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Cupid Painted Blind
Few things are more exciting and, frankly, unnerving than your first day of high school. Except, maybe, coming out to your friends when they already kinda knew you were gay. Or finding out that the breathtakingly handsome guy you’ve just met is best buddies with your archnemesis who happens to be a homophobic bully. Or being teamed up for a school assignment with that decidedly unattractive, facially-deformed, freaky-looking weirdo who hasn’t got a friend in the world. Or all of the above.
Matthew Dunstan, closeted freshman, future bestselling author, and frequently blushing teenager is on a quest to find himself, find love, and live happily ever after. Sounds easy enough, right? But when the opportunities for failure are endless, it doesn’t take much to turn your life upside down. And that’s not exactly what you need when you try to catch someone’s eye without attracting everyone’s attention.
Cupid Painted Blind is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, and occasionally hilarious roller coaster ride through an awkward freshman’s first few weeks of high school that will appeal to readers of all ages who enjoy Young Adult LGBTQ fiction.
Matthew Dunstan, closeted freshman, future bestselling author, and frequently blushing teenager is on a quest to find himself, find love, and live happily ever after. Sounds easy enough, right? But when the opportunities for failure are endless, it doesn’t take much to turn your life upside down. And that’s not exactly what you need when you try to catch someone’s eye without attracting everyone’s attention.
Cupid Painted Blind is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, and occasionally hilarious roller coaster ride through an awkward freshman’s first few weeks of high school that will appeal to readers of all ages who enjoy Young Adult LGBTQ fiction.
360 pages, ebook
First published September 29, 2016
124 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
Marcus Herzig
12 books57 followersMarcus Herzig, future bestselling author and professional sarcast, was born in 1970 and studied Law, English, Educational Science, and Physics, albeit none of them with any tenacity or ambition. After dropping out of university he held various positions in banking, utilities, and Big Oil that bore no responsibility or decision-making power whatsoever.
Always destined to be a demiurge, he has been inventing characters and telling stories since the age of five, and it’s what he wants to do for the rest of his life. His favorite genre, both as a reader and a writer, is Young Adult literature, but he also very much enjoys science- and literary fiction.
Always destined to be a demiurge, he has been inventing characters and telling stories since the age of five, and it’s what he wants to do for the rest of his life. His favorite genre, both as a reader and a writer, is Young Adult literature, but he also very much enjoys science- and literary fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
October 26, 2016
An ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
**MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD**
Marcus Herzig’s Cupid Painted Blind is a story of coming out and growing up. It’s about Matthew Dunstan, a young gay who just started his freshman year in high school. Together with his friends Sandy and Alfonso, his sister Zoey, and his long-time enemy Jack, he journeys to figure out how to tell everyone of his sexual orientation. Everything was not going the way he thought they would be. Matt started developing feelings toward a handsome new student named Chris, who was, unfortunately, Jack’s close friend. He also was assigned to write a paper on Romeo and Juliet with Philip, a cleft-lipped Laotian whom everyone considered a freak. This book should be read by everyone. It is honest and beautiful, sometimes annoying, but heart-warming as well.
Honestly, I was troubled and little hurt when I started reading this book. To me, it was a bit racist. There’s this cliché idea that the Asian characters were bullied or made fun of. Jason, a Korean, and Philip, a Laotian, were teased and laughed at a lot. Philip’s character gripped my heart at the same time that I wanted to burn this ARC, if it was possible to not include my device in the burning process. His character was depicted as poor and ugly. I have nothing against such pitiful characters, but why does he have to be labeled as Asian? Also, there was this part wherein Jack was thinking of a name to call him, and he came up with the option to nickname him “Philipino” and Sandy countered him by saying that Phil was not from the Philippines. It seemed to me that Jack was insinuating that being a Filipino was degrading and insulting. Speaking of Sandy, there was this part at the beginning when she told everyone that she was going to take Mandarin classes. Suddenly, she started talking gibberish, mocking the Mandarin tongue as if it was funny. It was not.
For the first half of the novel, I wanted to strangle almost every character. Sandy kept talking nonsense but it seemed to everyone else that she was making a big, enlightening, point. I think she was one of the most stupid characters in it. She was just sweet to everyone. Matt was self-centered and judgmental. It was always all about him and nobody else. There were times that I thought Chris was an unnecessary character. He was just this statement-shirt-wearing, handsome guy whom Matt wanted to flirt with.
One of my next problems and the biggest one too, is how Matt was after Jack’s party. I didn’t like the idea that he was almost forgetting what almost happened to him. How could he forgive Chris? The guy was even unapologetic towards him. Chris was always “messing around” and what he got Matt into was something I would not take lightly. It was so unbelievable that Matt could still interact with him after that. If there’s anything Matt’s parents should be concerned about, it should be this and not Philip. He could have at least punched Chris in the face the next day. He even became Matt’s shoulder-to-cry-on when things got terrible for him in school. It was like a case of Stockholm syndrome except he was not captured. I’m not an expert on such matters so I don’t know what to call it exactly.
