Warning! The following cover is not to be confused with the novel featuring the half-nekkid man-angel! Nor is it to be confused with the upcoming House of Night novel!
Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I can say that Katie Kacvinsky’s debut novel Awaken clearly takes the cake in the cover category, regardless of its similar title.
The first thing that reeled me in to this cover art was the overall look of simplicity. I loved the mosaic background, the color scheme, the author name in caps with the scrawled title in lowercase.
All of these elements bring a soft focus to the star of this design, the trapped flower. What I love about Awaken’s cover is that while trying to convey a message, its symbolism immediately sparks questions. For me, this doesn’t feel like a book cover that was haphazardly put together. It’s the type of cover that, if I put it on my office desk at work, it would almost immediately draw attention to itself. I could easily see one of my five coworkers picking it up, turning it over, and asking me what it’s about.
Awaken represents a small niche of covers publishers put out that make me want to find them in poster form so I can hang them on my wall. Awaken illustrates that cover art, at its absolute very core, is art.
Want to know what author Katie Kacvinsky thought of Awaken’s cover? Then stay tuned for tomorrow’s post! Hint: She’s VERY glad the cover didn’t feature her novel’s love interest as an uber-seductive soap opera star or a member of a latest break-out boy band.
Me too, Katie. ME TOO.
Love love love this cover. Looking forward to hearing more about it!
I got this book from Netgalley, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. My guess is that I’m going to want to buy it for the cover if nothing else, though
I love this cover as well! The first thing it made me think of was catching lightning bugs in mason jars when I was little. It makes me wonder if the flower is symbolic for being trapped, or growing in an unlikely situation, or something entirely different. I have this from NetGalley and will definitely be looking forward to reading it.
I have seen this cover a dozen times around the blogosphere & did not notice until now, the mosaic background. LOVE it. I agree with the art statement – I would totally frame this & put it on my wall.
Oh GOOD I cannot wait to hear her thoughts because I love love love it. Also, yes, it is the understatement of the year and this one takes the cake compared to those other two Awaken covers. Yeesh.
I hope all of you enjoy tomorrow’s post! =)
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