See 28 Popular Book Covers Get a Gendered Makeover
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 as if the author were of the opposite gender. Hundreds of people responded to her proposal, sharing "flipped" book covers on Tumblr 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 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 switched things up with a picture of a young girl.
Original: Male
Jack Kerouac's On the Road is a classic book about the author's cross-country travels with his friends.
Reimagined: Female
Hannah gave the road-trip theme a more girlie spin.
Original: Male
Me Talk Pretty One Day 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.
Original: Male
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby 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 featured a woman on the reimagined cover.
Original: Male
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky dives into the mind of a quirky teen boy who struggles to fit in.
Reimagined: Female
Nessa Zee went with a feminine floral background.
Original: Male
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is a famous sci-fi series.
Reimagined: Female
Tumblr's Silly Side Blog gave the cover a brighter look.
Original: Male
Lord of the Flies 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 played off the memorable pig scene for a reimagined version.
Original: Male
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is a satirical read that examines science, technology, and religion.
Reimagined: Female
Jacob A. Dunn 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 follows the story of three college graduates as they navigate the real world.
Reimagined: Female
For a feminine makeover, Emily Rosenfield featured a bridal bouquet.
Original: Male
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen follows complicated relationships among family and friends over several years.
Reimagined: Female
Book Revels 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 — considered a "Great American Novel" — follows one of the most well-known figures in fiction, Huck Finn.
Reimagined: Female
Melissa made a modern, chick-lit-inspired version of the classic cover.
Original: Male
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess captures good versus evil in a dystopian world.
Reimagined: Female
Brandy's cover features a woman's face with black-and-orange lip color.
Original: Male
J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey 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's cover a feminine spin.
Original: Male
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer weaves together multiple story lines about a man's journey into his family's past.
Reimagined: Female
Jackelyn N. used warm light and sunflowers for a reimagined version.
Original: Male
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie tells the story of a Native American teenage boy.
Reimagined: Female
Switching it up for "Sharmaine" Alexie, Gillian Berry picked a hot-pink background, a handwriting-inspired font, and hearts to dot the I's.
Original: Female
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a dark, semiautobiographical book that touches on mental illness.
Reimagined: Male
Tumblr's Not the Very Button 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 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 used dark colors and a simple, minimalistic font for the masculine interpretation.
Original: Male
A Game of Thrones by R.R. Martin is a fantasy novel that features kingdoms, wars, and imaginative creatures.
Reimagined: Female
Electric Sheep Comix used a fancy script and a female character for the flipped cover.
Original: Male
Stephen King's Carrie is a horror novel about a high school girl.
Reimagined: Female
Mellie Ryan chose a light, bright picture of a young girl for a feminine interpretation of the cover.
Original: Male
Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island is a dark, gothic novel about murder, insanity, and multiple realities.
Reimagined: Female
Kuelthador picked a turquoise background, bright shutters, and a sunny beach setting for the feminine version of the cover.
Original: Female
Heist Society by Ally Carter follows a family of thieves and a young girl carrying on the tradition.
Reimagined: Male
Rosiana's interpretation features a more abstract design.
Original: Male
It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini tells the story of a suicidal teen in a psychiatric hospital.
Reimagined: Female
Miller's feminine interpretation features bubbly cursive and two hands making a heart shape.
Original: Female
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith follows an Irish-American family in the early 1900s.
Reimagined: Male
Dana picked neutral shades and a simple design for the masculine interpretation.
Original: Female
13 Little Blue Envelopes 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 gave the book cover a more artsy, abstract interpretation to reimagine it for a male author.
Original: Male
Every Day by David Levithan tells the story of a teenager who wakes up in a different body every morning.
Reimagined: Female
Miller added a romantic spin to the cover by featuring a couple.
Original: Male
Stardust 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 featured a close-up image of a couple and an ornate font for the feminine interpretation.
Original: Female
Before I Fall 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 used a black-and white image with an ominous look.
Original: Female
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas tells the story of a heroic girl battling darkness in a strange kingdom.
Reimagined: Male
Ardawling gave the cover a masculine makeover with a gray, artistic image.