Saturday 26 January 2013

Cover to Cover: Inside Out

It's been a little bit since I've done one of these, so I've decided to do one today!!!!

Also, I'm going to switch up the categories a bit - I was completely drawing a blank when I chose them last time, and I don't really like them that much. The new categories will be:

  • Originality
  • Graphics
  • Typography
  • (I will be keeping...) Connections to story/plot.

To see the idea for these topics click here. Every category will be out of 5, and I will also be giving out one bonus mark to one of the covers.

Today it's going to be Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder. It was a good read for me, 4 stars on Goodreads. But how are the covers? The covers that I will be comparing are (they are also in order):


The eyes... THE EYES!!!!!! Look at how creepy that girl is right there, just tearin' through everything like a maniac. This is NOT how I imaged Trella to be. I mean, her eyes are described as brown, not blue... and defiantly not in that shade... I also cannot remember a point in the book where she is going through anything like that so connections to the story is defiantly lacking. I'll give it one star though for having the main character on the cover... I really like the typography though. I love how the "inside" is inside the "out". I think that that is a very creative idea. I also think that the font connects to the plot. It is very orderly, just like the society of Inside. Another plus is that the authors name is smaller than the title of the book. Don't you just hate that? It's like you are looking at a book in the book store and you're like, "Maria V. Snyder... Cool book title.... Not really...." Fortunately, that issue is not on this book cover, or should I say in? Ha ha... Anyhow,  5 out of 5 stars for that one. As for the originality, the cover is a bit mainstream, but I haven't seen a cover that is quite like it, so I think a 3 is appropriate for this category. Finally, graphics, which isn't good and isn't bad. Again, it's a bit creepy, but it also looks fairly realistic as far as the face and the ripping material goes. 3 for this category as well.

Originality: 3/5
Graphics: 3/5
Typography: 5/5
Connections to Story: 1/5
Total: 12/20
Bonus: 0/1



To start this off, I'm just going to say I love this cover. The originality is great, as there is nothing like this that I've seen before. It is pretty and creative. I love the way the light shines through the pipes - very visually appealing as far as graphics goes. Typography = heart heart <3 It's the same with both the first and the second use of title text... I love it!!  The first cover analysis explains. The only thing that I don't like as much about the text on this cover is the author name. It has a font that is very classy, which looks a bit funny in the midst of the blocky letters of the book title. Also, the blue looks weird, at least it does to me. I think it would have been better if it was white. And connections to the story... yes. A definite 5. I can think of specific times in the story where the main character, Trella is climbing the pipes, which is what is happening on the cover.

Originality: 4.5/5
Graphics: 4.5/5
Typography: 4/5
Connections to Story: 5/5
Total: 18/20
Bonus: 1/1 for connections to the plot




When I first look at this cover, I am immediately drawn in. The "I" as a keyhole looks so intriguing, especially with that eye looking in... And it doesn't look creepy. The smudging around the keyhole is also a very nice touch. The typography is also pretty great. Unlike the last cover, the blue doesn't take away from anything, as it is repeated a couple times and is on a white background. Again, the font is also very orderly, and I really like that part of it. The cover is also very unique. When searching up "keyhole book covers" in Google, I can't find anything quite like this cover, although I think that it is a very common idea to use a keyhole on a cover. Unfortunately, the final section is lacking a bit. The eyes are blue, and I cannot remember anytime when Trella is looking through a keyhole like that. I will give it marks for a metaphor though. She is looking from inside to out.

Originality: 4.5/5
Graphics: 5/5
Typography: 5/5
Connections to Story: 3/5
Total: 17.5/20
Bonus: 0/1

The Rankings: In last place we have our Harlequin Paperback, otherwise known as the "creepy-blue-eyed-creeper cover". To me it doesn't explain the story, and the creepiness overtakes a lot of the other good things about it. Then, in a very close second, we have the Mira AU Paperback, which did extremely well with the exception of connections to plot. If it had gotten up a 1.5 more, it would have tied first place with the Mira Ink Paperback cover. This one is extremely appealing to the eyes, and explains the story very well.

Which cover is your favourite? Leave a comment below!

All photos are from Goodreads.com

4 comments:

  1. Love your post! One thing about the blue eyes: ***SPOILER ALERT*** they are actually important to the plot, as Tally's real eye colour is blue, but drops were put into them to make them brown when she was forced to live in the lower levels ***SPOILER OvER***

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  2. I know. I was talking to Danika about that, but I thought it related more to Outside In because for the majority of the book her eyes are brown, not blue.

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  3. You blog is the BESTTTTTT!!!!!!!!

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  4. Cool post Brianna! I know absolutely nothing about this book, so it was cool to hear about through the covers, before I head over to your review. That being said, I liked the second cover the best for a reason that Danika mentioned in her cover-to-cover for the The Red Sisters - so many covers feature a photograph of the main character these days! Let's get original already!

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