Despite the things mentioned above, the second half piqued my interest. The plot development was going somewhere that I never expected when I started reading it. There was a purpose to it and it was so beautiful. I love how the characters matured as well. It was sweet and swoon-worthy.
My favorite character, obviously, is Philip Thongrivong. My heart breaks for him. He may be weak but he’s the most mature one among them, in my opinion. I just wish though that he have fought for himself sometimes. How he’s character progressed and became a little bit more outspoken was great. I also love how he caused Matt to improve as a person, changing both their perspectives in life.
The romance in this book was just so admirable. I love how Matt and ’s relationship grew from where they started. The only thing that I found odd about it is that, in the end, it looked too serious for me. They were fourteen-year-olds getting into their very first relationship and it felt like they were already too committed to each other. I think they were acting and dealing with their love like seventeen or eighteen-year-olds that were undergoing a huge transition from teenagers to adults.
Speaking of relationships, Matt’s sister, Zoey was so awesome. I adore how she took care of him and defended him even if the one she was against was their mom. She made everything better.
When I finished it, I didn’t want the story to end anymore. I wanted to see much more of what would happen to all the characters after that dance. I also wish I got to know more about Jack. His side of things seemed intriguing. I wanted to know what he was thinking and what he was dealing with internally. Most of all, I wanted more of Philip! He was just so adorable and I wanted to see him live his life happily. I would love to see him express himself more and be courageous doing it.
I enjoyed this read. It was fantastic. I recommend it.
**MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD**
Marcus Herzig’s Cupid Painted Blind is a story of coming out and growing up. It’s about Matthew Dunstan, a young gay who just started his freshman year in high school. Together with his friends Sandy and Alfonso, his sister Zoey, and his long-time enemy Jack, he journeys to figure out how to tell everyone of his sexual orientation. Everything was not going the way he thought they would be. Matt started developing feelings toward a handsome new student named Chris, who was, unfortunately, Jack’s close friend. He also was assigned to write a paper on Romeo and Juliet with Philip, a cleft-lipped Laotian whom everyone considered a freak. This book should be read by everyone. It is honest and beautiful, sometimes annoying, but heart-warming as well.
Honestly, I was troubled and little hurt when I started reading this book. To me, it was a bit racist. There’s this cliché idea that the Asian characters were bullied or made fun of. Jason, a Korean, and Philip, a Laotian, were teased and laughed at a lot. Philip’s character gripped my heart at the same time that I wanted to burn this ARC, if it was possible to not include my device in the burning process. His character was depicted as poor and ugly. I have nothing against such pitiful characters, but why does he have to be labeled as Asian? Also, there was this part wherein Jack was thinking of a name to call him, and he came up with the option to nickname him “Philipino” and Sandy countered him by saying that Phil was not from the Philippines. It seemed to me that Jack was insinuating that being a Filipino was degrading and insulting. Speaking of Sandy, there was this part at the beginning when she told everyone that she was going to take Mandarin classes. Suddenly, she started talking gibberish, mocking the Mandarin tongue as if it was funny. It was not.
For the first half of the novel, I wanted to strangle almost every character. Sandy kept talking nonsense but it seemed to everyone else that she was making a big, enlightening, point. I think she was one of the most stupid characters in it. She was just sweet to everyone. Matt was self-centered and judgmental. It was always all about him and nobody else. There were times that I thought Chris was an unnecessary character. He was just this statement-shirt-wearing, handsome guy whom Matt wanted to flirt with.
One of my next problems and the biggest one too, is how Matt was after Jack’s party. I didn’t like the idea that he was almost forgetting what almost happened to him. How could he forgive Chris? The guy was even unapologetic towards him. Chris was always “messing around” and what he got Matt into was something I would not take lightly. It was so unbelievable that Matt could still interact with him after that. If there’s anything Matt’s parents should be concerned about, it should be this and not Philip. He could have at least punched Chris in the face the next day. He even became Matt’s shoulder-to-cry-on when things got terrible for him in school. It was like a case of Stockholm syndrome except he was not captured. I’m not an expert on such matters so I don’t know what to call it exactly.
Despite the things mentioned above, the second half piqued my interest. The plot development was going somewhere that I never expected when I started reading it. There was a purpose to it and it was so beautiful. I love how the characters matured as well. It was sweet and swoon-worthy.
My favorite character, obviously, is Philip Thongrivong. My heart breaks for him. He may be weak but he’s the most mature one among them, in my opinion. I just wish though that he have fought for himself sometimes. How he’s character progressed and became a little bit more outspoken was great. I also love how he caused Matt to improve as a person, changing both their perspectives in life.
