Playing Cupid

by Jenny Meyerhoff

Clara Martinez knows what it takes to make a good match. So when her school assigns a project to create a business from scratch, Clara decides to start a matchmaking service for her fellow classmates. But things get complicated when Clara starts receiving mysterious notes and sweet gifts in her locker. Clara has a secret admirer! But she has no clue who it could be...

Despite being a love expert for her friends, Clara's a total novice when it comes to her own love life, and truth be told, it all sort of scares her. Can Cupid Clara gather the courage to fall in crush?

Genres: Middle Grade, Romance, Contemporary, Childrens

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

"As a child in West Bloomfield, Michigan, Jenny Meyerhoff often read a book a night. In third grade, she readAre You There God? It’s Me, Margaret twenty-one times. Her first attempt at a children’s book, The Leprechaun Who Never Found a Pot of Gold, was written when she was in first grade. From that moment on, Jenny has dreamed of becoming a professional children’s book writer.

Jenny studied creative writing at the University of Michigan, and received her master’s degree in education at Northwestern University. She then became a kindergarten teacher because, in addition to loving children’s books, Jenny enjoys sitting on the floor. (That’s also why she practices yoga.)

Jenny is now a full-time writer and a full-time mom, which means that she never sleeps. She lives in Riverwoods, Illinois, with her husband and three children." (http://us.macmillan.com/author/jennym...)

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute middle grade retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. I have really been enjoying the Wish series - super cute!

[Izzie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book def recommended !

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the fact that I’m probably too old to be reading this since it’s supposed to be for tweens, I enjoyed it for the most part. Middle school me probably would have loved this book, but I would give it between 3.5-4

I work with kids so I tend to read books that are more for the middle school age group, sometimes high school. I love the innocence in books like these and crush aspect, it’s sweet and brings me back to my days in middle school!

[Kameryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was funny even though it was very predictable. It also taught lessons not to act a certain way just because your friends want you to act like that. It also taught a lesson that you aren't always right and you can't always just count on yourself. I really recommend this book. It was very interesting and fun to read.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drama love it!!

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75**
I want to start off by saying that the only reason it's not a five stars is because it didn't give me the five-star feeling. I loved how you could tell who liked who and how by using context clues (they didn't straight up tell you). I love the tension and how clueless Clara was. I loved Joey, I feel like he deserves his own spin-off series. I think it was very realistic in terms of interactions and how people acted. I would 100% recommend that you read this book.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

yes yes yes

when i last read this in 7th grade i loved it so much wkjerh, it's middle school drama but there's interesting characters and the entire book itself is super unique. obviously its cliche as hell but whatever 🤪 i spent one day reading 90% and i don't regret it.

our main character is clara ✨ and as far as these wish books go, she's actually NOT annoying. omg surprising. she's relatable and soo clueless omg 💀 the fact that her secret admirer mentioned he likes reese's and joey mentioned it, not even a few days later makes it sO OBVIOUS WHO IT IS. ANYONE WOULD BE ABLE TO GUESS.

and speaking of joeyyy 😫 bruh if he was a few years older i would literally marry him. HE HAS PERSONALITY? and not the cringy type. AND HE'S GOOD AT MATH EVEN BETTER. we need to get rid of the stereotype that smart students are geeks bc caring about your education and your future is attractive asf 👍

i fucking loved the drama in this book. there was so much but it was so juicy wekjrhwer. i knew alivia was an untalented bitch, she was just so sketchy and her fake concern was so funny. the thing with mateo was also funny 😭 when she said 'yes' and he got so confused lmao whekjrwhe. the sofia thing wasn't really addressed and i wish it was bc clara seemed to be really disgusted by her past. i would lovee to see a sequel where we follow emily and evan bc they are so relatable and i've used that word a thousand times but its so true 🤪

anyways this was a light fluffy read, definitely will reread sometime in the future 💘💖

[Saara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was okay. One reason may be because it’s too young for me. So many things were predictable, and it made me furious that Clara couldn’t see the things that were so obviously there! The book had some pretty common themes that I think are good for the intended audience. However, one theme, the thing that Clara learns from her mother at the end, is a good lesson for everyone, no matter their age. The romance in it at parts, especially the end seemed fake. Also, I was constantly cringing for Clara throughout the book due to the things I could obviously see, but she was too blind to see them. I hate when I cringe for characters while reading because it’s a terrible feeling, so constantly cringing throughout the book was not enjoyable at all.

[SaladLeroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got bored and checked for books to read and came across this book. I had it laying in my shelf from a book order I did long time ago and decided to read it. I spent all night reading this book and to my surprise it wasn’t ‘bad’. It seems realistic in a way where a 7th grader would go through these problems and also touched on subjects that people deal with. The story surprised me with all the plot twist but it was still enjoyable to read. I do have to say that it could be better with a bit more of enhancing the main point because through the story it was hard for me to see the ‘clear’ point. Otherwise I do still recommend reading this book if you have free time.

[Lamees · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a book that a lot of rom-com lovers will like. As soon as I picked up the book I couldn't stop reading it. The character Clara Martinez promises herself that she will never let herself find love because she so good at finding other people love. Until she starts her own matchmaking business, the book really shows that you can't stop true love. It shows the reality of middle school with mean girls and excluding people. The reason I rated it a 5 star was because I liked how it always kept things interested and never got me bored. This book has 245 pages.

[Tuba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially chose this book as I expected it to be a light read and let me just say, although it is aimed for year 5-7s, I a flipping 21 year-old sat and read this book from cover to cover in one day. IT was so sweet, good-paced, well-represented and straight-up exciting to see the events play out from the perspective of the young protagonist in her journey to eventually unite with her secret admirer. This book was a thrill to read and definitely deserves greater recognition. It made me feel like I was back in middle school experiencing things I never got to.

[Chloe Tsang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about how Clara start a matchmaking service for her fellow classmates. Her matchmaking service ended up successfully earning a lot of money, and Clara made a whole group of friends. Things started to get messy when her grades started to fall and her father wanted Clara to live with her mum instead. The book is suitable for all ages, and I definitely recommend this to my best friend Jofelyn, because the book is exciting and heart-warming at the same time.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is about Clara and her group of friends come up with this match maker club and decide. So one of her friends decided to go behind her back and match her with on of the guys from school but her friends doe not know that she likes her neighbor boy witch one will she pick you will have to read the book to find out.

[Riya Barnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

/3 stars

Cupid Clara puts the ‘C’ in Clueless. This girl does not know how to match make to save her life. She needs a bit of perspective and a dose of reality. Overall it was cute, but hard to struggle with her til the very END when she realizes the very obvious guy who liked her. Also Olivia spelled Alivia is so gen alpha I cannot stand it.

[Eliza H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit I haven't reread this in a while, but I loved it as a kid, despite its predictability. It's definitely a great book for perhaps 9-11-year-olds but I'm still rating it 4 stars because I believe 10 year old me would rate it that way.

[Darlene Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a young girl who thinks she can pair up her class for a Hot Chocolate Social. She has to create a business for a class and calls it Cupid Claras. She finds its not as easy as she thought. It was very good.

[Jamie Thomason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute young adult read. Neat little story about two girls making a matchmaking booth for a dance and finding out who really secretly likes who AND finding out who actually liked them also. Overall fun book.

[Ciara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, the protagonist of this book was so annoying! I liked the premise and I thought Clara was decent in the beginning, and the ending was pretty good, but there was just too much drama in this book for me. Even for a middle-school book it just seemed like too much.

[ari xx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book! In 4th grade I used to play a game with one of friends at school and we used to go around the recess yard and ship people and then try to get them together. Really weird, but this book made a really funny memory!

[✨maddy✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌟 4.4
This book was so good! Clara did keep getting secret admirers but It was hard to tell who she was going to end up with! I was definitely happy when she ended up with Joey and when they kissed I was soooo happy!!! 😀

[Preena ⭐ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story!

[710Imaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with the ending of the story, because it was a bit unexpected. But I would recommend this to anyone who likes love stories.

[Becky S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute. I loved how it ended and I love happy endings. The girl that thought she knew everything about relationships learned that she didn't.

[JJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok...
Had some weird romance, and good friendship realization storyline, but all in all, it was not my favorite book.

[Mady G · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was like reading a Hallmark movie.

[Grace G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS AN AMAZING BOOK I READ IT IN 1 DAY. COULDENT PUT IT DOWN.

[Naomi Mogaba · Rating 5 out of 5]

an awesome read

[Amory · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple but cute middle school young adult book. Despite being predictable, it's a quick enjoyable read.

[joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predicable (3/4) and unpredictable (1/4)

[Parker Everett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with real life situations you can really relate to this amazing book! If your looking for something great then this is the book for you! I’d recommend to 9-13