picked it up when I was younger, but you can only know it's a girl by either reading the back blurb or reading the book. Oh, oh, the UK editions of FIRE, GRACELING, and BITTERBLUE have women with weapons on their covers and they are great. Wish the US editions were the same! I also ADORE the cover of Ari Marmell's THIEF'S COVENANT because it has a girl, hanging from a beam, doing something adventure-y.

In the meantime, I am in love with this tumblr - http://womenfighters.tumblr.com/

[dis_inclined]

It does annoy me that so many young adult covers do feature the heroines in prom dresses in passive poses. I like covers that are different. I actually have a couple of examples of UK covers from your list above which are slightly different, and I think are actually better. But here goes (only thumbnails as the images are big, but you can click on them to view them in full size):

[sue_bursztynski]

Oh, those prom dresses! And when you get inside the book, much of the time the heroine never wears that kind of dress or has time to. I remember that Sabriel cover, and very good it was, too. I'm guessing the newer cover is to attract boys as well as girls. It doesn't lie, but it doesn't tell you everything. And boys at my school ARE reading the Old Kingdom trilogy. Would they read it with the original cover? Maybe. It might be interesting, some time, to interview a publisher. As for women with swords, those covers were even worse. She'd be standing in one of those poses you demonstrate so well, wearing unbelievable chain mail directly over her huge breasts! Urk! Notice all those ads for the Hunger Games movie? Katniss with her bow, looking great! Maybe they'll do a new book cover some time.

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User soleiltropiques referenced to your post from No title saying: [...] ssion of cover art: this time she discusses young adult (YA) novels. Here is a link to her post [...]