The romance in this book was just so admirable. I love how Matt and ’s relationship grew from where they started. The only thing that I found odd about it is that, in the end, it looked too serious for me. They were fourteen-year-olds getting into their very first relationship and it felt like they were already too committed to each other. I think they were acting and dealing with their love like seventeen or eighteen-year-olds that were undergoing a huge transition from teenagers to adults.
Speaking of relationships, Matt’s sister, Zoey was so awesome. I adore how she took care of him and defended him even if the one she was against was their mom. She made everything better.
When I finished it, I didn’t want the story to end anymore. I wanted to see much more of what would happen to all the characters after that dance. I also wish I got to know more about Jack. His side of things seemed intriguing. I wanted to know what he was thinking and what he was dealing with internally. Most of all, I wanted more of Philip! He was just so adorable and I wanted to see him live his life happily. I would love to see him express himself more and be courageous doing it.
I enjoyed this read. It was fantastic. I recommend it.
June 16, 2017
There is a moral to the story of "Cupid Painted Blind," a title, by the way, that could not be more perfect. A gay high school boy is faced with a gorgeous would-be boyfriend on the one hand and an ugly, deformed boy on the other. He learns valuable lessons from both, and ultimately winds up with a boyfriend he does indeed love. The writing here is eloquent, the characters are fleshed out and likable, and the tale is a smart one well told. I heartily recommend Cupid Painted Blind.
December 17, 2016
*Review based on an ARC provided by the author*
2.5 stars rounded up mainly because I felt bad about seeing those two stars up there
I will try not to be so ruthless about this book, because the truth is that it wasn't all that bad; it had a few things that didn't work with me, but it wasn't entirely the book's fault.
In a broad point of view, I did like it. It was funny and honest and had a lot of potential to really matter. But for most aspects, potential is all there was in the end.
Let's start with the positive: the main character seemed the most realistic and coherently written. I think his arc was one of the strongest (if not *the* strongest) points of the story- and forgive me if I'm being horribly biased because I may have identified with some of his qualities/struggles.
I also really fell for his relationship- .
I also think that the portrayal of the whole bullying situation was fairly accurate (and I would know, having experienced a similar situation myself).
Even though I'm not exactly known as a proud nationalist (not by a long shot), I am always game for some argentinian representation (even though there were some cringey vocabulary things I found here and there but I can forgive those- our use of spanishhas some confusing and weird shit for non-natives, and I get that- besides, it's not that there was all that much of spanish anyway, some loose words here and there, that's all).
Another thing I really did like was the realistic portrayal of the figures of authority (parents, teachers) and the fact that it was never glorified how sometimes they get away with harmful shit just because they can.
As I said before, I really liked the humor in the story (the humor that fueled our MC, since this is his story, brought to us by his voice). I figure that if that aspect hadn't been there, and it hadn't been so well done, this one would have been a very depressing story to tell most of the times.
And here's where things start tilting downwards very fast it might get me dizzy if I wasn't sitting: YES, SURE. You CAN apply humor while dealing with shitty things to lighten up the mood and not have the reader giving up on life halfway through the book or something. BUT (and yeah, I understand this has nothing to do with the employment of humor), when you want to deal with heavy shit in your story, you have to step up your game. There are some things you just can't half-ass; some things that aren't light or simple or easily resolved.
If you're not willing to realy dive in, to really break down to the very core of what you're introducing to the story, then abstain. Some things can't just get easily wrapped up like they don't matter all that much.
Also, in light of what it could have meant for Matthew (and what it does mean for many real teens- and even adults), I think the situation that unfolded with the video was very lightly treated, both by the parents and within the narrative. It was all forgiven too fast, too easily (I know, I know, I can hold a grudge like noboy else, but still- it was a really shitty thing that didn't get the treatment it deserved, in my by-no-means-expert opinion).
Basically, the book's biggest flaws, in a very simplistic way of putting it, were:
1)Character's inconsistencies
2)Serious stereotype issues (I know nobody likes stereotypes; I'm usually not that bothered by them personally, although they do strike me as a sign of laziness, but in this case they were thoroughly annoying and they lowered the quality of the writing BIG TIME).
3)The intention to point out problematic shit our society lets people get away with, but the lack of commitment to truly delve into it.
And, regardless of how much I did enjoy the good things about this story- from my very personal perspective, those three things outweigh the rest.
I feel really bad for giving this book such a low rating, I really did try; it just didn't work all that well for me.
2.5 stars rounded up mainly because I felt bad about seeing those two stars up there
I will try not to be so ruthless about this book, because the truth is that it wasn't all that bad; it had a few things that didn't work with me, but it wasn't entirely the book's fault.
In a broad point of view, I did like it. It was funny and honest and had a lot of potential to really matter. But for most aspects, potential is all there was in the end.
Let's start with the positive: the main character seemed the most realistic and coherently written. I think his arc was one of the strongest (if not *the* strongest) points of the story- and forgive me if I'm being horribly biased because I may have identified with some of his qualities/struggles.
