Shelf Candy Saturday #3

It is that time of the week again! I think this might actually be my favorite meme of the week because I adore clicking through goodreads.com, looking at all the pretty covers of all the books on my shelves and then sometimes being adventurous and exploring other people's shelves! With that being said, let's go over the rules and explanation so we can get on to the prettiness! 

Shelf Candy Saturday is a fun meme hosted by http://fivealarmbookreviews.com. The purpose is to highlight book covers that we find beautiful/unique or just interesting! 

This week I chose Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie. This is one of my all time favorite books so I am going to put in the entire blurb from goodreads.com because I think this book is worth spreading the word about! I also had it in my top ten Tuesday post about books that broke my heart a little. This one did it in a good sort of way though! 

 Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey.

Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the 'eighteen disease' with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they're forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably.  

So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.

 But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can't ever be acted upon because they're both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B.

 And, oh, how lovely Plan B's can be.

 Well, except for the psycho from Harper's past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there's the little issue that neither of them knows they're in love with the other. Needless to say, Callum & Harper's life just got a bit more complicated.

 “One day, you and I are gonna’ wake up and be alright. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but one day. One day. I promise you.” - Callum Tate

Okay, like I said, I adore this book. It was one of the very first YA contemporary's that I ever read and it was an immediate favorite of mine. It is one of the few books that I think I would re-read over and over again as years go by. I just loved it. That being said, I have absolutely no idea what in the world is going on with this cover. I LOVE the cover, don't get me wrong. It is one of the things that drew me in and made me pick up the book but I just don't get any of it. I made it as big as the blog perimeters would allow because there is so much detail to it! I actually opened it up in a photo editing program to look at closer and still...totally lost.

On the top half we have a girl falling. She may or may not be wearing lime green socks. I get the symbolism of falling, feeling out of control in life, that sort of thing. Maybe that is what the falling is. There's a moon up top, a brick building and what looks like some sort of 70's discotheque sort of thing going on behind the window.

I like how the typography of the title looks like it is just resting on top of everything else going on in the cover. There are little snippets of scenes within the letters. I can't decipher what the scenes are (maybe an American flag?) but it makes the black in the middle and the letters themselves really pop out. Especially with the pink "&" in the middle of the two names. That, to me, emphasizes that it is ALWAYS the two of them; that "and" is very important.

So we move down to the bottom, even more crazy stuff going on. There is a store maybe? In the bottom left corner, when I blew it up I could read ZIGZAG REC so I am thinking maybe a records store? There are mannequins in that window though so I am not sure. The girl is still falling, this time in sort of the direction of the sun. Symbolizing falling towards life? Light? Happiness? Your guess is as good as mine. There are also seems to be another flag down there, some fireworks...and what is going on in the right hand corner other than the sun? No clue.

So yes, this cover confuses me but it also intrigues me. It catches the eye and that is what is important. Not only that but the cover feels gritty, real and very chaotic to me and that very much matches the themes in the book. Overall, I would say this cover accomplishes the goal of drawing in readers and leaving us curious as to what kind of story is waiting between the pages of that book! (Which is a great one! You should check it out!)