Friday, May 27, 2011

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

I remember forwards. I remember forwards, and forget backwards. My memories, bad, boring, or good, haven't happened yet. So I will remember standing in the fresh-cut grass with the black-clad figures surrounded by stone until I do it for real. I will remember the funeral until it happens - until someone dies. And after that, it will be forgotten. 


Here's the thing about me: I can see my future, but my past is blank. I see the future in flashes, like memories. I remember what I'll wear tomorrow, and a car crash that won't happen till this afternoon. But yesterday has evaporated from my mind - just like the boy I love. I can't see him in my future. I can't remember him from my past. But today, I love him. And I never want to forget how much.


Forgotten is right in the pocket for the current YA climate. It offers a contemporary storyline with a twist that gives the book a vague supernatural vibe (London can “remember” the future). The sale of Forgotten went down in a heated bidding war and the rights were bought internationally. Already it has been optioned and early reviews report the hype is true ~ to expect originality, a swoony romance and a wild twist towards the end of the book.

I was incredibly optimistic about Forgotten. It sounds utterly fabulous and different and the Aussie cover is gorgeous.

London Lane can see her future but her past is blank. Each day she wakes up she cannot remember what she did the day before (or any days prior). It’s a fabulously intriguing premise ~ also absolutely HUGE and baffling with mind-boggling practicalities. Cat Patrick dives straight into the story without much explanation as to why or how.

A quick snapshot of what the plot consists of:

future memories (flash-forwards) of a mysterious funeral and London trying to take notes and investigate.

London falling in love with the super gorgeous new boy at school (falling again and again)

London and her best friend, Jamie. Jamie is making some relationship choices and London can foresee just how it will all end in tragedy. There’s tension in London and Jamie’s relationship ~ plus London trying to tinker and see if she can change the future in her memories.

There’s lots of school scenes, date scenes and home scenes with London and her mum (her parents are divorced ~ another half mystery London is unsure about).

Patrick writes well ~ her prose is smooth and tangle-free ~ no convoluted sentimental passages that bog the plot down. The prose makes it such an effortless and appealing reading experience. It’s succinct and rather pleasant. In fact, the entire book feels FRESH.

While there is a slight “mean girls” plot-line it doesn’t feel cliche. Likewise ~ the friend and family relationship dramas are handled with more subtlety than melodrama. The characters are immensely like-able (the secondary characters stay firmly in the background, as their 2D selves ~ just as well as there was enough going on with the main characters to care too much about the minor players).

As for the romance (which is being pushed as a huge selling point) ~ it’s fun and flirty and PG. Because London meets Luke for the first time day after day ~ there’s plenty of new revelations about how gorgeous and hot and incredibly awesome he is. While I didn’t personally swoon over him ~ he was like-able character (though at times a bit of an enigma) and the constant references to his hotness didn’t bother me (as other authors who attempt the same thing can often grate on my nerves) ~ I think because I liked London I mostly thought it was sweet watching her gush every day.

So the thing is:

I am always prepared to go along with an unlikely premise for the sake of a compelling story. I adore guilty pleasure reads and am such a sucker for YA romance. However, I was constantly unnerved while reading Forgotten by plot holes, inconsistencies and a lack of explanation of London’s condition. Things constantly niggled at my mind and pulled me out of the story again and again which really hindered me settling in. I did not feel like I was a part of the story alongside the characters (which is how my favourite books make me feel). I felt like I was watching it all unfold from a very detached distance while scratching my head.

In all fairness, it is a doozy of a premise, hugely ambitious and I’m guessing practicalities had to be ignored just for the sake of continuing on with the story. No one wants to get bogged down in the nitty gritty and science of it all but, for me, it still needs to be plausible and consistent.

It wasn’t just that premise did not make sense, but entire plot points would unravel if you give yourself a chance to think about them. Likewise, other plot points are unnecessary (such as all the elaborate note-taking and reading of said notes everyday) if London truly can see in the future (her future self could have read all the notes...) Character relationships seemed implausable and the logic of the whole thing was a little bit “what the?” No one (teachers, friends, doctors, people in general) even knew of her condition (apart from her mum and Jamie her friend) and no one seemed to notice London inconsistently fudging her way through school (and life).

