New Sarah Dessen Covers

After many years of fantastic sales, Sarah Dessen's books are finally getting a new look! A lot of people are not exactly huge fans of the signature faceless girl on Dessen's covers.... so they changed them! In favor of a cover where the the author's name takes up half the cover. *face palm* (that's kind of a pet peeve of mine...)
Since I am a huge Dessen fan, I just had to compile them and give my thoughts in a cover battle of new vs. old...















I like the old one. For sure. Nothing against the new cover or anything--I adore the purples! But... at the same time, I just think the new cover is a little too... cutesy? Cheesy? Dang, I cannot think of the right word at the moment... I think the heart-shaped pick and and guitar are great with regards to the story, but the combination on the cover just looks really commercial-y. Maybe the guitar just looks too fake.

Hands down, I LOVE the new cover. The colors, the fireworks, the setting, the silhouettes, I love it all! It doesn't even faze me that "Sarah Dessen" covers nearly half of the cover! Yeah. That's real cover love right there.
~ahhhh I can't stop looking at it!   >w<

Hrmm... darn. This one's hard. While I think the dark blues of the old cover set a better vibe for the story-line of Dreamland, my own personal tastes like the new cover a teensy bit more. It's artsy and a tad whimsical.

Oooh. Another hard one. I like the handstand on the old cover... but I think the colors of the new one are better. Especially for summer. The old one looks a little too faded and doesn't have that spark that's associated with the excitement of summer.

Easy peasy. The original cover is probably my all-time favorite Dessen cover and the new one just can't match up--at least, not in my head. Although, the shopoholic in me would definitely buy that bracelet if it was ever marketed. However, I just really really like the whole faceless-girl-plucking-the-pretty-flower-petals thing that the old cover has going on. I personally don't mind the whole faceless girl thing. 



















Again: the faceless girl doesn't really bother me.... wait, but in this case they're both faceless...Meh. I still like the first one better. The new one, while pretty and pink, which I like, strikes me as a little too commercial-y and fluffy, which, if you've read Just Listen, you know it is anything but a light, fluffy read. 

THANK YOU publishers/designers/whoever-decided-to-redo-the-covers for finally giving this one a makeover! Of all the original Sarah Dessen covers, this one would probably be my least favorite. And thankyouthankyouthankyou for making the new one super pretty! I just LOVE it! It's artsy and still retains that signature Sarah Dessen vibe!

Ohhhhh.... can this one please be a tie??? I honestly can't really decide! I like both of them! I love the idea of the butterflies escaping the jars--but at the same time, there is this unbreakable internal connection between Someone Like You and the old cover. I just can't separate them! 
Yup. I'm forced to announce a tie in this case. 



















*starts thinking I maybe should have save the tie for this one*
Hommina hommina hommina...
Okay. I think the new cover wins--mainly because the background actually looks like it's a real beach. The old one, while I loved the presence of the guy (Eli), looked plastic-y and fake-ish. And although I can't really see the girl in the new cover as being Auden (she looks a little too beach-chick...) I will let that go.   

My Book Boyfriend: Dave

MBB is a weekly meme hosted over at the Unread reader---check out the intro post here

I recently reread Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye and now I find myself with a little bit of a crush on Dave <3

Dave's actually not my all-time favorite Dessen boy, but still, he is quite charming :)

Now, a little bit about him....

• black hair--messy, kind of curly, kind of long
• his dream: a road trip to Texas with his friends after graduation 
• pretty much a boy genius (but not arrogant at all)
• went to Lakeview High School because he wanted a normal experience for once
• likes basketball
• likes to hang out in the storm shelter of the unoccupied house next door---but not in a creepy way!
• has really uptight, controlling parents
• basically: "boy genius, smoothy maker, cellar dweller"
• 
  

"Coast is clear," he reported, letting the door drop fully open, hitting the ground with a thud. "You should be able to go home now."
"I'd hope so," I said. "since it's only, like--"
"--fourteen feet, seven point two inches, to your back deck," he finished for me. I raised my eyebrows, and he sighed. "I told you. Weird kid."
"Just kid?"
Now, he smiled. "Watch your step."


"So," he said as we turned onto the main road, the muffler rattling, "I've been thinking." 
"Yeah?"
He nodded. "You really need to go out with me.:
I blinker. "I'm sorry?"
"You know. You, me. A restaurant or movie. Together." He glanced over, shifting gears. "Maybe it's a new concept for you? If so, I'll be happy to walk you through it."
"You want to take me to a movie?" I asked.
"Well, not really," he said. "What I really want is for you to be my girlfriend. BUt I thought saying that might scare you off."

As we headed toward town, I leaned back, pulling one leg up underneath me. Beside me, Dave was looking out the window, and for a moment I studied his face, brightened now and then by the lights of oncoming cars. I thought of all the times we'd been together, how I kept coming closer, then retreating, while he stayed right where he was. A constant in a world where few, if any, really existed. An d so as he sat there beside me, I moved a little closer, resting my head on his shoulder. He didn't turn away from he window. HE just lifted his hand, smoothing it over my hair, and held it there