Saturday, March 16, 2013

By Its Cover - Don't Ask by Natalie Bell

A lot of the books we read are eBooks, especially this week, because they were all given to us by NaNo authors and, honestly, that's the easiest format to give it to us in.  However, I did get a look at the cover when I was downloading the book.
I think it does a good job of relating the story.  Our main protagonist is basically stuck in a rut and hasn't really come out of those college years and transitioned into the working world.  And she seems to drink, a lot.
I really like the text.  It comes across as the, "It's that bad and I just don't want to tell you so please don't ask me" tone of voice (if text were tone of voice.)  However, I'm not sure about the color.  It seems to blend in with the background.  I think that it should stand out more.

This is such an appropriate cover. The feeling it conveys perfectly matches the feelings evoked by the story. (Exasperation and frustration and the "just... not now" of being stuck and confused and not going anywhere.)

I don't want to approach this girl on the cover. I feel like if I did, she'd sigh dramatically and be like, no, it's totally fine, nothing's wrong. And if I remained within earshot for too long, then she'd launch into the story of everything bothering her. Which is kind of like what the book is (although if you need a break, you can put the book down, which you can't do with a real person).

From a graphic viewpoint, Cassy hit the nail on the head: the title text needs to be a few shades lighter, or have a thin, light outline or drop shadow to help it stand out from the background. Otherwise, the layout and font choice and everything is excellent.

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