As for the ending. OH MY GOSH. It wasn’t the flipped-out spinney twist I had heard about ~ it was a sudden tacked on drama. The ending was convoluted and rushed and felt more like a weird extended epilogue-style run-down of (unlikely) unexpected events. Until then, it was a contemp read with a twist and then it nearly changed genre altogether ~ but with no suspense or foreshadowing to prepare the reader (or build anticipation) for the shift. I do not think it was handled with finesse at all ~ it was as if I was suddenly reading a different book. There was barely any integration of the climax with the rest of the book. It almost felt as if Patrick was nearing the end ~ thought up a whole fantastic scenario and wrote a synopsis for it as the resolution.

Recommended: Despite all the things I loved about this book (there is a lot of things to love), ultimately I felt like I fudged my way through and contrary to all the hype I am pretty much disappointed (& a little perplexed at all the rave reviews). This book was not for me and yet I think teens will love it regardless.

I am very curious to see how other readers feel about this one (let me know if you have read it :)



Forgotten @ goodreads
Forgotten @ Hardie Egmont Grant


Forgotten is out in Australia now (I even saw it in Big W today)



Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Comet Box by Adrian Stirling

It's 1986 and Halley's Comet is hurtling towards Earth. Everyone is talking about what the comet will bring - wishes could be granted, people might go mad, great disasters could happen...


When Andrew is asked to write down his greatest wish for the Comet Box, he can think of only one thing – that his runaway sister Amelia will finally come home. As the comet draws nearer he begins to learn the reasons why she left in the first place and the more he learns, the more he wants to forget.
When Amelia is captured and brought home she reveals a shocking secret that makes Andrew's once safe world begin to unravel. As the comet arrives, Andrew must choose whether to be blind to the mistakes of the people around him or to side with his sister as she tears his family apart.
I was so looking forward to Adrian Stirling's sophomore novel after pretty much being blown away by his debut Broken Glass. My expectations were high and he absolutely delivered (yay!)
The Comet Box is quite different in tone and atmosphere to Broken Glass. In Broken Glass, Stirling nails that gritty, claustrophobic and tight knit feel of a dusty small country town community. It was a sensory and gripping read, tense, vivid, absorbing and featured an astonishing climax.
While the Comet Box is different in setting, era and themes, it still shines with the same brilliance that blew me away in Broken Glass: it's a vivid and absorbing portrayal of life in the Aussie suburbs. I was continually impressed with how completely Stirling immerses the reader in the era ~ mid 1980's Aussie suburban life ~ utterly authentic and absolutely undeniably Australian. 


There was just so much to love about this novel. Of course, there's the mystery surrounding why Andrew's sister has run away ~ and the suspense bubbles quietly under the surface throughout the novel:
'If I told you the truth, you'd run away as well,' she said so quietly that I could barely hear it. 'Go to bed, Andrew, and forget about everything.' p109
But it wasn't just the hook that captivated me while reading The Comet Box. It was the way Stirling holds a mirror up to suburban life, to human nature, to each character in the novel. He should win some sort of award for delving effortlessly into the minds of all the neighbourhood characters and beautifullyastonishingly, scarily depicting them. I could have been reading about a number of people I know and have grown up with O.O


I don't like to compare books, but reading The Comet Box reminded me very much so of the way Christos Tsiolkas explores Aussie themes/lifestyle/etc in The Slap (which won so many awards for it's honest & startling depiction) although The Comet Box is still entirely different. I didn't particularly enjoy The Slap but I so very immensely liked The Comet Box. And I think it was because our protagonist is so relate-able ~ and also due to the gritty, grinning sense of humour ~ OH MY GOSH there are some completely brilliant lines in there. It's pretty much an entirely quotable book.
I ate an apple and forgot to take the sticker off first - my mother was probably wishing that I'd saved it for the scrapbook.' p123 (loved Andrew's scrap-booking mum. So easy to imagine her)
Andrew is curious and right at that point in life where he is searching for answers and thinking about life and what it should be against how it is. And finding out things are not at all how they seem. Perfect YA themes. Kind of disturbing and addictive ~ as if reading you are spying on Andrew's neighbourhood. Andrew puts himself right in the thick of things and the climax of the novel really is heart-pounding. There's this feeling that anything could happen and things get perfectly wild and edgy and it's taut and everything a climax should be.  
Apart from the main themes in the novel ~ I pretty much LOVED all the smaller events that took place. I have lots of favourite grin-worthy parts. A lot of them made me feel quite nostalgic. Here's some of my favourite scenes/moments:

  • Going camping at the caravan park ~ just brilliant
  • MAGIC MOUNTAIN (!) so perfect (I went there too!) and the day there made me LOL
  • buying lollies from the corner shop <3
  • all the media and anticipation of Haley's comet (gosh ~ awesome idea to weave into the premise!)
  • Christmas day ~ so easy to visualise and feel the atmosphere
  • the BBQ's ~ and the cornflake salad, haha. PRICELESS
  • Romeo and Andrew in the abandoned house. that scene is so made of teenage win!

