Tavia & Hannah: Literary Twins

Browsing through the bookstore the other day, I came across Aprilynne Pike's latest novel. One look at the cover of Earthbound and I thought, "Hey! I know that girl!"

While brainstorming book covers, designers have so many factors to weigh. It should grab your attention, set the right tone, and hopefully raise some questions. If they're going to put a character on the cover, it also needs to express an aspect of who that character is. While scrolling through photos looking for ideas, sometimes they stumble upon a stock image or expression that strikes the perfect note. And while the main female in Earthbound (a supernatural romance) is very different than Hannah in Thirteen Reasons Why, there are relationship notes that tie them together.

From the flapcopy of Earthbound:

Tavia immediately searches for answers, desperate to determine why she feels so drawn to a boy she hardly knows.

Here's how Ms. Pike’s U.S. publisher chose to depict Tavia, and my Hungarian publisher depicted Hannah:

 

Another cool coincidence: In the U.S., Thirteen Reasons Why and Earthbound are both published by Razorbill.

To see another one of Hannah's literary twins, check out this blog post about a Jodi Picoult novel.