The question of whether we judge books by their covers has now been given a gendered spin. YA author Maureen Johnson invited people to reimagine popular book covers [1] as if the author were of the opposite gender. Hundreds of people responded to her proposal, sharing "flipped" book covers on Tumblr [2] to highlight the stereotypical differences between covers for male and female writers. Take a look at some of the most fascinating book-cover makeovers!
Original: Male
The Fault in Our Stars [3] by John Green is narrated by a teenage girl struggling to fight cancer as she falls in love with an older boy.
Reimagined: Female
Little Infinitee [4] switched things up with a picture of a young girl.
Original: Male
Jack Kerouac's On the Road [5] is a classic book about the author's cross-country travels with his friends.
Reimagined: Female
Hannah [6] gave the road-trip theme a more girlie spin.
Original: Male
Me Talk Pretty One Day [7] features the hilarious essays of humorist David Sedaris.
Reimagined: Female
Cursive handwriting, heart accents, and a pink-lipped mouth bring a feminine touch to the cover created by Autumn [8].
Original: Male
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby [9] is considered a fictional masterpiece, telling the story of forbidden love, wealth, and extravagance in the 1920s.
Reimagined: Female
Tumblr's Other Notebooks Are Available [10] featured a woman on the reimagined cover.
Original: Male
The Perks of Being a Wallflower [11] by Stephen Chobsky dives into the mind of a quirky teen boy who struggles to fit in.
Reimagined: Female
Nessa Zee [12] went with a feminine floral background.
Original: Male
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [13] by Douglas Adams is a famous sci-fi series.
Reimagined: Female
Tumblr's Silly Side Blog [14] gave the cover a brighter look.
Original: Male
Lord of the Flies [15] by William Golding is a high school English classic about a group of boys trying to survive on an island.
Reimagined: Female
Twitter user fromabasement [16] played off the memorable pig scene for a reimagined version.
Original: Male
Cat's Cradle [17] by Kurt Vonnegut is a satirical read that examines science, technology, and religion.
Reimagined: Female
Jacob A. Dunn [18] used cursive script and a graphic version of the Cat's Cradle game for his version of the cover.
Original: Male
Jeffrey Eugenides's The Marriage Plot [19] follows the story of three college graduates as they navigate the real world.
Reimagined: Female
For a feminine makeover, Emily Rosenfield [20] featured a bridal bouquet.
Original: Male
Freedom [21] by Jonathan Franzen follows complicated relationships among family and friends over several years.
Reimagined: Female
Book Revels [22] on Tumblr used a girl's picture and a heart detail to give the cover a feminine spin.
Original: Male
Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [23] — considered a "Great American Novel" — follows one of the most well-known figures in fiction, Huck Finn.
Reimagined: Female
Melissa [24] made a modern, chick-lit-inspired version of the classic cover.
Original: Male
A Clockwork Orange [25] by Anthony Burgess captures good versus evil in a dystopian world.
Reimagined: Female
Brandy's [26] cover features a woman's face with black-and-orange lip color.
Original: Male
J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey [27] tells the story a brother and sister in two parts: a short story and a novella.
Reimagined: Female
Swirling script and a young girl wearing green nail polish give Hilde Kuyper [28]'s cover a feminine spin.
Original: Male
Everything Is Illuminated [29] by Jonathan Safran Foer weaves together multiple story lines about a man's journey into his family's past.
Reimagined: Female
Jackelyn N. [30] used warm light and sunflowers for a reimagined version.
Original: Male
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian [31] by Sherman Alexie tells the story of a Native American teenage boy.
Reimagined: Female
Switching it up for "Sharmaine" Alexie, Gillian Berry [32] picked a hot-pink background, a handwriting-inspired font, and hearts to dot the I's.
Original: Female
The Bell Jar [33] by Sylvia Plath is a dark, semiautobiographical book that touches on mental illness.
Reimagined: Male
Tumblr's Not the Very Button [34] gave the cover a masculine makeover by using bold block letters and a simple red, black, and white color scheme.
Original: Female
Dear Life: Stories [35] by Alice Munro is a short-story collection that features a range of characters, including a soldier, a poet, and a wealthy young woman.
Reimagined: Male
Sarah [36] used dark colors and a simple, minimalistic font for the masculine interpretation.
Original: Male
A Game of Thrones [37] by R.R. Martin is a fantasy novel that features kingdoms, wars, and imaginative creatures.
Reimagined: Female
Electric Sheep Comix [38] used a fancy script and a female character for the flipped cover.
Original: Male
Stephen King's Carrie [39] is a horror novel about a high school girl.
Reimagined: Female
Mellie Ryan [40] chose a light, bright picture of a young girl for a feminine interpretation of the cover.
Original: Male
Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island [41] is a dark, gothic novel about murder, insanity, and multiple realities.
Reimagined: Female
Kuelthador [42] picked a turquoise background, bright shutters, and a sunny beach setting for the feminine version of the cover.
Original: Female
Heist Society [43] by Ally Carter follows a family of thieves and a young girl carrying on the tradition.
Reimagined: Male
Rosiana [44]'s interpretation features a more abstract design.
Original: Male
It's Kind of a Funny Story [45] by Ned Vizzini tells the story of a suicidal teen in a psychiatric hospital.
Reimagined: Female
Miller [46]'s feminine interpretation features bubbly cursive and two hands making a heart shape.
Original: Female
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn [47] by Betty Smith follows an Irish-American family in the early 1900s.
Reimagined: Male
Dana [48] picked neutral shades and a simple design for the masculine interpretation.
Original: Female
13 Little Blue Envelopes [49] by Maureen Johnson — the woman behind the "coverflip" idea — tells the story of a young girl who receives a series of envelopes and instructions from her deceased aunt.
Reimagined: Male
Stephen Denes [50] gave the book cover a more artsy, abstract interpretation to reimagine it for a male author.
Original: Male
Every Day [51] by David Levithan tells the story of a teenager who wakes up in a different body every morning.
Reimagined: Female
Miller [52] added a romantic spin to the cover by featuring a couple.
Original: Male
Stardust [53] by Neil Gaiman follows a young boy who goes on a quest to bring a fallen star to the girl he loves.
Reimagined: Female
Monica [54] featured a close-up image of a couple and an ornate font for the feminine interpretation.
Original: Female
Before I Fall [55] by Lauren Oliver tells the story of a teenage girl who knows it's the last day of her life.
Reimagined: Male
For the masculine interpretation, Mellie Ryan [56] used a black-and white image with an ominous look.
Original: Female
Throne of Glass [57] by Sarah J. Maas tells the story of a heroic girl battling darkness in a strange kingdom.
Reimagined: Male
Ardawling [58] gave the cover a masculine makeover with a gray, artistic image.