Judging a Book by Its Cover

Alright, we’ve all heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” At this point it’s pretty much been ingrained into our easily-moldable little minds since birth, just like “sharing is caring” or “show, don’t tell.” But let’s be real. Should we actually follow this advice? Just because it’s repeated over and over, that doesn’t necessarily make it true. So why shouldn’t we judge a book by its cover?

I mean, honestly. That is literally what the cover is for

.

Like, that is the exact purpose of a cover.

Let me show you what I’m talking about… It was freshman year, the day before homecoming dance. The rest of the school was in a pep rally, but I was one of those people who had zero school spirit and was just chilling in the library instead. I’ve always loved browsing through shelves to find books, so naturally I did just that. I mean, it’s not like I had anything better to do anyway.

So, there I was, walking around the fiction area, when I saw this big, bright red book sitting out on display. My eyes were drawn to it like a magnet, immediately finding interest in the boldness of the colors and the letters spelling out “SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA.” It just naturally caught my eye.

I found myself crossing the room like a character from a cheesy romance movie crossing the dance floor to reach their lover. I picked up this interesting book, looking it over, flipping it from hand to hand. At such a close difference, I realized that the cover reminded me a lot of the cover of The Fault in our Stars. But cooler.

Especially from an art standpoint, it was a really nice design. The colors and shapes were bold and bright, but the fonts and textures added a little hint of quirkiness that I just loved. Its entire existence basically begged me to pick it up and open it.

After reading the first sentence of the description, I was totally hooked. Okay, to be honest, I was already hooked from the moment I first saw this book, but after that first sentence I was mega-hooked. It seemed to be absolutely perfect for me.

Not surprisingly, I sat down and started reading it at once. And I loved it. And I’m not talking, “oh yeah, I read that once, it was good” kind of loving. Oh no. I’m talking the “I just read this for the seventh time and I’m still screaming” kind of loving it.

I mean, even in the first page, I knew it was amazing. The protagonist, Simon, was the funniest, most relatable teen ever. Actually, pretty much every character was funny and relatable. Seriously. It was as if the author had accessed my brain and turned all my different traits into characters.

It was literally the best book I’d ever read.

I lost track of how many times I read it, but each time was just as good as the last. For a while I was obsessed with it. Like, really obsessed with it. So obsessed with it that two of my friends read it just to get me to shut up about it.

Did that stop me from talking about it?

No. It did not.

I obsessed over it for the entirety of fall, and I even associate fall with that book now. I really enjoyed reading it, and it’s definitely left a really nice impact on me.

So, I can’t help but wonder, what would have happened if I hadn’t seen that big red cover? If I hadn’t been drawn in by the boldness? Or if I didn’t satisfy my curiosity out of some unfounded notion that books shouldn’t be judged by their covers?

I would have missed out on the best book I’ve ever read. And that’s just sad. I mean, this book was such an experience. Looking back, I can still remember the sights, sounds and smells that surrounded me as I read the book for the first time. And the second. And the third. And so on.

So, what if I didn’t have any of that? It would be such a shame to miss out on a book that made me feel so welcome, so accepted. So normal. And it would have been a shame to miss out on the characters I could relate to, and the humor I was so fond of.

It would have been such a waste. So why let it happen? Why let such a weird saying affect your reading decisions?

Look, in all honestly, whoever said not to judge a book by its cover has no idea what they’re talking about. You go out there and judge those book covers, everyone. Don’t let anyone tell you not to.

By Raven Case