Book Wars a weekly feature hosted between two book review blogs – A Life Bound By Books & Much Loved Books!

It’s a fact that book lovers know all about the covers of the books they covet. Often when a title is released here in the US, it’s sometimes vastly different across the pond in the UK. So, Michelle from Much Loved Books and I have come together to create Book Wars to talk about the difference in covers when it comes to the US vs. UK versions.

We hope from time to time authors will chime in with their thoughts as well. We welcome everyone to comment and share their thoughts too! The more the merrier!

Before we get to this weeks Book Wars, we have a winner to announce.The Book Wars winner for Just One Day By: Gayle Forman is...!!!!!! Thank you to everyone who voted for both books, and for picking a winner.

Also, there's a poll at the bottom of the post that we'd love to hear your input for the two covers! Tell us which one YOU love the most.

Left: US - Right: UK

Title: Salt & Stone
Series: Fire & Flood #2
Author: Victoria Scott
 Publisher: US - Scholastic Press, 320 Pages, (February 24th, 2015), UK - Chicken House Ltd, 407 Pages, (April 2nd, 2015)
Add to Goodreads: USA Version | UK Version
Order online here: USA: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository UK: Amazon UK, Waterstones, W H Smith, The Book Depository, Foyles

Synopsis: What would you do to save someone you love? What about risking...everything?

In Fire & Flood, Tella Holloway faced a dangerous trek through the jungle and a terrifying march across the desert, all to remain a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed for a chance at obtaining the Cure for her brother. She can't stop—and in Salt & Stone, Tella will have to face the unseen dangers of the ocean, the breathless cold of a mountain, and the twisted new rules in the race.

But what if the danger is deeper than that? How do you know who to trust when everyone's keeping secrets? What do you do when the person you've relied on most suddenly isn't there for support? How do you weigh one life against another?

The race is coming to an end, and Tella is running out of time, resources, and strength. At the beginning of the race there were 122 Contenders. As Tella and her remaining friends start the fourth and final part of the race, just forty-one are left...and only one can win.

Victoria Scott's stunning thriller will leave readers' hearts racing!

About the Author:

Victoria Scott is the author of TITANS (Scholastic, Spring 2016), the FIRE & FLOOD series (Scholastic), and the DANTE WALKER trilogy (Entangled Teen). Her latest novel, SALT & STONE, received a starred review by Kirkus Reviews, and the first book in the series, FIRE & FLOOD, has been nominated as a YALSA Teens' Top 10 book for 2015. Victoria's novels have been bought and translated in eleven foreign markets, and she is represented by Sara Crowe. The author lives in Dallas, and loves cotton candy something fierce.

Find Victoria Online: Website | Blog | Twitter| Facebook

Let the Wars Begin: Its now time to make our decision, let's see what we think about the covers and pick our favorite cover.

Lisa Hands down, this weeks vote for me, goes to the UK cover. I just LOVE everything about it. I love the cracks and the feather and the colors... the only thing I think they should have made different was Victoria's name. I think she should have had her name a tad bigger, otherwise I MORE than love the UK cover.

I think the main reason why the US cover is a bit off putting to me is the eye. I have a thing with eyes, they creep me out and the longer I look into this one the more it's starting to creep me out. Otherwise I do really like the font used and the affects on the title of the book with this one.

So the UK gets my cote this week, which one gets yours?

Michelle When I first chose to pick these covers for our Book Wars post, I thought it would be an easy choice, but seeing them side by side it's not as easy as I thought it would be. I love the cover for the US version, I am obsessed with blue eyes, and this cover just draws my attention for that fact alone. I also like the added detail of the mountain in the bottom right. But the UK one also has the mysterious feather that still had it's relevance to be revealed (which I still don't know as I have yet to read this book). The UK cover also gives off a winter effect, with what looks like ice off to the side. After much deliberation, my vote goes to the UK cover. Snow and ice win over the blue eyes for me this week, I could quite happily live in this cover if that was at all possible. Don't forget to vote for your favourite cover below.

VOTE for YOUR favorite cover of Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott NOW!

Book Wars a weekly feature hosted between two book review blogs – A Life Bound By Books & Much Loved Books!

It’s a fact that book lovers know all about the covers of the books they covet. Often when a title is released here in the UK, it’s sometimes vastly different across the pond in the US. So, Michelle from Much Loved Books and I have come together to create Book Wars to talk about the difference in covers when it comes to the US vs. UK versions.

We hope from time to time authors will chime in with their thoughts as well. We welcome everyone to comment and share their thoughts too! The more the merrier!