I wondered why people were so happy when they were camping, when they left the things they owned. p 83 (adore Andrew's observations)
For a second, I wondered if the road in front of us and the hills in the distance were real or just a backdrop that could tear apart at any moment and leave us hanging in space. p159 
Recommended: YES. It's the kind of book that is perfect not just for teens but also as a cross-over. Teenagers will be enthralled and adults can easily find truths in Stirling's book. The prose is atmospheric and it's an engrossing and at times harrowing read ~ but it's also nostalgic and absolutely Australian and the whole thing is just thread together masterfully. It's also the kind of book that would be engaging and packed full of ideas for students to study in (upper) high school. 


And woah, this review got a little bit long, haha ;)


The Comet Box will be available in Australia @ the end of this month.
Broken Glass @ goodreads (Adrian Stirling's debut)

CBC Book of the Year
Notable Book in 2009 for Broken Glass (Older Readers)
Inkys
Short-listed in 2009 for Broken Glass (Young Adult Book Award)
W.A. Premier's Book Award
Short-listed in 2008 for Broken Glass (Young Adult Book Award)








The Comet Box is also featured in Penguin Australia's first edition of OFF THE SHELF: new online magazine for teachers and librarians. It's an awesome resource and I am very impressed and think the idea is genius :D


Thanks to Pengiun Australia for sending this review copy

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Elizabeth Scott Week and GIVEAWAY


I *adore* Elizabeth Scott

She is one of my absolute favourite comfort read authors. I have often wondered what it is about her books that are so appealing to me. Here's some reasons why she's awesome:

She writes authentically for teens. She captures the teen voice so well and is never derivative or preachy. Her books are not bogged down by extended metaphors or "lessons". She's seamless and subtle in her approach.

Reading her books are such an effortless experience (okay ~ so maybe Living Dead Girl and Grace are a bit harrowing). I know I can sink and relax. Her prose is uncomplicated and breezy. She's funny ~ often snappy dialogue and gorgeous insights to different personality types.

She's diverse (which is making this list hard to do as some of her books are hilarious but others are tender and serious... moving on...) She can be nostalgic, whimsical, intense, heart-broken, funny, startling and ache-y. All of her books are unique to each other. She does not use a formula or have a signature pattern ~ it's refreshing and astonishing (I do not know many authors who showcase this same diversity with such ease and finesse)

Her books hold-up to the re-read test (you know when you read a book and love it but then on the re-read it's decidedly not so awesome?). In fact, I have lost count of the number of times I have picked up certain books of hers off my shelf and curled up and sought out my favourite passages ~ often ending up re-reading the whole book.

Her BOYS. Okay ~ SWOON. Gosh ~ my top literary crush list is peppered with Scott boys. Some of them win over my heart with just a few adept lines when they are introduced. She does not cheat when creating her love interests by making them the standard HOT boy. They are nuanced and not perfect and not OMG dazzling to look at ~ but much hotter in my mind than other characters who authors make look perfect.

There is probably more I could say. But you don't need an essay to tell that I love her :)

Really, I just love sinking into her books. Good good times ~ and a little bundle of her books have made it onto my favourites shelf for different reasons. My top 3 so far are:



STEALING HEAVEN is my absolute favourite of hers
It's gorgeous and swoon-y and ache-y and pretty much just entirely perfect. 
If you love contemporary YA you should ABSOLUTELY read it.

So here's your chance :)
Open internationally via The Book Depository
I am giving away one copy of my fave Elizabeth Scott book 'Stealing Heaven'
Open one week (until the end of May)
~ fill in the form below :)



Elizabeth Scott's Bibliography (As I Wake will be out Sept 2011)
German edition of Stealing Heaven :D


Friday, May 20, 2011

The Lighter Side of Life and Death by C K Kelly Martin

Acclaimed YA author C. K. Kelly Martin offers a sexy, soulful story of one confused boy, two girls, and all the complications that ensue in this romantic feel-good love story that celebrates friendship, first love, firstlust, and second chances.

