When I first posted my review of Magic Under Glass earlier in the month, I could not find an online version of the cover on the left. They appeared to have been pulled in favor of the one on the right. I breathed a sigh of relief because I had so many issues with the one on the left.
Those issues have been fully aired by others. You can read a great roundup of the issues at Chasing Ray.
Now it appears that the book was released with the Caucasian cover. And that is wrong. Period. This book is fantasy yes, but clearly in the novel, Nim is described as having long black hair and darker skin. Her nationality, because it is fantasy, is not clear, but I loved the way that it was left vague, so that we could each decide if she was Asian, Middle Eastern, African on our own. It became a book that celebrated diversity that way.
And now to have a cover that denies that is horrible. Nim is a strong woman of color in the novel. Her pride in her heritage shines throughout and is an important theme in the book. So Bloomsbury denies it with their cover? Why not celebrate it?! Why not embrace what made this such a special novel?
Only Bloomsbury can answer that. Only Bloomsbury can explain why they have had two of the largest cover controversies over people of color in the last year. And only they can decide to do better.
It is our job to be outraged, to insist, to demand that they do better. Some bloggers are looking to boycott them. I stated something similar last year about a different publisher and learned that it is not that easy, not that simple. I believe it is far more powerful to not boycott them, but to continue to demand that they fix it. FIX IT. NOW.
Waking Brain Cells 