I also really fell for his relationship- .
I also think that the portrayal of the whole bullying situation was fairly accurate (and I would know, having experienced a similar situation myself).
Even though I'm not exactly known as a proud nationalist (not by a long shot), I am always game for some argentinian representation (even though there were some cringey vocabulary things I found here and there but I can forgive those- our use of spanishhas some confusing and weird shit for non-natives, and I get that- besides, it's not that there was all that much of spanish anyway, some loose words here and there, that's all).
Another thing I really did like was the realistic portrayal of the figures of authority (parents, teachers) and the fact that it was never glorified how sometimes they get away with harmful shit just because they can.
As I said before, I really liked the humor in the story (the humor that fueled our MC, since this is his story, brought to us by his voice). I figure that if that aspect hadn't been there, and it hadn't been so well done, this one would have been a very depressing story to tell most of the times.
And here's where things start tilting downwards very fast it might get me dizzy if I wasn't sitting: YES, SURE. You CAN apply humor while dealing with shitty things to lighten up the mood and not have the reader giving up on life halfway through the book or something. BUT (and yeah, I understand this has nothing to do with the employment of humor), when you want to deal with heavy shit in your story, you have to step up your game. There are some things you just can't half-ass; some things that aren't light or simple or easily resolved.
If you're not willing to realy dive in, to really break down to the very core of what you're introducing to the story, then abstain. Some things can't just get easily wrapped up like they don't matter all that much.
Also, in light of what it could have meant for Matthew (and what it does mean for many real teens- and even adults), I think the situation that unfolded with the video was very lightly treated, both by the parents and within the narrative. It was all forgiven too fast, too easily (I know, I know, I can hold a grudge like noboy else, but still- it was a really shitty thing that didn't get the treatment it deserved, in my by-no-means-expert opinion).
Basically, the book's biggest flaws, in a very simplistic way of putting it, were:
1)Character's inconsistencies
2)Serious stereotype issues (I know nobody likes stereotypes; I'm usually not that bothered by them personally, although they do strike me as a sign of laziness, but in this case they were thoroughly annoying and they lowered the quality of the writing BIG TIME).
3)The intention to point out problematic shit our society lets people get away with, but the lack of commitment to truly delve into it.
And, regardless of how much I did enjoy the good things about this story- from my very personal perspective, those three things outweigh the rest.
I feel really bad for giving this book such a low rating, I really did try; it just didn't work all that well for me.
January 10, 2019
The characters were kind of strange. The main character, Matt, acted like the universe wronged him in some way and acted like a bully throughout the majority of the book, yet still managed to get Phillip to be his boyfriend after being super rude to him. He didn’t have much personality, I didn’t sympathize with him at all, I honestly didn’t care about Matt at all. His sister Zoey was oddly invested in his love life. She had zero friends of her own despite being several years older, and the only thing she talked about was Matt being gay. She definitely didn’t act like a sister or any normal person at all. Sandy was also offensive, racist, etc, and I got mixed feelings from her because she’s meant to be annoying but eventually becomes one of Matt’s closest allies. Her character was confusing in her motives, and her relationship with Alfonso was underdeveloped and meaningless. Matt’s parents made no sense, they didn’t act like any parents would after their child comes out. I think maybe the author was trying to make them come across as chill or cool? It didn’t work, they just seemed flat and forced. Jack was a weird storyline as well. He was given this elaborate backstory but if was hardly talked about at all in the book. Instead it seemed like a way for it to make sense for him to be one of the good guys in the end. Again, didn’t work. Then there’s the milk bar guy, Milo, it was like he was the token gay character in a book where all of the characters are gay. He acted super inappropriate around these kids who are barely in high school but was meant to act as a mentor. I don’t know why he existed to be honest. Then the whole thing with the FBI agent/godmother thing. It was incredibly obvious who she was, but also didn’t really make much sense. It was very irrational for her to follow her godkid around for months and she was completely unnecessary. In addition, Matt believing he was being followed by an FBI agent made me question his mental state. It was all very odd and the characters were flat and offensive. Half of the characters were racist and the story did nothing to resolve this. And as much as I love the portrayal of poc in books, and I loved the attempt made in this one, it felt kind of forced an unrealistic. I know that every family is different with different experiences but it seemed like Phil’s family was meant to be more traditional in the sense of Asian American being more in touch with their roots. And although I am not Laos, my grandmother is an Asian immigrant and my experience with traditional Asian households may be limited, but their family didn’t seem very traditional at all. Phil’s relationship with his parents and brother is odd considering how most Asian families function, and if they weren’t meant to be more traditional, then maybe that should have been more clear. It seemed more like a way to make the story more diverse without looking much into it. The plot was messy, no real overlying conflict really, it was more like a sequence of little conflicts that made for a dull story and dull characters. There were definitely subplots that could have been either left out or more elaborated on. I found Matt to be irritating and annoying and offensive and the characters cookie cutter fan fiction models. I appreciate the diversity with Phillip, however the racism of the other characters made me uncomfortable especially since it wasn’t a sub plot that was further embellished in the story. There was no point to the racism that I could tell. I had zero sympathy for Matt, he’s boring and gets everything he wants and messes up over and over and throws himself a pity party for it. Overall, but a huge fan of the book, it would have been more entertaining as a quick read if the pointless unnecessary subplots had been cut out. It read more like an amateur fan fiction than a real novel, but it had its moments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2024
I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately ... it wasn't my favorite. I am generally not hard to please as a reader, but there were a number of elements and "what the fuck" moments that weighed it down for me. There were points where I was holding out for it to still maybe be able to be a 4-star read. But in the end, it's a 2. I’ve read 35 books this year and this is at the very bottom.