Sixteen-year-old Mason Rice is having the night of his life. He's just delivered an incredible performance in the school play, basked in celebratory afterglow vibes at the party of the year, and lost his virginity to one of his best friends—the gorgeous but previously unobtainable Kat Medina. His dreams are coming true, and the future looks golden.

Unfortunately, Kat sees things very differently. Crossing the friendship line was a big mistake, and all she wants is to forget it and move on, even if that means forgetting Mason altogether. What's a guy to do? Well, if you're Mason, you hang your hopes on the first attractive twenty-three-year-old you cross paths with. At first Mason wonders if he's imagining the chemistry . . . until Colette invites him over to her apartment. Suddenly Mason's living in a whole new world




I automatically wanted to read this book regardless of the premise because I really love the way C K Kelly Martin writes. (Not that the premise was so bad, just that I plan on reading her books regardless of the blurb)

C K Kelly Martin captures the teen voice so authentically and without any sentimentality ~ it really is refreshing to read. Her books just feel honest.

Likewise ~ I adore her prose. It is neither overly literary or simply commercial. I love the way she tells her stories ~ her sentences often have a perfect rhythm and her dialogue flows so effortlessly <3

I loved Mason's voice in this story. He's charming and aching and 100% teen man-child. I find it easy to crush on a male POV done well and this ranks up at the top for me among YA fiction.

As for the actual story. Gosh ~ I was so into it (really, I read it in one day) but at the same time, it didn't entirely sit well with me. I found myself wondering a couple of times just what the book was really about, what Martin's intentions with the story were, what that first original nugget of idea was that sparked the whole thing. I am concluding it really is just about one guys first experiences with sex/lust and how messed up it can make everything. It is tastefully done, gorgeous and genuinely heart-breaking (as I expected it would be having read her previous two books) but... sigh, I don't know. I think I would have handled it better if Mason had been bumped up to 18 years. Which, I guess, would undermine the premise...

I was left wondering at Collette's motives (her being 23 and getting it on with a 16 year old boy). I wish it had been made clearer (apart from her finding him "beguiling" and being unable to resist). Baffled :/

I loved all the high school theatre stuff. Adored the conflict in Mason's family ~ it was such a great backdrop for the sexual/relationship dramas ~ and it never felt melodramatic or cliche.

Recommended: I have enjoyed all C K Kelly Martin's books and this one is no different. I am finding it hard to balance my immense enjoyment of Mason and appreciation of the gorgeously-flowing story against my distaste for some of the events in the book :/

In the end, I still absolutely devoured this and enjoyed it enormously. I was hooked and I just admire her so much as an author... (and I have a crush on Mason ~ not a perverted one, LOL ~ just on him as a person, in all his confidence and insecurities and hopes and dreams and failures...)

C K Kelly Martin has added herself to my must-read, auto-buy YA author list.

Shame about that cover. Ugh. Who are they marketing this to?> It's intelligent lit and absolutely would appeal to teen guys to read. I don't think they would get past the cover though (I even felt embarrassed reading it near my 9 year old son, haha).


The Lighter Side of Life and Death @ goodreads



Have an awesome weekend! We're having a sleep-over party for my Sam ~ who's turning TEN (!) ~ so we'll have a lounge room packed full of boys :)


Here's a picture of my two boys (I also have a daughter) taken last month. Sam is on the left, and his little bro Reuben on the right (although Reubs is taller, haha)


Sam and Reuben
 xx Nomes

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

2011 Teen Book Video Awards for Aussie students

Random House Australia is hosting a fab comp for Aussie high school students:


To enter create a 90-second video trailer for one of sixteen Random House young adult books (shown @ the bottom of this post).

The winning entry will win $1000 (cash!) as well as $1000 worth of Random House books for their school library.




Entry Conditions:

* You must be an Australian high school student
* You may enter as an individual or as a group
* The trailer must be for one of the sixteen titles chosen by Random House
* The 90- second video trailer must best represent the book you have chosen
* Entries close 30th September 2011

For more specific details click here.

