IMAGINE: A world where everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What would be great about that? What could be wrong about that?

The Beauty Behind Uglies By: Maria Metzger

Study the Picture Whats the first thing you see? What stands out to you? What do you think the word Uglies means or stands for? What does the person seem to be doing? And finally, if you saw this book on a shelf would you pick it up to learn more?

The Reasoning Behind Book Covers: Before one can began to analyze a book cover, you must first understand why book covers are so important. Besides looking pretty or cool, a book cover has to catch your eye. It gives you the first impression of what a book will be like. At first glance it has to tell you a part of the story, it has to make you want to know the rest of the story. Like any interesting story it has to hook you and draw you in.

Background: Uglies, written by Scott Westerfeld, is set in the far future. It was published in 2005, and is the first book in a trilogy with a companion novel. On the cover of Uglies, you see a girl hiding in the bushes. This is the main character, Tally.

Background cont Tally lives in a world where, when you turn sixteen, you have an operation that makes you pretty. When Tallys new friend, Shay, runs away she has a choice: she can either help the authorities find Shay or never turn pretty at all.

Appeal The cover of Uglies presents an emotional appeal, or pathos. In the picture there is a pretty girl hiding in the bushes, with the word uglies right next to her face. It makes you wonder if she is not pretty enough. It also makes you wonder whether or not you yourself seem beautiful.

Audience When you think about beauty, who, or what, is associated with it? The audience for this book is teenagers, and even more specifically, teenage girls. Teenage girls are more obsessed with looks and beauty. Girls tend to work harder to improve their appearance.

Focus The title: – The title is written in all capital letters. It is also white which contrasts with the blue and green of the plants. The Face – Like the title the face is lighter than the surrounding colors. Its pale compared to the dark blues and greens of the plant.

Technique

Composition: Light and Colors: – The most common colors used on the book cover, are blue and green. – Blue and green are cool colors which make the right side of the picture seem kind of dark. – Also all of the light in the picture seems to spotlight the face.

Composition cont. Framing: – On the cover the face is framed by the leaves of a blue, greenish plant. Balance: – The pale face on the left is balanced with the broad, cool colored leaves of the plant on the right.

Detail: Omission: – In the picture you only see part of the face. The other half is omitted. – It gives an even stronger notion that the person is hiding from someone or something. Emphasis: – On the cover, the point of emphasis is the eye. – When you look at the face it is the first thing you see. – If you look close enough you even see a person in the eye.

Font: Font size: – The largest font on the book cover is the title, Uglies. – Uglies is in all capital letters, and is bright white. – The second largest font is the authors name, Scott Westerfeld. – The authors name is in black and is placed on top of the face. This draws attention to both the title and the author.

Font cont. – The smallest font on the page is in the lower right hand corner. – It says In a world of extreme beauty, anyone normal is Ugly. – This sentence gives you a hint at what the story will be about. It gives you insight into the book.

Bibliography Book Cover: – Cover photograph copyright © 2005 by Carissa Pelleteri – Cover design by Rodrigo Corral Picture used in PowerPoint: – works.com/Uglies&h=560&w=400&sz=47&tbnid=u5gLLf- iiRvHDM:&tbnh=133&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Duglies&zoom=1&q=uglies&hl=en&usg=__4gl8vSciuzaUIvf8KJONb0SWyOA=&s a=X&ei=_5CCTOWiI4aksQPd6szKBw&ved=0CDgQ9QEwBA