Hey there, reader. Does this look like paranormal cover art to you?
While it’s not the norm for me to discuss book synopses here, I’ll tell you this much: Nina Wright’s Homefree is about a teenage girl who astral-projects. Yes, you read that right.
Now take a look again at Homefree’s cover art. When I first saw it on Flux’s website, I thought it looked like a cover for a contemporary YA novel. Perhaps there was some sort of road trip involved. I thought the type placement on the Little Tree air freshener was a nice touch. And while this cover art might seem a little too simple, it somehow struck a chord with me and made me pause long enough to want to learn more.
I’ve had my eyes on Flux’s website ever since I discovered Lisa Novak’s design work. But Homefree’s nod to a contempo-supernatural story surprised me when I saw its cover. Would I have ever guessed in a million years that it was a paranormal read? No. And even though this novel debuted in 2006, years before the current onslaught of Sad Girls on Paranormal Covers, I think I would’ve stopped to look at it on a bookshelf back then, too.
That’s definitely a “stop and look” kind of cover. I wouldn’t have guessed paranormal either!
I agree – I would have never guessed paranormal! You said it perfectly though, the simplicity of it would make me stop & wonder too. I love book covers like this. I would definitely be picking it up.
I like that one! Never would’ve thought it was a paranormal book either.
The setting of the title could’ve been done better though. I mean, not the font, the shapes, they look too bright a shade of yellow on the air freshener.
Interesting…I definitely wouldn’t peg this as a supernatural YA at first glance. Like you, I’m kind of tired of the sad or obligatory “tough” girl supernatural YA covers.
That is so strange! I wouldn’t give this cover a second glance usually, but now I’m hella intrigued!
I would be surprised to see this in paranormal, too. I like simple covers like this. I bet I would have picked this up and got it by sheer curiosity on how it becomes paranormal given that cover.
Curiousity, since your post brought up a question for me-
Do you feel that it is better that this cover didn’t obviously link to a paranormal story, or that it would have been better if that element was more obvious? Does it work better for a story to be marketed with something that attracts attention, or represents the story?
I couldn’t help but wonder about that after reading this post. From what I’ve looked over so far, this seems to be an interesting blog.
Hey Stephanie — when I first saw this cover, I was intrigued because of what it looked like. I liked the take on the title, how it was placed on the little tree, and how simple it was. It was a stop-and-look-at-me type of cover that grabbed my attention. It wasn’t until I read the summary that I learned that it was a contempo/paranormal novel. What intrigued me was the fact that it didn’t look like any of the other paranormal covers I was so used to seeing. It’s an interesting balance between marketing something to look attention-grabbing and letting its viewer know what the story is about. It’s a hard question to answer, really. I don’t necessarily think it’s either/or.
I’m definitely glad to hear you find the blog interesting. =)