Before we get to this weeks Book Wars, we have a winner to announce.The Book Wars winner for The Sky is Everywhere is...UK!!!!!! Thank you to everyone who voted for both books, and for picking a winner.

Also, there's a poll at the bottom of the post that we'd love to hear your input for the two covers! Tell us which one YOU love the most.

Left: US - Right: UK

**The US cover is the cover for the paperback, and not the original hardback cover published last year.**

Title: Fire & Flood
Series: Fire & Flood #1
Author: Victoria Scott
Publisher: US -Scholastic, 320 Pages, (27th January, 2015), UK - Chicken House Books, 366 Pages, (March 6th, 2014)
Add to Goodreads: USA Version | UK Version
Order online here: USA:Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository UK:Amazon UK, Waterstones, W H Smith, The Book Depository

Synopsis: A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own.

Tella's brother is dying. He's got cancer, and Tella is helpless to save him. Or so she thought. When an invitation arrives for Tella to compete in the Brimstone Bleed, a deadly competition that will lead her through treacherous jungle and scorching desert, she doesn't think twice. Because the prize is a cure to any illness. But Tella will be facing more than just the elements.

About the Author:

Victoria Scott is the author of TITANS (Scholastic, Spring 2016), the FIRE & FLOOD series (Scholastic), and the DANTE WALKER trilogy (Entangled Teen). Her latest novel, SALT & STONE, received a starred review by Kirkus Reviews, and the first book in the series, FIRE & FLOOD, has been nominated as a YALSA Teens' Top 10 book for 2015. Victoria's novels have been bought and translated in eleven foreign markets, and she is represented by Sara Crowe.

The author lives in Dallas, and loves cotton candy something fierce.

Find Victoria Online: Website | Blog | Twitter| Facebook

Let the Wars Begin: Its now time to make our decision, let's see what we think about the covers and pick our favorite cover.

Lisa I haven't read these books yet... however I DO love Victoria Scott's Dante Walker series, so I should probably remedy this ASAP!

As for the covers, I've seen the US covers in person and they are pretty amazing. I like that there's so much more to the US cover than the UK. I mean look at them side by side. There's no doubt in my mind that the US cover wins this round. The UK cover is nice but it's a bit too plain for me. Plain can be good, but in this case, eh... not so much.

So, with my vote going to the US cover this week I'm eager to hear which will get YOUR vote! Click on a cover below to cast your vote!

Michelle This is an easy choice for me this week. Both of these covers are amazing in their own way, the US one is very eye catching and draws you to it, but the UK is simple but also intriguing. I've not long finished reading the book, and while I do think the US one has some aspects of the story in its cover, my vote goes for the UK one this week. It's simple but the feather plays a mysterious role in the story, one that I hope to discover in the next book. Don't forget to vote for your favourite cover, and you can check out my review of Fire & Flood here.

VOTE for YOUR favorite cover of Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott NOW!

Book Wars a weekly feature hosted between two book review blogs – A Life Bound By Books & Much Loved Books!

It’s a fact that book lovers know all about the covers of the books they covet. Often when a title is released here in the UK, it’s sometimes vastly different across the pond in the US.  So, Michelle from Much Loved Books and I have come together to create Book Wars to talk about the difference in covers when it comes to the US vs. UK versions.

We hope from time to time authors will chime in with their thoughts as well. We welcome everyone to comment and share their thoughts too! The more the merrier!

Before we get to this weeks Book Wars, we have a winner to announce. The Book Wars winner for Parallel by Lauren Miller was US which won by a landslide. Thank you to everyone who voted for both books, and for picking a winner.

Also, there's a poll at the bottom of the post that we'd love to hear your input for the two covers! Tell us which one YOU love the most.

Left: US - Right: UK

Title: Here Where the Sunbeams are Green | Upside Down in the Jungle
Author: Helen Phillips
Publisher: US - Delacorte Books for Young Readers , 304 Pages, (November 13th 2012), UK - Chicken House Books, 352 Pages, (March 1st 2014)
Add to Goodreads: Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green | Upside Down in the Jungle
Order online here: USA: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository UK: Amazon UK, Waterstones, W H Smith, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me said this book is "brimming with surprises and grand adventure. Brave, smart, and full of heart, Madeline and Ruby are a gust of fresh air."

Mad's dad is the Bird Guy. He'll go anywhere to study birds. So when he's offered a bird-tracking job in Central America, his bags are packed and he's jungle bound.

