Most of us have seen or heard about the white-washed covers on certain books. And we know how important that issue is. It’s racist, plain and simple.
I’ve also spoken to people about TV and movie adaptations of books where they change the characters appearance. For example, I’ve heard more than one person complain that Elena is a blonde in the Vampire Diaries books, but very much a brunette in the TV show.
This leads me to wonder how important is it to you as a reader that the person on the cover of a book accurately match the description inside? For example, in Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series, Elena is more than once described as being flat-chested. It’s a feature she’s very conscious of. If they did a cover (much like Frostbitten) featuring Elena and got all the other basics right, blond hair, athletically thin, etc, but she had a B or C cup, how much would that matter? In the same series, Paige is described as curvy and 10-15 pounds overweight. That’s not a lot, but it’s significantly bigger than a size 0 or 2 model. If they had everything else right, but Paige was a size 2 with barely there curves, would it matter?
How important are those details to you as a reader? And since this blog is mainly with regard to my young adult writing, how important is it to the young people you know? It’s something I’ve been pondering lately and I’m dying to get someone else’s opinion.
It’s important if it’s germaine to the story or making a specific point about a character. These days everyone has black hair and awesome ivory skin. If you’re using it as a plot point to set a character apart, then yes. If not, then tall and blonde or a similar two word character description would suffice.
I”m with Ken – it doesn’t have to be a PERFECT match. But there are some things that you need to stick with. Like scars, or distinct eye color, especially if it’s mentioned often. But any difference that doesn’t change the story, I’m ok with.
Speaking of Elena, I hate the new American covers to Bitten & Stolen. The woman doesn’t look like *my* Elena at all. But, because Bitten is my favorite & I have four different covers already, I’ll probably buy it just to add to my collection.
My daughter, however, hates when the characters don’t match. As an avid YA/UF reader, she complains constantly about things not matching. I think it’s very important to the young YA readers that the covers be consistent with what’s in the book.