Head over to the Random House website where you can register and find more information



Below are the sixteen eligible titles to use for the comp. 
(click on the book cover to see more info on each individual book)

Burn BrightDANGEROUSLY PLACEDDarkwaterThe Iron WitchThe Laws of MagicMAXIMUM RIDE: ANGEL





QuillBladeThe Ivory RosethylaTo Die ForVotive


MY LIFE AND OTHER STUFF I MADE UPWolfbornWhere she wentPig Boy



This is such a really cool idea and you have until the end of September to get reading and thinking and creating. Good luck :D

Monday, May 16, 2011

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley wins...




and I am crazy psyched to see it take out the 
NSW Premier's literary award tonight for best YA title...

A HUGE grinning congrats :D


For all you international readers ~ Graffiti Moon will be available internationally... soon :)
Aussie readers, OH MY GOSH, if you haven't read this yet (!) go out and find a copy
Spanish cover

Sunday, May 15, 2011

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen


Mclean never lets herself get too attached . . .
After the scandal of her mother's affair, Mclean and her dad chose life on the road. But since losing her family and home, Mclean has lost herself too; she's been Eliza, then Lizbet, then Beth - changing her name as often as she changes towns.

Until now. Her new neighbour, Dave, is like no one she's met before. Is as if she's always known him, and just like that, she becomes Mclean again.  Is it finally time to stop reinventing? Or will Mclean turn her back on the new life she loves, without even saying goodbye . . .(from publisher's site)

Sarah Dessen is perhaps the most famous and most beloved of contemporary YA authors. Her books and characters worm their way in readers lives and frequently top peoples favourite books of all time lists. 


Me and Sarah Dessen: I read my first Sarah Dessen in 2008 (Lock and Key) without having heard of her ~ and absolutely loved it... then proceeded to check out all her back-listed titles. Some of which I adored and are favourites of mine (perfect for a rainy-day comfort swoon-y read), but others have left little impact and been quickly forgotten. So I guess you could say she's a little bit hit and miss for me. Fans are also split on their favourite titles so it’s hard to predict which of you will find What Happened to Goodbye bumping on your favourites list ~ and which of you will find it all a little too meh (like me). 


What Happened to Goodbye has no huge inciting incident or great source of tension. Instead the book quietly unfolds in layers: each time Dessen revisits a scene/sub-plot, she goes just a little bit further than the previous time ~ giving more depth and insight into her characters lives, relationships and what makes them the way they are. Ad infintum and you reach the resolution: where Dessen has begun with isolated characters she ends with a motley group of friends who have bonded and each come to some form of self-actualisation.

Dessen immerses the reader completely in her characters lives. She is the queen of exploring relationships and the subtle things that connect family's and friends. She takes her time in creating atmosphere and introducing characters with all their nuances ~ and she does it well.

There was no mistaking Dessen’s signature prose when first diving into What Happened to Goodbye. Even without her name on the cover I could easily pick her as the author. There's an instant sense of familiarity when opening up the books (from having read her previous work).

So here’s what I enjoyed (& what you have to look forward to):

  • Mclean’s dad and the restaurant dramas. It’s chaotic and sensory and fun and those scenes were highlights for me. 
  • The first meet cute between Mclean and Dave. (I am a fan of meet-cutes :) I also liked the 2nd and 3rd scenes with them together. 
  • My two favourite characters were Opal (restaurant chick) and Deb (high school student enthusiast). Opal had a lot of heart and a bit of snark ~ her scenes added some energy to the book. And Deb, well, she's lovable and cringe-worthy all at the same time and completely interesting. 
  • I like how Dessen cameos characters from her past books. I'll leave them for you to find... 

Despite the parts I enjoyed, overall I was left feeling underwhelmed :(

I personally prefer my books to have a bit more urgency to them (even if it is a quiet urgency).The lack of tension or driving force with any of the sub-plots resulted in me being less engaged than I would have liked. If it hadn't been a "Dessen book" with some form of expectation I am not sure I would have made it past half-way.

While Mclean struggled to "find who she was" I struggled to get a feel for her. She was just a Dessen-esque 'narrator-voice'. The secondary characters certainly out-shone her. However, she was relate-able in that 'every-day-girl' sense.

I won't deny that my favourite parts of previous Dessen novels have been the swoon factor... and it was a little bit lacking here. I am not sure what technique Dessen was trying to employ with the romance, but there was no pull of attraction or tingly sparks between Mclean and Dave (although Dave himself was a cool enough character, he just did not work as a love interest for me). I would say this book was more about family and friends more than a romance-y read.

