Judging A Book By Its Cover: Round 2

Book covers speak to us. And it is impossible not to listen. Whether it's telling us "Read me," or, "Stay far away," our minds are practically made up before we read a single word.

In our last installment of Judging A Book By Its Cover, Mish took a look at a few popular book covers and literally judged them based on them. And since it was so popular and fun, we decided to try it again.

Don't judge this little English Muffin by her cover!

One Lavender Ribbon

by Heather Burch

It appears that someone has tied a lavender ribbon around an old stack of mail. I'm going to guess that means these are important letters and the stamp with airplane makes me think they're from a loved one at war and judging by how old they are, I'm going to say they belong to the main character's grandmother. And because it would be too obvious and too boring for them to be from the main character's grandfather, they are actually from her grandmother's first and true love Roger who actually fathered her only child Roberta the main character's mother. A walk down memory lane, shock, and drama to follow.

What it's really about: A sad and recently divorced woman discovers a bundle of love letters from WWII in the house she's renovating. Touched and probably a little turned on by the love letters, she decides to give love another chance.  I think I like Roger and Roberta more.

The Vacationers

by Emma Straub

Ok, I'm immediately getting a The Descendants vibe. But I doubt this book stars George Clooney in a Hawaiian shirt, so here's my next best guess. 

Mark and Susan are at their wits end. They've had a long marriage, done the whole kid thing, and now on the brink of being empty nesters they realize that they don't have anything in common anymore. Facing a cross-roads, they both decide to give it one last chance and go on vacation together. Though neither of them have that rockin beach bod anymore, they still begin to see the person they married underneath the fat tire.

What it's really about: Franny and Jim take their soon-to-be highschool grad daughter on vacation with them for some much needed rnr in Mallorca. They need a break from the tension at home and celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in paradise seems perfect. But it isn't for long. Maybe it's the sunburn that brings all the tension right back to the surface.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

by Chris Bohjalian

Alright not a whole lot to go off of here. I feel like the title indicates sadness and coping so I'm going to say that someone died. A mother who liked to paint. Maybe that's a big paint splotch on the cover. Yeah ok, so Jordan's mom just died and he doesn't know how to deal with it. Never being religious himself, he doesn't have the usual faith and prayer to turn to in order to cope. But his estranged father is determined to have his son back in his life and through a trip to a lake where they fish and bond and fight and maybe get pushed over board, they rekindle their bond and pray together.

What it's really about: A nuclear power plant has suffered a massive failure and Emily's father may be to blame. Orphaned by the accident Emily runs away and goes into hiding convinced she is in danger as the daughter of the most hated man in America. But she cannot outrun her past.

So overall, I'd say I got 2 out of 3... kinda.

Some covers are more revealing than others. Some hold mysteries and others say, "Your Mom would love this." But you'll never know until you give them a chance.

Until next round!