Let's talk about some of the characters. The main problem. Most of them were not lovable, and some were not even likable.
Zoey is one of the absolute worst characters I’ve encountered in AGES, and I think we’re supposed to see her as being supportive? I couldn't stand her. “Not everything is about you,” she says while she constantly made things about herself and put her own needs and minor inconveniences at the center of Matthew's coming out narrative. It made me furious. She tried to force him out of the closet on her own timeline and that was not cool with me. She actually complained about him taking “so long” to come out because she wanted to talk about to and it was difficult for her to keep a secret like that. Seriously. What a garbage character.
Chris? Are we just going to move past the actual sexual assault in this book like it wasn’t that big a deal? Or worse, JOKE about it? Look back on it as an “ahh, crazy times!” moment? Because it was casually referenced numerous times as if it was okay that Matthew did not consent to what was about to take place and even crazier that it was just normalized and not addressed for what it was beyond some brief dialogue about it.
The characters all perpetuating the “we knew he was gay” bullshit was absurd. It detracted from Matthew’s coming out because people made it about them. His parents cashing in on a bet while their son is emotionally wounded after an outrageously invasive, embarrassing, threatening ordeal turns into “I told you so!” Are you kidding me?
Matthew himself was pretty awful at some times and it made it difficult for me to want to root for him. Which is a problem when he's the main character and narrator because it makes it difficult to become emotionally invested in his story to begin with.
Also, the use of the r word made me incredibly uncomfortable. Even more so when characters like Sandy used it as an insult. The casual use of homophobic slurs by her was also incredibly unnerving.
There is a lesson when all is said and done about inner beauty, ditching shallow notions of physical attraction, and the like ... but the road to that life lesson was way too bumpy and overall, the message still manages to get somewhat lost in the mix. I don’t think the author successfully made the case he was trying to make because the “message” actually came off offensive and was done insensitively.
Let's talk about some of the characters. The main problem. Most of them were not lovable, and some were not even likable.
Zoey is one of the absolute worst characters I’ve encountered in AGES, and I think we’re supposed to see her as being supportive? I couldn't stand her. “Not everything is about you,” she says while she constantly made things about herself and put her own needs and minor inconveniences at the center of Matthew's coming out narrative. It made me furious. She tried to force him out of the closet on her own timeline and that was not cool with me. She actually complained about him taking “so long” to come out because she wanted to talk about to and it was difficult for her to keep a secret like that. Seriously. What a garbage character.
Chris? Are we just going to move past the actual sexual assault in this book like it wasn’t that big a deal? Or worse, JOKE about it? Look back on it as an “ahh, crazy times!” moment? Because it was casually referenced numerous times as if it was okay that Matthew did not consent to what was about to take place and even crazier that it was just normalized and not addressed for what it was beyond some brief dialogue about it.
The characters all perpetuating the “we knew he was gay” bullshit was absurd. It detracted from Matthew’s coming out because people made it about them. His parents cashing in on a bet while their son is emotionally wounded after an outrageously invasive, embarrassing, threatening ordeal turns into “I told you so!” Are you kidding me?
Matthew himself was pretty awful at some times and it made it difficult for me to want to root for him. Which is a problem when he's the main character and narrator because it makes it difficult to become emotionally invested in his story to begin with.
Also, the use of the r word made me incredibly uncomfortable. Even more so when characters like Sandy used it as an insult. The casual use of homophobic slurs by her was also incredibly unnerving.
There is a lesson when all is said and done about inner beauty, ditching shallow notions of physical attraction, and the like ... but the road to that life lesson was way too bumpy and overall, the message still manages to get somewhat lost in the mix. I don’t think the author successfully made the case he was trying to make because the “message” actually came off offensive and was done insensitively.
July 5, 2018
Wow!
Marcus did an amazing job with this story. The characters were well written, the conversations made you feel like you were in the room. I had some good laughs and a few tears as I paged my way to the end. It’s been a few books since I’ve felt compelled to squeeze in more reading time. 5.0 for E.T. Dolls.
