(This is an expansion to the rants/conversations I had with a couple people on Twitter earlier today.)
So I was on Twitter earlier today and saw a link to something about why boys don't read. I expected a thoughtful article about the reasons why boys aren't reading- it's always a fascinating topic to me. Instead I got
this- a whine about the book cover for The Forest of Hands and Teeth and how it doesn't appeal to both genders.
I don't understand this. Just because there's a girl on the cover means that it's not going to appeal to both genders? I can understand if the book is maybe something like 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, which has a girly, pastel-y cover. But this is The Forest of Hands and Teeth:
To me, this cover is perfect for the book. Yes, it features a girl on the cover (since the book is from a girl's POV), but the tone of the cover is what makes this different from something like 13 Little Blue Envelopes. The tone is darker and more serious, and is fairly neutral color-wise, thus not favoring either gender. It embodies the post-apocolyptic world that Mary lives in. Even the title treatment is neutral- simple red and white as well as a straight-forward font. No curlicues or fancy treatment.
If the author of this blog entry is so secure in his masculinity, then why didn't he buy the book? I would think that a guy who's secure in his masculinity wouldn't care what other people thought about him for buying this sort of book. Especially one that's hardly all that girly.
Another problem I have is his proposition that the paperback cover have a shambling zombie on it. Um, how about no? I've read the book and it's about much more than zombies. Yes, zombies figure heavily into the storyline, but it's really more about Mary's search for answers and uncovering all these secrets and truths hidden from her all her life, as well as dealing with first love and, as cliche as it sounds, finding herself in the process. Compared to all that, the zombies are pretty much a minor plotline. And, in a way, they are, in the sense that they're already present when the book starts so no idea how they first appeared, and at the end of the novel, they're not "cured" or anything. They're still around. Yes, Mary and her friends have to escape from them, but a lot of the plot doesn't revolve around the zombies.
I feel that if the paperback featured a shambling zombie, it would debase and cheapen what the book is really about and make it into some sort of cliche zombie book (at least percieved by potential buyers). For me, I feel like it would put the wrong emphasis on the book- making it about zombies and not Mary.
Alright, I think I've rambled enough. I think I covered everything I wanted to. Any thoughts?
In better news, I finished The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong today! Expect a review to pop up this weekend here! :) Also, I now have 100 followers! Thanks so much to Eleni the Bookaholic for being the 100th! :)
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