I struggled at the beginning where too many characters were introduced in little snippets and then revisited later and it took me a while to get my head around everyone. I also feel a few characters were introduced in detail and then completely fizzled out of the story which had me wondering: why have them in there at all?



Recommended: The thing is ~ despite the areas I personally struggled with, there's no denying that Sarah Dessen writes fantastically for teens. This is a book for anyone who has ever struggled with "finding themselves", fitting in and figuring out who they want to be. It's a classic Dessen and you can feel that she's poured all she has into bringing these characters to life on the pages. 


I did feel disappointed but I'm sure part of that comes from my high anticipation and how it seems all too easy to remember my past Dessen Reading Memories: the swooning and the sighing and the falling in love with characters lives which didn't happen for me here. I haven't meant to write a negative review but rather to be honest (and there's still plenty in this book to love despite my discussion points in the second half of the review). No disappointed review would've kept me away and I'm still anticipating whatever she writes next (there's just something about her). Also, looking forward to seeing what you guys think of What Happened to Goodbye :D


What Happened to Goodbye @ Penguin Australia
What Happened to Goodbye @ goodreads
Sarah Dessen's website
Sarah Dessen talks about What Happened to Goodbye

As for my favourite Dessen book (most people have one...) I am torn. I have read all her books (apart from Dreamland) and on my shelf at home are four keepers of hers that I love for different reasons:



If you haven't read her yet, GOSH, you should definitely check her out (!) asap. You could start with her latest title (which has some glowing reviews elsewhere) or check out one of my faves above :)

Thank you to Penguin Australia for providing me with this review copy :)

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Covers ~ Twilight by Stephenie Meyer


Perhaps one of the most iconic covers in YA ~ the hands and the apple
Because it has to be done...

Here are some of the international (apple-free!) covers of Twilight
US/Aussie/NZ/UK/who knows where else?

Denmark
Going for the spooky-mystery vibe... but with two fun love hearts (it makes me think of those helium balloons) to lighten the atmosphere. I keep thinking I can see a face (or faces hidden in the background).
Thailand
I first thought this is from Edwards' POV (watching Bella as she sleeps, haha)
But then I saw his little face, faking sleep alongside her.
It's got a romantic vibe ~ nicely done.
(and how long is Bella's oh-so-tempting neck!!?!)
Japan
oh the teen drama.
this is all about ANGST and MOODINESS
and something luminous...
China
This is fun. Edward's hot, Bella's vulnerable
and there's (my fave part) bat wings (!) on the title ~ wahoo!
What more could you want?
Russian
heheheheh
similar to Denmark but less atmospheric/more creepy
the trees are growing out of her headand branches falling over her face
and as for her expression? I'm not really getting this one...
Korean
It's cute, hey. A little bit elfin. Lots of white space.
Looking at it closely, I am having trouble making out what is going on at the side of bella's head?
Is that Edward's hand? Kind of gnarl-y...
Germany
This looks more mermaid than vampire with that pearly, underwater sheen.
Initially the image was lost on me ~ 'why show a girls neck and half her head?' ~
Then I was, like, 'OH! her neck... his vampire fangs... love story...aha!'
Czech Republic
I like this cover, love the bird in the branches and the light and shadows and the jagged, sharp font.
It looks like a different genre to Twilight though (?)
Norway
I'm sure I've seen this image somewhere else...
Either way ~ it doesn't really grab me.
Netherlands

Indonesia
so Rapunzel-esque
I like it as an artwork (really, I do) but I fail to see the connection.
Original UK
When I first saw this original UK one I thought it was completely not-for-real. I like the title font and the ethereal feel but the girl looks seriously thin and she's caught in a mid-dope stare. Bizarre.

There's also the white cover ~ so iconic that it is devoid of title or author name on front (asuuming these are available throughout the western world? They're out here in Oz)

It's hard to say which ones appeal to me. The main apple one is so familiar that it works as a branding. Although, I don't know the book well enough to really understand what the hands and the apple are about(Twilight is not really my thing)

I like the Czech Republic one (even though it looks like an adult suspense-thriller).
Plus I do think the Chinese one is fun :D

Have you seen these before?
Which one is your favourite?
Which ones are making you go 'what the?'