Batty About Books
presents
Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
Simon And Schuster (Margaret K. McElderry Books), 2012
424p. $16.99. 978-1-4424-2376-3
We are trying something new with Batty About Books. Several times we've felt the book would have been better if we'd read it straight through. So we decided that we would do that with Vessel. So, we'll have this cover post then, 2 weeks from now, we'll have our thoughts about the book.
Along the way, check out Batty About Books on Facebook as we promise to post quotes and thoughts as we read.
Cover Appeal
Batty About Books talks Cover Appeal
I love this front view. It looks like they took shades of one color to make this. The color scheme is amazing. It gives me a Dune vibe, which I love, but the rich wine colors also pop out. (Stop making me admit to books I haven’t read...)
It’s very atmospheric. The clouds whirling around her, the bright moon in the background, and the undulating sands at the bottom combine to give the cover movement and depth.
It’s rare to see a person of color on the front of a book. She looks thoughtful and beautiful. Heck, just seeing a full woman - not a portion of the face missing or a focus on a single body part - is also a nice change. (ha!, so true!)
Her clothes speak of times past though the henna on her arms makes it seem not too far in the past. I wonder if she wears that scarf to keep out the heat? I definitely felt the desert even before reading the copy!
I love the typeface. Even though it’s not the same font as Not A Drop to Drink - it has that similar see-through treatment. I like that the title is at the bottom giving the girl the more important part of carrying the cover. I hadn’t picked up on that - but I love it!
Even the tagline and the author’s name are in the background. The cover I’m showing is a paperback, but I have the hardcover here and at the bottom it says “She must defy the gods to save her tribe.” The inside states Liyana is abandoned by her tribe. So even though she’s abandoned, she sets out to save them. I like that.
The back of the hardcover is mostly just sand and darkness. I really want to know how she will survive that. My back cover has that image as well, but has the copy over the image. It makes it a little hard to read when it goes over the sand, since the text is white.
The spine is also inviting (if you ignore my messy house). It’s sort of a mini-repeat of the front cover, including Liyana. I really wonder what she is looking at. Her facial expression is determined, resolute, and a little sad. The letters themselves are like vessels. They are stronger than the letters on the front. And they appear to be empty. I love the spine! I started with that part of the cover, and found it very intriguing.
Overall, I think it’s attractive both from the side and the front. I can’t wait to get started!
Now you've seen what I think - head over to Maria's Melange to see how she approached this cover appeal. She starts in a very different spot!
