Judging Books By Their Covers: Part 2

In this edition of "Judging Books By Their Covers," I am entering the world of non-contemporary teen fiction.

*dramatic music swells*

Without looking at the summaries, I tried to find books that looked otherworldly and guess what they're about.

Let's hope I don't fail as miserably as I did last time.

Avalon by Mindee Arnett

The cover is black with futuristic silver letters, so I'm guessing this is fantasy/sci-fi. Also, there's a weird silvery, twisty thing on the cover that's pointing down at an adolescent male (wearing futuristic clothes,) so I'm guessing this isn't set in your average high school. To hazard an official guess, I'm going to say it's about a future/otherworldly teenage boy who has to fight a weird substance/race from destroying his planet.

Actual plot: A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.

Was I close?: I was close about the future/otherworldly aspect, along with the main character being a boy that has to fight something. But he's fighting his controlling government. I'll give myself 60%.

Plus One by Elizabeth Fama

The cover has two kissing people, so it's probably a romance. One person is made up of sunset clouds while the other is made up of nighttime stars, so I'm going to say it's probably a paranormal romance. I could take this cover literally, and say it's a re-imagined Greek myth about the God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Night falling in love and dealing with the fact they're fundamentally opposites or a Romeo and Juliet thing because they're star-crossed lovers. (Get it? Hahahaha) Or it could be metaphorical and they're just opposites in a weird paranormal setting.

Actual plot: Sol Le Coeur is a Smudge—a night dweller in an America rigidly divided between people who wake, live, and work during the hours of darkness and those known as Rays who live and work during daylight. Impulsive, passionate, and brave, Sol deliberately injures herself in order to gain admission to a hospital, where she plans to kidnap her newborn niece—a Ray—in order to bring the baby to visit her dying grandfather. By violating the day-night curfew, Sol is committing a serious crime, and when the kidnap attempt goes awry it starts a chain of events that will put Sol in mortal danger, uncover a government conspiracy to manipulate the Smudge population, and throw her together with D'Arcy Benoît, the Ray medical apprentice who first treats her, then helps her outrun the authorities—and with whom she is fated to fall impossibly and irrevocably in love.

Was I close?: I was pretty close. I didn't get the book's universe that correct, but I grasped the basic plot of opposite day/night people falling in love when they shouldn't have so I'm giving myself 83.2%.

Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

The title makes me think of a book about a girl with body image issues coming to terms with herself, but the black and white cover throws me. There's a soaking wet girl emerging from a body of water with yellow crime scene tape crossing the book with the tagline "silence is meant to be broken." I'm doing two separate guesses. First guess, a Lonely Bones-like tale where a girl who's drowned comes back (paranormally?) to solve her own murder. Second guess, a weird ocean-dwelling science-created creature breaks out of her science lab prison to challenge human-set body stereotypes. (That one's me being flippant, but still a valid guess.)

Actual plot: Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident-including her memory of the event. She doesn't remember driving on the cliff road. She doesn't recall jumping from the truck just before Trip lost control. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she's kept hidden for so long, the horrible reality of their abusive relationship. When the police reopen the investigation, it quickly turns on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. As the threats begin and the survivor's guilt takes over, Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free?

Was I close?: Not at all. First off, the person who dies in the main girl's boyfriend, not the main girl. Second, it's a mystery, meaning it's not paranormal at all and I kinda failed on principle. For the first guess, I'll give myself a weak 15%. For the second guess, a weaker 1% with a margin of error plus/minus 1%.

What did these covers tell you? What do you think of my guesses? Leave your answers in the comments below!

Owyn the Intern