But going bird tracking in the jungle and disappearing completely are very different things, and when the Very Strange and Incredibly Creepy Letter arrives, Mad can't shake the terrible feeling that her father is in trouble.

Roo, Mad's younger sister, is convinced that the letter is a coded message. And their mom is worried, because the letter doesn't sound like Dad at all. But Mad is sure it's a sign of something sinister.

The only way to get to the bottom of it is to go to Lava Bird Volcano and find their dad themselves. Though they never could have imagined what they're about to discover.

About the author: 

HELEN PHILLIPS is the author of And Yet They Were Happy and the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Award, the Meridian Editors Prize, and the Italo Calvino Prize in Fabulist Fiction. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in PEN America, Brooklyn Magazine, Mississippi Review, Sonora Review, Salt Hill, and L Magazine, among others, and in the anthology American Fiction: The Best Previously Unpublished Short Stories by Emerging Authors. A graduate of Yale and the Brooklyn College MFA program, she now teaches undergraduate creative writing at Brooklyn College. Originally from Colorado, she lives in Brooklyn.

Find Helen Online: Website | Twitter

Let the Wars Begin: Its now time to make our decision, let's see what we think about the covers and pick our favorite cover.

Helen What’s really great about the US and UK covers/titles being so different is that people often assume I wrote two books.

I could never pick a favorite between the two covers—they’re so different it’s hard to compare. The US cover is representational and dramatic, emphasizing the physical element of the girls’ adventure as they stride forth into the mysterious landscape. The UK cover is more playful and subtle, emphasizing the secret code element of their adventure—the cover itself looks like a puzzle that needs to be solved.

I love the glowing baubles and floating sunbeams on the US cover. I love the overlay of the realistic animals and leaves on the UK cover.

As far as the titles go: there’s one version of myself as a young reader that would have been enticed by Upside Down in the Jungle, and another version that would have preferred Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green. Personally, I wanted to call the book The Weirdness, but both publishers disagreed with that idea …

Lisa I haven't heard of this book, but after checking out both covers they are both pretty cute! I love how adventurous and mysterious the US cover looks.

The UK cover has a more of a cute feel. It makes me feel like it's a journal or a book cover someone's doodled on and I love it too!!!

Wow, this is the hardest week/vote for me yet, I'm so torn!

Okay... I think my vote for this week goes to the US cover. It gives me a little bit more than the UK cover does. I like that we get a peek at the sisters on their adventure. US cover for me this week! Now, what's YOUR vote?

Michelle This is a tough one for me this week as I am not sure which cover I actually like the best.

The UK version seems like its aimed more at a younger age than what I usually read, but I do like how bright, colourful and eye catching it is.

The USA version portrays the feeling that this book would be an epic adventure waiting for you to open the pages and begin reading, but I'm not sure how eye catching it would be on a shelf.

My vote today will do down as shelfability in a shop, and I think the UK version is more likely to draw my attention than the USA one will.

VOTE for YOUR favorite cover of Here Where the Sunbeams are Green/Upside Down in the Jungle NOW!

online survey tools

Book Wars a weekly feature hosted between two book review blogs – A Life Bound By Books & Much Loved Books!

It’s a fact that book lovers know all about the covers of the books they covet. Often when a title is released here in the UK, it’s sometimes vastly different across the pond in the US.  So, Michelle from Much Loved Books and I have come together to create Book Wars to talk about the difference in covers when it comes to the US vs. UK versions.

We hope from time to time authors will chime in with their thoughts as well. We welcome everyone to comment and share their thoughts too! The more the merrier!

Before we get to this weeks Book Wars, we have a winner to announce. The Book Wars winner for U To Me by: M. Leighton is... the US cover!!!  Thank you to everyone who voted for both books, and for picking a winner.

Also, there's a poll at the bottom of the post that we'd love to hear your input for the two covers! Tell us which one YOU love the most.

Left: US - Right: UK

Title: The Look
Author: Sophia Bennett
Publisher: US - Scholastic Inc, 336 Pages, (March 1st 2013), UK - Chicken House Books, 328 Pages, (March 1st 2012)
Add to Goodreads: The Look USA | The Look UK
Order online here: USA: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository UK: Amazon UK, Waterstones, W H Smith, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Can she be a supermodel and a super-sister? She finds her answer in just one look.

Two sisters, both beautiful in different ways: Fifteen-year-old Ted has got "The Look." That's what the scout for the modeling agency tells her, and she can't believe her luck. But just as Ted's jet-setting off on her new career, Ava is diagnosed with cancer. Can Ted be a supermodel and a super-sister? Or will she have to choose between family and fame? With their worlds turned upside down, the girls have to look past appearances, look deep inside, to figure out what really matters.

