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review: rooftops of tehran

book info: on sale: now copy from: public library pages: 348 review written: 21.12.17 originally published: 2009 edition read: Penguin NAL 2009 title: Rooftops of Tehran author: Mahbod Seraji In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran's sprawling capital city, 17-year-old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend Ahmed, joking around one minute and asking burning questions about life the next. He also hides a secret love for his beautiful neighbor Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to another man. But the bliss of Pasha and Zari's stolen time together is shattered when Pasha unwittingly acts as a beacon for the Shah's secret police. The violent consequences awaken him to the reality of living under a powerful despot, and lead Zari to make a shocking choice... my thoughts: This book was first published in 2009 and I remember adding it to my list around that time but never actually reading it since I preferred checking out library books to ...

The Secret

Who Wore it Better: Gone by Michael Grant

Who Wore it Better is an original meme I brought with me from Drugs Called Books. In it, instead of discussing fashion or cloths, we discuss book covers from different countries, and who has the best cover. The meme is co-hosted with the lovely Amanda from The Book Badger and will be featured on her blog every other week, so check her out as well!  

So last week Amanda reviewed the different covers in Shadow Kiss, and this week we're starting a new series. This time... Gone series, by Michael Grant!
I confess: I haven't read the book. All my opinion are based on the synopsis and the prettiness of the cover (shallow alert!!)
I own Gone, but I have a huge fear of dystopias and I tend to take a long while to decide to read one. On the bright side, making this week's WWIB definitely made me want to pick it up, so maybe this will be the push I needed!


**click to enlarge**
English One – Err... well, okay. Two teenagers looking blankly into... something. Yeah. This is... well, it's not the worst cover I ever seen, that's for sure. But it really gives nothing of the story, and it's not really the most attractive cover out there, is it? This cover is half the reason why I never read these books. Only half because now I own a much prettier looking cover, and yet I still haven't read it... 

English Two – Now this is the one I own, and I really really like it. I'll also throw it out there that the pages are lined with yellow. Not trying to make you want to buy it at all ^-^ Anyways, I love the simplicity of it. I also love the void of the cover - from the summary of the book, and the title, you can tell some important... things, we'll call them, go missing. I feel like the cover emoides that, as well as the urgency and the danger using the running figure in the O.

English Three - Ohh, I really really like this one. I love it for all the reasons I loved English two, and I adore the face the O is literally gone! Like, how genius is that?! This is just such an ominous little cover ^0^

English Four - Once again, I like this cover! It definitely gives off ample vibe of danger. You can tell it's supernatural by the... well, power surge at the background. And you can also tell it's about teenagers, because the silhouettes are distinctively young. That's a lot to learn from one book cover!

Spanish – Hmm... what do I say about this one?... It makes the book appear to be a cheesy paranormal romance. And it gives the strong impression of a female protagonist, and I'm pretty sure this book is mostly from a male point of view. I suppose the part inside the bubble is alright. Sounds fitting. But it's really not the part that grabs your attention on this cover, is it?... (that honor goes to the photoshopped girl...)

DutchI actually like this one! It took the original image, shrouded it with some mystery, darkness, a sense of urgency and comradeship. And it emphasizes the void and separation by a large blotch of black in the middle!

Portuguese This one is alright, I suppose. Nothing great or horrible about it. Very Middle Grade ish, though. Is this book middle grade?...

Swedish No. Just... no. 


All in all, I really like three of the English covers, and think the rest are kind of meh. In house won this round!
Nitzan

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