Marcus did an amazing job with this story. The characters were well written, the conversations made you feel like you were in the room. I had some good laughs and a few tears as I paged my way to the end. It’s been a few books since I’ve felt compelled to squeeze in more reading time. 5.0 for E.T. Dolls.
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January 10, 2024Emotional eloquence for boys
Robert Webb's recent publication How Not To Be a Boy has usefully drawn attention to the truth that, for a boy, admitting to feelings is a road leading ultimately to disaster, ridicule and rejection. In Chapter 1 he says, 'Pain, guilt, grief, fear, anxiety: these are not appropriate emotions for a boy because they will be unacceptable emotions for a man.' I would go further and say that while the repression of these feelings is what is often referred to for boys as 'character forming', it actually is a way of avoiding realizing -making real - the person they have it in them to become: avoiding the growth of individuality. Webb's assertion is that, for boys, almost the single acceptable feeling is anger; anger unbridled brings with it its accompaniments of outrage, revenge, resentment and violence.
That this unconscious imposition on boys of a very restricted palette of emotional articulation is a commonplace of boys' education and parental preconceptions was born out by a recent TV programme (BBC2) No More Boys and Girls. In the programme, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim exposed gender discrimination as a subtle and mostly unacknowledged feature of education, and it backed up Webb's assertion that anger, almost alone among the emotions, was the feeling that boys had a vocabulary to describe, while girls were able to find words for a much wider range of human emotional experience. It's not that boys don't feel pain, guilt and so on, but that the lack of a familiar vocabulary makes it almost impossible for them to name those other, more "feminine" sensitivities.
The psychotherapist Professor Joy Scheverian has named 'boarding school syndrome' the way that boarding schools in particular seem to find it difficult to meet and contain boys' feelings of loss, pain, sadness, home-sickness, and value instead the 'stiff upper lip' response of stoicism that limits and even denigrates the exploration and expression of human susceptibilities. She has written about the way that this repressive approach may, in later life, lead men to 'breakdown' in the face of an emotional or marital crisis. That it tends to be regarded as break-down rather than a breakthrough is a part of the whole societal tendency to identify strength with lack of feeling.
Another BBC programme - Radio 4 this time - had an item (Sunday 10th Sept) Tough Love: Boys, Books and Romance in which Steven Camden deplored the lack of love stories for teenage boys, and contrasted this with the plethora of romantic novels aimed at teenage girls. Was he, I wondered as I listened, succumbing to another unconscious assumption that 'love stories' were all and only about heterosexual love? Had he looked at all at the enormous number of gay love stories dealing with the teenage boy and young adult struggles involved in 'coming out' to himself, never mind to his family and circle of school friends?
So at last I come to the point!
Marcus Herzig's Cupid Painted Blind struck me, for all its faults and overlooked typos, to be a first-rate example of an author finding for a teenager a language for the expression of the complexities of love. Not only love itself - difficult enough - but also the puzzling range of emotions that love is associated with, and the bewildering tendency for those feelings to change, almost by the moment. The book deals with the obvious instant lust for the stunningly beautiful boy: ' . . . his touch sends electric shock waves through my body that short-circuit my brain. I'm tensing up, causing my shoulders to rise. It's as if my body is trying to nestle itself into his big, strong hand that feels heavy and warm through my T-shirt . . . and I'm longing for some sort of response, maybe a little squeeze, a tender stroke of his thumb, or anything that would reveal something about him that I will forever be too scared, too embarrassed to ask.'
This obvious attraction may be criticized for the rather cliched image of the electric shock, but then the attraction to this boy is in itself rather a cliche. However, this book does more: more interesting and more complex are Matt's feelings for Philip. His initial revulsion for the boy's cleft lip and reconstructed nose is clear, as is his guilt at his own revulsion, and at his failure to stand up for Philip when he sees him being bullied: 'Somebody should stand up for Philip, and I know it should be me even if it's for no other reason than that it would be the right and decent thing to do. But I can't seem to bring myself to do it, and it's making me feel awful.'
I like the way that this feeling of sympathy changes into something quite different that Matt can't himself understand at first. It is paralleled by the change that takes place in his initial intoxication with Chris, and indeed his fear of the homophobic bully Jack undergoes a similar transformation, all in the entirely strong masculine context of competitive sports. It is important that, at the end of the book, Matt's socially acceptable sporting achievement is less important to him than his emotional range of love, fear, anxiety, guilt, panic, all of which he is able then to articulate. Nothing, apparently, is what it seems to be at first sight, and the guide to this conversion is the range of feelings Matt has to encounter and work through to gain a better understanding of himself and of his world.
This is not a perfect book, but it does - or so it seems to me - contribute valuably to correcting the lack of insight into, and lack of vocabulary to express, feelings that are all too commonly overlooked by boys, under the influence of the deadening support of the society in which we all share.
