Star girl

 (front cover)

"Star girl is like no other. She's as magical as the desert sky. As mysterious as her own name."

From the minute I spotted this book I was drawn to it! The simplicity of the cover design intrigued me...what was the story? who was it for? what genre was it? None of this was obvious from the cover!  From reading the story I discovered it was about daring to be an individual in an American high school and the unique cover which in itself dares to be different is perfect in carrying through the theme of the narrative. However, the way the story is written is ambiguous, as is the cover illustration. The pictogram representing the books title couldn't be more visually intriguing. The story is aimed at young teenagers but the strength behind the simplicity of the design would draw anybody to the book. When the book was originally published in 2000 it received great critical acclaim and has now been through eight printings.

His other books have similar covers, the simple pictogram style is on all of them and the use of just the stock colour for impact is the same on all of them.

The simplicity of daring to exploit less being more definitely paid off visually. This book would hold its on own on any bookshelf not only as a novel but as a piece of design.