Top 5 Tuesday #59: Plants on My Covers

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

Top 5 books with plants on the cover

(What are some great covers that have plants on them?)

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Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (illus.)

It’s a YA horror graphic novel containing five short stories that all have a fairytale feel to them. They aren’t very scary, but they are all pretty creepy and unsettling. I wasn’t a fan of the illustrations, but I think they pair well with the stories. I bought myself a copy both because the numerous reviews got me curious back then and because I like the cover. I love the silhouettes of the trees and the roots below that look like clawing hands.

In the Night Wood by Dale Bailey

Oh, this book. 🙂 Bailey’s In the Night Wood is a gorgeously written contemporary fantasy/horror with a dark twist that includes fey creatures, possibly. It’s about a grieving American couple who move to a manor in the U.K. and begin to see odd things in the woods while there. I liked the story and loved the writing and, of course, bought a copy because I love the tree tunnel on the cover.

The Devourers by Indra Das

It took me a whole year to read this book, although it’s only about 300 pages long. I didn’t like it. The only thing about it I admired is the writing, which is probably why I didn’t like the story. I LOVE descriptive writing, but there’s so much gore in this story that I was turned off from it. I don’t even know how to briefly state what it’s about. I guess I could describe it as fantasy/horror about werewolves that’s set in India and also touches on some Indian folklore. I like the cover of this one as well. And it’s just now, as I was putting this post together, that I realize there are bones among the plants surrounding the woman.

The Book of Hidden Things by Francesco Dimitri (transl. from the Italian by the author)

Love this one and a major reason why is the writing. Oh my gosh! It’s so descriptive and immersive and made me feel as if I was in Puglia, Italy, with the characters. It’s contemporary fantasy (I guess) about four friends who made a pact after high school to meet up in the same place in their hometown on the same date every year, but this time one of them doesn’t show so the others go looking for him. I learned about this book from an interview the author did on a blog, but I think I would have read it regardless because I love the cover.

The Life of Elves by Muriel Barbery, transl. from the French by Alison Anderson

Also loved the writing in this one. Oh my gosh! I immediately fell in love with the prose soon as I started, but that’s all I liked about it, unfortunately. I was otherwise confused by what’s going on and thus was not invested in the plot or the characters. It’s a fantasy novel set in France about two girls who must strengthen their powers to prepare for a war. Hard to describe, but it was an interesting read. That cover hints nothing at the fantastic.

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HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE?

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