Robert Webb's recent publication How Not To Be a Boy has usefully drawn attention to the truth that, for a boy, admitting to feelings is a road leading ultimately to disaster, ridicule and rejection. In Chapter 1 he says, 'Pain, guilt, grief, fear, anxiety: these are not appropriate emotions for a boy because they will be unacceptable emotions for a man.' I would go further and say that while the repression of these feelings is what is often referred to for boys as 'character forming', it actually is a way of avoiding realizing -making real - the person they have it in them to become: avoiding the growth of individuality. Webb's assertion is that, for boys, almost the single acceptable feeling is anger; anger unbridled brings with it its accompaniments of outrage, revenge, resentment and violence.
That this unconscious imposition on boys of a very restricted palette of emotional articulation is a commonplace of boys' education and parental preconceptions was born out by a recent TV programme (BBC2) No More Boys and Girls. In the programme, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim exposed gender discrimination as a subtle and mostly unacknowledged feature of education, and it backed up Webb's assertion that anger, almost alone among the emotions, was the feeling that boys had a vocabulary to describe, while girls were able to find words for a much wider range of human emotional experience. It's not that boys don't feel pain, guilt and so on, but that the lack of a familiar vocabulary makes it almost impossible for them to name those other, more "feminine" sensitivities.
The psychotherapist Professor Joy Scheverian has named 'boarding school syndrome' the way that boarding schools in particular seem to find it difficult to meet and contain boys' feelings of loss, pain, sadness, home-sickness, and value instead the 'stiff upper lip' response of stoicism that limits and even denigrates the exploration and expression of human susceptibilities. She has written about the way that this repressive approach may, in later life, lead men to 'breakdown' in the face of an emotional or marital crisis. That it tends to be regarded as break-down rather than a breakthrough is a part of the whole societal tendency to identify strength with lack of feeling.
Another BBC programme - Radio 4 this time - had an item (Sunday 10th Sept) Tough Love: Boys, Books and Romance in which Steven Camden deplored the lack of love stories for teenage boys, and contrasted this with the plethora of romantic novels aimed at teenage girls. Was he, I wondered as I listened, succumbing to another unconscious assumption that 'love stories' were all and only about heterosexual love? Had he looked at all at the enormous number of gay love stories dealing with the teenage boy and young adult struggles involved in 'coming out' to himself, never mind to his family and circle of school friends?
So at last I come to the point!
Marcus Herzig's Cupid Painted Blind struck me, for all its faults and overlooked typos, to be a first-rate example of an author finding for a teenager a language for the expression of the complexities of love. Not only love itself - difficult enough - but also the puzzling range of emotions that love is associated with, and the bewildering tendency for those feelings to change, almost by the moment. The book deals with the obvious instant lust for the stunningly beautiful boy: ' . . . his touch sends electric shock waves through my body that short-circuit my brain. I'm tensing up, causing my shoulders to rise. It's as if my body is trying to nestle itself into his big, strong hand that feels heavy and warm through my T-shirt . . . and I'm longing for some sort of response, maybe a little squeeze, a tender stroke of his thumb, or anything that would reveal something about him that I will forever be too scared, too embarrassed to ask.'
This obvious attraction may be criticized for the rather cliched image of the electric shock, but then the attraction to this boy is in itself rather a cliche. However, this book does more: more interesting and more complex are Matt's feelings for Philip. His initial revulsion for the boy's cleft lip and reconstructed nose is clear, as is his guilt at his own revulsion, and at his failure to stand up for Philip when he sees him being bullied: 'Somebody should stand up for Philip, and I know it should be me even if it's for no other reason than that it would be the right and decent thing to do. But I can't seem to bring myself to do it, and it's making me feel awful.'
I like the way that this feeling of sympathy changes into something quite different that Matt can't himself understand at first. It is paralleled by the change that takes place in his initial intoxication with Chris, and indeed his fear of the homophobic bully Jack undergoes a similar transformation, all in the entirely strong masculine context of competitive sports. It is important that, at the end of the book, Matt's socially acceptable sporting achievement is less important to him than his emotional range of love, fear, anxiety, guilt, panic, all of which he is able then to articulate. Nothing, apparently, is what it seems to be at first sight, and the guide to this conversion is the range of feelings Matt has to encounter and work through to gain a better understanding of himself and of his world.
This is not a perfect book, but it does - or so it seems to me - contribute valuably to correcting the lack of insight into, and lack of vocabulary to express, feelings that are all too commonly overlooked by boys, under the influence of the deadening support of the society in which we all share.
December 3, 2016
*review of a received advanced copy*
Matt is starting his freshman year of high school, and we all know how hard that can be. On top of the normal issues and changes one goes through when starting anything, Matthew is gay, still in the closet and faced with that one dreadful question all of us in the lgbt+ community have once had to ask ourselves: how do I come out?
