Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join me every Friday as I pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe. Check out Lynn’s-Books for upcoming themes!
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
Welcome to the Friday Face-Off where this week we’re comparing covers with a cold and wintry feel!
Fortunately, I had spotted White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi whilst writing another blog post and it was a perfect and beautiful fit for this week’s face-off.
This week’s offerings are the Picador 2009 cover versus the Picador 2010 cover with artwork by Jon Klassen. Take a look and see which one is your favourite!
Picador 2009 | Cover #1
Picador 2010 | Cover #2
Artwork by Jon Klassen
| The Friday Face-Off: Winner |
Both these covers are beautiful, simple and follow a similar theme. The Picador 2009 cover works in paper cut silhouettes with fruits, paintings and skulls hidden amongst the branches of the trees. The darkened house sits comfortably in the shade of the trees with the white trees shadowing the black in the foreground.
The wonderfully witchy typeface that graces both covers stands out in bold red on the Picador 2010 cover. The composition is a darker, more dramatic and more atmospheric version of the 2009 edition – The trees are tall, spiny and angular; the sky is a smokey, leaf blown off-white; and the house with its singular glowing window emerges from the dark, dark ground. As lovely as the 2009 cover is, it doesn’t come close to the more sophisticated and infinitely more creepy 2010 cover.
Which cover wins your vote this week? Have a cover of your own? – Post the link below!
Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
Next week’s theme is:
Patterns
A cover featuring a pattern
Remember to check Lynn’s Books for upcoming themes
| Links |
Steve @ Books and Beyond Reviews
Books by Proxy 
I long for happy books these days – the playfulness of the first cover achieves this better
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You’re definitely right – it’s a much brighter, happier cover! 😀
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Cover #1 is my favorite: the touches of red on the bleakness of the background are just perfect…
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I love how this one looks like it’s been made of paper silhouettes. It gives it such a magical feel! 😀
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What a great choice for this week – both are lovely covers. But I dislike the fact that the author name all but disappears in the second cover, so the first one edges it for me:))
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Thanks, Sarah! Yes I was wondering about that too and it seems as though her name is in a metallic print on the actual cover! I’m still not sure how well it stands out though. 😀
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I suspect that the paperback edition would look stunning if it’s embossed or metallic – but not so great for the ebook, especially in thumbnail…
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I completely agree!
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Cover #2 is my favorite as well! I’m not a big fan of the paper cut out design, for some reason.
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I really love the creepy style of Cover #2! It’s relatively simple but so dramatic! 😀
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First one for me 🙂 I like how it has a lot more going on yet still looks simple. The girl’s shadow is a pretty cool touch.
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It is a beautiful style but the creepy vibes I get from the second cover just win it over for me! 😀
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OMG where did you find this – I love it. The second is defo my favourite, it has such atmosphere.
Lynn 😀
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I’m not even sure but it really is a beauty! A ghost story too so I’m sure it’d be right up your street! 😀
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Beautiful. They have similar styles, but I have to say I prefer your choice as well.
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The second cover is definitely a little bit creepier and more dramatic! 😀
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Ooh these are both nice! I think I like the first one a little better, but the second one is definitely spookier and really catches the eye!
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I really do love the spooky vibes of the second cover! 😀
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Oh, I LOOOOOVE these covers! ❤
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They really are beautiful, aren’t they?!
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My fav is the Picador 2009 cover. I just love that cover and have been tempted to by the book several times because of it. It seems more like a cute cover, which probably doesn’t fit the vibe of the story at all, but I can’t help liking the effect of the paper cutouts.
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It is quite a pretty and quaint cover for what seems like a ghost story! I’m sure it would be stunning on a physical book though! 😄
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