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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Cover Stories: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Jenny Han is a Carolina graduate, so she and I can talk Chapel Hill and pretty much geek out over basketball. Her latest novel, The Summer I Turned Pretty, is magical (and there's a sequel in the works--yay!). Here's the Cover Story Jenny shared on my blog this summer. For some reason, it makes me think of Halloween. Maybe it's the inspiration board.

Here's Jenny:

inspiration.jpg

"I sat down with my editor and my designer and I gave them a mood board of a bunch of images I liked. I wanted something pretty and classic and nostalgic.

pretty.jpg
"My editor let me give a lot of input, which I will be forever grateful for. I got to pick the models, which is basically like choosing which Barbie doll should go with which Ken doll-- soooo fun. The hardest character to cast was Jeremiah, because apparently blond teenage male models are in short supply in NY. It took us a while to find the right one, but in the end, I loved who we picked. I especially loved the girl, because she was so fresh and sweet-looking and also she has those adorable freckles.

"They ended up doing the shoot at Coney Island. They shot like, a million pictures and the one we picked was literally right at the end of the roll. The sun was setting, and even though you couldn't see the beach, there was just this beautiful beachy light. It felt like summer to me.

"The first time I saw the cover, I could not stop staring at it. Love at first sight, I swear. And I continue to be in love with it!"

I love how involved Jenny got to be with her photo shoot--the most involved I've heard with an author so far! Casting models? Awesome. And yes, this looks like golden moments of summer to me for sure. Sigh.

What do you guys think? Does it say summer to you?

7 comments:

Little Willow said...

If only all authors were permitted to be as involved in the selection of images (and models, in this case) for their covers! I'm so glad that you were able to do so, Jenny. Great cover for a great book. Thanks for picking people who matched your characters, and thanks especially for selecting a girl with freckles and a real look.

Lorie Ann Grover said...

Wow! Yay for her total involvement! Way cool!

Melissa Walker said...

Love this one because Jenny got so involved.

Moxy and Tray ♥ said...

I thought that the book described Belly as kind of plain and uglier than the cover model, like chubbier and not as cute. Jenny Han described Belly having "grey eyes and dull brown hair" which is contrast to the cover, plus Belly eats a lot of crap/sugar so shouldn't she be fatter and not like a waif? I would pick someone more like a brunette amanda michalka for belly, and glenn mccuen for conrad, chord overstreet for jeremiah.

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Penelope Sanchez said...

I had this book on one of my list that I would get to just whenever.... Wow! I loved how this book really pulled you in and wouldn't let go. Reading about 16 yr olds isn't normally what I read but how this book showed so much insight into each character and in the end not knowing who to wish she ended up with was refreshing. This book made me laugh cry and cringe at times. Loved it!

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