About the author:

I’ve wanted to be a writer since early childhood. Either that or an air hostess (great uniform), Olympic gymnast (also great uniform) or a playwright. I would have liked to be a top fashion designer, but my stick figures, despite years of practice, were never going to make the cover of Vogue.

I wanted to be a writer so much that I didn’t dare actually do any serious writing for many years. Instead, I got a couple of literature degrees. Reading was so much easier than writing. Then I was an earring packager, tour guide, lobbyist, management consultant, web project manager and many other fun things that are now known as my ‘gathering material’ phase. As opposed to my ‘sitting down and doing it’ phase, which is what I’m happily in now.

Over those years, I also acquired a husband, four children and a house near Wandsworth Common, where there are trees, ducks and swans and you’d hardly know you were in South London, except that I happen to have loyalty cards for at least six nearby excellent cappuccino joints.

I’ve written for The Times and The Guardian, and also four unpublished detective stories, but my breakthrough was winning The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction competition with Threads. It’s about fashion, celebrity watching, being a teenager in London, conflict survival and, above all, friendship. Basically, it’s my manifesto and I’m amazed and thrilled that the likes of Barry Cunningham, Amanda Craig, David Almond and Jonathan Douglas liked it, understood it and didn’t think it was too weird.

I’ve also written two sequels to Threads – Beads, Boys & Bangles, and Sequins, Stars & Spotlights. My latest book, The Look, is about a girl who's scouted as a model and has to choose between fame and family.

Occasionally, people ask me what my advice would be to aspiring writers. Check out my writing tips page, on my website. Write every day, and rewrite even more. Follow your heart.

I did, and it got me here. Yay!

Find Sophia Online: Website | News | Twitter | Facebook

Let the Wars Begin: Its now time to make our decision, let's see what we think about the covers and pick our favorite cover.

Sophia The UK cover of The Look is one of my favourites. I think it's strong, it was fun to develop with Steve, my illustrator, and I had more input into it (I think!) than any of the others. I love the strong expression in the model's eyes and the bright use of colour against the pale skin. Of all my book covers, it's the one that's been taken on the most by other countries, too, and booksellers tend to like it. The US cover was a bold idea, and very brave to use the shaved head for the Ava side (they are two different girls, in case you were wondering). I like that aspect of it a lot. But the lavender colour and the title down the middle didn't work so well for me. If they'd just gone with the Ava side ... well, that's a cover I'd still love to see.

Lisa Today we're voting on another book that's new to me and just reading the synopsis I'd love to check this one out. As far as the covers go... the US one looks like it fits the story extremely well. How it gives you a chance to see the face of both sisters. The UK cover looks so smooth and flawless and from what this story looks to be I'd say it's anything but. For me this week I think my vote is going to the US version based on the fact that for someone who hasn't read the title yet it looks like it fits the story pretty spot on. My vote is US, what's yours? Vote below!

Michelle I have the UK version waiting to be read, and I love how dramatic it is and how you are drawn to her face, her eyes and how piercing they are. I love how the US have gone in a completely different direction and has made it more dramatic in a different way, making you think about the cover and it's meaning. I love the shaved head effect and how they have two different versions on the cover. My vote this week goes to the USA version for how dramatic it is and how it really makes you think about the book and what it means.

VOTE for YOUR favorite cover of The Look NOW!

online surveys

Book Wars a weekly feature hosted between two book review blogs – A Life Bound By Books & Much Loved Books!

It’s a fact that book lovers know all about the covers of the books they covet. Often when a title is released here in the UK, it’s sometimes vastly different across the pond in the US.  So, Michelle from Much Loved Books and I have come together to create Book Wars to talk about the difference in covers when it comes to the US vs. UK versions.

We hope from time to time authors will chime in with their thoughts as well. We welcome everyone to comment and share their thoughts too! The more the merrier!

Before we get to this weeks Book Wars, we have a winner to announce. The Book Wars winner for Shiver is... the US Cover!!! Thank you to everyone who voted for both books, and for picking a winner.

Also, there's a poll at the bottom of the post that we'd love to hear your input for the two covers! Tell us which one YOU love the most.

