Cover Love (11)

This week's Cover Love is on the foreign editions of my favorite book of all time: Looking for Alaska by John Green.


First on the left is the familiar US cover with its fancy medal on the front. I personally really like this cover because of its simplicity and beauty (the curling smoke is such a striking image), but the one thing I don't like so much is that it doesn't really tell you at all what the book is about.

In the middle is the UK version. As a piece of art, I think this is a neat cover, but I don't feel like it matches the book very well. It's just too pretty and frivolous to match the story within.

I may be mistaken, but I believe the cover on the right is the UK paperback. I'm not a big fan of this one either. The heart is just a bit odd when transparently layered over the rippling water like that, but I suppose it does a better job of describing the story than the middle one.


On the left is the Swedish cover. I think the background image and feet hanging out the car are nice and intriguing, and I also like the scrap of paper with the title "paperclipped" to the cover. However, I'm not a big fan of what appears to be a photo of Alaska and Miles because in general I dislike it when the main characters are on the cover, as they never looked like how I imagine them.

The bright red middle one is the Korean version, and it's very... different. I think it's interesting that the background is different shades of red clumped together along with the pencil drawing of Alaska (who seems to have turned Asian?), but I really don't feel like this accurately portrays the book.

The Japanese cover is on the right and, well, I'm not really sure what happened there. The girl doesn't look like Alaska, and there appears to be a flower randomly floating in the middle.


In all its hazy glory on the left is the Australian cover. I feel like I would like this one a lot more if it wasn't quite so blurry. A little of that sepia would have been a neat effect, but not to this extent. I do like the scene, though, with the same feet hanging out of the car as in the Swedish one.

In the middle is the Dutch. The concept of the cover, what with the unrolled cigarette and lipstick kisses, is awesome and fits the story well, but the overall effect of the cover is just rather "meh" for me.

Finally on the right we have the Italian cover. I don't really understand why there is an enormous and terrifying face with eyes that look straight into your soul. It's rather creepy and doesn't seem to have much to do with the story but at the same time, it's kind of captivating.

The German cover, on the left, is nice enough without nothing technically wrong, but it just doesn't really stand out to me. It wouldn't grab my attention in a book store or library.

The middle has the Spanish cover. Although I like the labyrinth in the A - which was a clever touch and means a lot to the story - I don't feel like this cover works well overall. It doesn't look like the quirky, touching young adult story it is.

Here on the right we have the Polish cover. I don't know how well it describes the story but it's certainly a pretty cover. The only thing I don't like that much is the weird black box with the candle.


The French cover, on the left, is a lot like the UK one but I like it a lot better. It's simple but pretty and could appeal to both genders. The colors work nicely as well.

In the middle is the Danish cover, which is creepy, what with the foggy road and the eyes in the trees. However, I don't really feel like the way Alaska is leaning on Miles like that is representative of the story, and this seems like a better-suited cover for a thriller.

As our last cover of the post, we have the Portuguese one on the right. I can't tell if that's a boy's face or a girl's face, but either way, I'm not a big fan of the whole half-face movement.

Overall, my favorites were the French cover and the original US one. Which ones do you like? Dislike? Any covers that I didn't mention?