I Judge Books By Their Covers: "Our Endless Numbered Days"

I read "Our Endless Numbered Days" a couple weeks ago on the drive to and from New York City. It was a really good book about a young girl whose survivalist father takes her out to the wilderness and convinces her they're the only two humans left on the planet; they live alone in a shack in the woods for 9 years. (Here's my review.)

This novel has two vastly different covers and I'm curious how I would've felt seeing both covers before I read the book (since I feel one fits the story better). Which one do you prefer? Have you read "Our Endless Numbered Days"? (If not, you should!) 

The cover on the left is the e-book/U.S. cover, and the artwork on the right is the U.K. edition.

These covers, man... neither one is quite right for the novel! The cover on the left looks like it belongs on a children's picture book. Yes, there's a ghostly form about to tap the girl on the shoulder, but it could just be her make-believe friend or a childish imagining. The colors, the font and the hand-drawn artwork are pretty and aesthetically appealing, but it brings to mind something whimsical and light. That's not this book.

The U.K. cover, on the other hand, is more on the right track. I really like the picture of the hut in the woods and the handwriting-like font used for the title, which could easily have been written by 17-year-old Peggy telling us her story. However, it's almost a little too sinister. The stark black, white and red make me think it could be a serial-killer thriller or detective story. The colors all look good together, but maybe changing the color of the author's name to something other than blood-red would make it not too whimsical, not too spooky, but just right.

Both covers are intriguing in very different ways and both have lovely artwork; I'd grab both of them off a shelf -- though neither one quite represents the story accurately. But it's really no contest; for this book, the U.K. cover definitely wins.

Winner: U.K. edition