Top Ten Tuesday: Ten minimalist book covers that are killing the design game

top ten tuesday                covers

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The hipster is strong with this one.      

c.j.'s selections                         ten ten ten
one		American War - Omar El Akkad  Not only does this book sound phenomenal (it's an adult dystopia), but it's cover is absolutely striking. The dark background with a simple barbed wire motif expresses the bleak violence of the theme way better than some fancy complicated photomanip.
two		This Is Our Story - Ashley Ellston  There's nothing creepier than taxidermy. The shadowy white deer head against a plain, shadowed background and the small title text just scream getting-axe-murdered-in-an-abandoned house. Perfect for a YA thriller.
three		Girls Made of Snow and Glass -  You almost wouldn't know it's a fairy tale retelling if the title didn't suggest it so strongly. Which is great. It's mysterious. Stark. The icicles have the suggestion of a crown, or a torture device. It lets you know that this is no ordinary fluffy fairy tale romp.
four		A Line in the Dark - Malinda Lo  I'm completely in love with this cover! So much that this is the second time I've featured it. It's dramatic and dark and beautiful, and so simple. Just a single hand with only the faintest color, and the black fingertips as a stark contrast and centerpiece.
five		The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett - Chelsea Sedoti  This one is much more on the sunny side than our selections so far. They could have gone all sorts of cliche with this, but the daisy petals are a brilliant play on the he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not game, giving this a touch of whimsy.
six		Ghosts - Jason Reynolds  This is the ultimate in minimalism. It's almost entirely yellow background, sucking in the eye and drawing it down to the tiny boy running off-screen. It gives you the feeling of staring at a snapshot of someone's life.
seven		The Ship Beyond Time - Heidi Heilig  Heidi's series has great minimal covers, especially this one. The swirl of water and tiny ship give it a nautical flair without being obviously pirate-y. It's a lot classier than some overwrought photomanip with gaudy text.
eight		Blackhearts - Nicole Castroman Speaking of awesome piratical minimalism, Blackhearts does another great take. It plays on the classic ship in a bottle for a cover that looks sleek and classy.
nine		Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard  Red Queen actually does a fantastic job at bringing minimalism to fantasy. Like Girls of Snow and Glass, it gives you a subtle sense of a dark, dangerous fairy tale world--although the crown and blood is a little less subtle about the violent part than GOSAG's icicles.
ten		Every Last Word - Tamara Ireland Stone  You know so much about this book just from those three little shreds of paper with their hand-drawn text. You get a sense of bleakness, loneliness. You can guess that it's a contemporary of a more serious bent. It conveys so much emotion without being obvious about it.

Your turn!  What phrases or tropes make you want to throw a book on the fire and never look back? Metaphorically.