Well this cover sure created a buzz! But unfortunately it wasn't good buzz. Sorry cover creators for Linger, but according to my 7th graders - you got it wrong. Here's what was said:
Needs something to pop like color
Same as the first so it's just ok
Kinda plain (plain was used a lot)
Too much like Shiver so it's getting really boring
Boring (3 times)
Plain and like the first one
Too green (a few times - they really didn't like the green)
So as you can see they weren't impressed by it. This suprised me, but it shouldn't have because 7th graders are very unpredictable. Now, they understood that it should look like the first book because it is part of a series, but for some reason the way they went with this one wasn't what they wanted. They said "the blue was better" and "I liked how the leaves were hearts on the first one." From what I could get, a lot of it was the green. There was just too much of it.
Now the GOOD NEWS - not liking the cover didn't affect whether they would buy the book or not. "It's a sequel to Shiver!!!" was all I heard, and it was usually followed by a squeal and jumping up and down. One said it was the best news she had heard all day. To those girls the cover didn't matter - the story did. Now only if that were true all of the time!
What a great thought provoking exercise. I agree with the kids. I'm not a huge fan of this cover.
ReplyDeleteI don't like this one much either. I was surprised how similar it was to Shiver. That seems a lack of creativity to me. I realize they are trying to connect to Shiver's popularity but there had to be a better way. Love to hear the comments from your students!
ReplyDeleteHm, I have to say I sort of agree. I absolutely LOVE Shiver, and the cover was pretty too. What really was the determining factor of me getting Shiver was the beautiful blue text, lol. And, though Linger's cover is pretty, it's not exactly as stunning as the first one, which I think is because while Shiver was beautiful in it's simplicity, this one is not exactly simple but not complex either. Just in the middle, and therefore just okay.
ReplyDeleteBUT, I'm definitely getting Linger! No doubt about that. :)
This is a fascinating feature. I have to say I agree with your 7th graders that Linger's color isn't very appealing. I like that it fits in with Shiver, but I don't think the greens contrast well enough. The cover of Shiver does make me shiver, but Linger isn't giving me a warm spring feeling.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely going to read Linger because Shiver was a good story. I wonder if the text in Linger will be green.