Left: US - Right: UK

Title: The Wolf Princess
Author: Cathryn Constable
Publisher: US - Scholastic Inc, 320 Pages, (September 24th 2013), UK - Chicken House Books, 288 Pages, (October 4th 2012)
Add to Goodreads: The wolf Princess USA | The Wolf Princess UK
Order online here: USA: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository (UK cover) UK: Amazon UK, Waterstones, W H Smith, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Alone in the world, Sophie dreams of being someone special, but she could never have imagined this. On a school trip to Russia, Sophie and her two friends find themselves on the wrong train. They are rescued by the beautiful Princess Anna Volkonskaya, who takes them to her winter palace and mesmerises them with stories of lost diamonds and a tragic past. But as night falls and wolves prowl, Sophie discovers more than dreams in the crumbling palace of secrets.

About the author:

After reading Theology at Cambridge University, Cathryn Constable went on to work in magazine journalism, writing for Vogue, W, Elle Decoration, Elle, The Independent, Tatler and The Sunday Times, before realising her dream of blending a love for all things Russian with a story for children. Her magical and enchanting debut novel is called The Wolf Princess. Cathryn is married with three children and lives in London.

Find Cathryn Online:

Website | Blog

Let the Wars Begin: Its now time to make our decision, let's see what we think about the covers and pick our favorite cover.

Cathryn I love both the British and the American covers for The Wolf Princess: although very different in tone, they both do an effective job of describing the elements of the story. The British cover gets admiration for being purple and sparkly (I haven’t met a girl who hasn’t loved it). But the wolf on the American cover is so fluffy and wise, I can’t imagine that anyone could walk past that book and not want to pick him up! There was a very beautiful cover for the hardback edition with a wonderful paper cut out detail which made me think of an old-fashioned fairy story. I loved that one, too.

Lisa This week’s book is new to me and when looking at them side by side they have some similarities to them. The girl, the snow, the wolf... This is a hard choice this week but I think I'm going to choose the US version only because it looks a bit more ethereal, more fantasy and as Michelle mentions dreamlike as this title projects. US cover has my vote.

Michelle This is such a difficult choice fro me this week. I have the UK version and what you don't see in this picture is the purple edging around the pages which fit the cover perfectly. However I do like the US version for the more mystical feeling it gives off and how more dreamlike it feels, like what you see doesn't feel real. After much deliberation I am going for the UK cover this week, and that is purely because I own this copy and know how amazing it looks in real life.

VOTE for YOUR favorite cover of The Wolf Princess NOW!

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Title: Num8ers
Author: Rachel Ward

Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic Inc., 325 Pages (February 1st 2010)

From: Big Honcho Media

Synopsis: Whenever Jem meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die.

Burdened with such an awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. But while they’re waiting to ride the Eye Ferris wheel, Jem notices that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today’s number. Today’s date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem’s world is about to explode!

Review: 3 Stars - First off, I almost didn’t finish reading Numbers. It kept me forever waiting for something to happen. I never felt that I connected with either of the characters until I’d say the last few pages. Then I finally felt like Jem was or could be a real person, who was more then the hard shell she put up around her.

After I finished reading, I figured a few things out, that the parts of the book that dragged for me, needed to drag for the end result to have the affect on me that it did. To be able to really see just what the message of this book was, there needed to be all that came before it. At least for me to be able to understand things that is.

The message is finally clear in the last few pages and I’m sure there are other readers out there who will have the same reaction I did. I don’t want to tell anyone because it will give too much away.

Jem is such a strong 15 year old girl that sometimes that strong nature gets in the way. She tries to stay away from everyone for her fear of the numbers that she knows are the dates people will die, she just doesn’t understand why she can see them or what they really mean.

Along the way she allows herself to connect with a fellow classmate Spider. After witnessing a horrible event, they run. Most of this story is of the two of these characters as they flee from London. Oh, and that’s another thing I loved about this book. It’s all set in England. Some who aren’t familiar to British terms or slang might be a little confused, but don’t let that bother you. With the internet it’s easy to look things up to understand what the various things mean.

Jem and Spider somehow fit together. They are both so different from each other and yet they work. At the end of the book I was rooting for them in their relationship and in their troubles with the police.

As I said before, there’s a bigger picture to this whole story, it just took this reader awhile to get there. If it wasn’t for the ending I don’t think, no correction - I would not have been able to give it the star rating that I did.

If you’re just picking this book up and want to give up, keep reading. If your hearing mixed reviews, give it a try; just don’t give up on it. The message at the end is well worth it. I’ll be reading the sequel – Numbers 02. The Chaos, what about you?

*Check back here on wednesday for a change to win a copy of this book!

FTC Disclaimer: I did not pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this review.