This story, however, is not just about our main character. It’s about his quirky, weird, awesome lifelong friends and how friendships can make or break you. It’s about his mysterious, newly made ‘are they, aren’t they’ friends and love interests that the reader doesn’t know whether he should root for or hit across the face with a chair. It’s about family and how important communication is in situations like these. It’s about poverty and culture and how the world can suck for people who have physical problems and don’t meet society’s standards… It’s a very real story.
A very real story implies very realistic characters, and that’s what we got. Matthew has a ton of flaws, and you WILL WANT to slap him for more than half of the book. He can be very superficial, he cares an awful lot about image and what others think of him and he’s very impulsive and a bit selfish. This makes him quite real, quite relatable, because who wasn’t a bit superficial in high school? Who didn’t care, even if only slightly, about what others’ opinions of them were?
There are many other characters in this book, and all of them seem to represent different stereotypes (using this word here as a good thing, not a bad one). There’s Zoey and Alfonso, Matt’s best friends and allies, who are there for him and look after him, even if they all have different personalities. There’s Sandy, a very energetic, odd girl that goes through quite the character development that I really enjoyed. There’s Philip, a very original character with very noticeable health and other problems that makes this story an original one…
And then, there’s Jack and Chris, and this is where I start to take away from the 5 stars. Jack does a complete 180º, has a very confusing redemption arc that I didn’t quite understand and does not get the treatment he deserves from our main character. Same goes for Chris, even though their storylines are definitely not the same, they both take part in things that were, in my opinion, not properly addressed or taken care of.
Lastly, I found some spelling mistakes and sentence structuring issues here and there that were quite hard to ignore and so had to mess with the rating.
Overall, this was still quite an enjoyable read and I recommend it.
Matt is starting his freshman year of high school, and we all know how hard that can be. On top of the normal issues and changes one goes through when starting anything, Matthew is gay, still in the closet and faced with that one dreadful question all of us in the lgbt+ community have once had to ask ourselves: how do I come out?
This story, however, is not just about our main character. It’s about his quirky, weird, awesome lifelong friends and how friendships can make or break you. It’s about his mysterious, newly made ‘are they, aren’t they’ friends and love interests that the reader doesn’t know whether he should root for or hit across the face with a chair. It’s about family and how important communication is in situations like these. It’s about poverty and culture and how the world can suck for people who have physical problems and don’t meet society’s standards… It’s a very real story.
A very real story implies very realistic characters, and that’s what we got. Matthew has a ton of flaws, and you WILL WANT to slap him for more than half of the book. He can be very superficial, he cares an awful lot about image and what others think of him and he’s very impulsive and a bit selfish. This makes him quite real, quite relatable, because who wasn’t a bit superficial in high school? Who didn’t care, even if only slightly, about what others’ opinions of them were?
There are many other characters in this book, and all of them seem to represent different stereotypes (using this word here as a good thing, not a bad one). There’s Zoey and Alfonso, Matt’s best friends and allies, who are there for him and look after him, even if they all have different personalities. There’s Sandy, a very energetic, odd girl that goes through quite the character development that I really enjoyed. There’s Philip, a very original character with very noticeable health and other problems that makes this story an original one…
And then, there’s Jack and Chris, and this is where I start to take away from the 5 stars. Jack does a complete 180º, has a very confusing redemption arc that I didn’t quite understand and does not get the treatment he deserves from our main character. Same goes for Chris, even though their storylines are definitely not the same, they both take part in things that were, in my opinion, not properly addressed or taken care of.
Lastly, I found some spelling mistakes and sentence structuring issues here and there that were quite hard to ignore and so had to mess with the rating.
Overall, this was still quite an enjoyable read and I recommend it.
January 1, 2018
Young adult, gay male fiction is a particular type of niche. These stories tend to be relentlessly upbeat and the characters usually find their way through or around the problem that really does not offer that much of a serious obstacle. The trick seems to be, can the writer create characters that are captivating and fun to hang out with.
In the story Cupid Painted Blind, Marcus Herzig does indeed put together an interesting and fun group of characters. The book is not perfect. Both of the central character`s brother and mother commit serious breaches of trust that for the sake of the story are dealt with rather quickly and casually. Were this not a quick and sunny Y. A. book, I would have expected both those violations of trust to be dealt with more intensely and have more serious ramifications.
Also, as much as I like Matthew the central character, I think there's a better story in what is happening and what will continue to happen with Jack. Now there is a character with the type of complexity that would bring a bit of gravitas to a Y. A. story.
In the story Cupid Painted Blind, Marcus Herzig does indeed put together an interesting and fun group of characters. The book is not perfect. Both of the central character`s brother and mother commit serious breaches of trust that for the sake of the story are dealt with rather quickly and casually. Were this not a quick and sunny Y. A. book, I would have expected both those violations of trust to be dealt with more intensely and have more serious ramifications.
Also, as much as I like Matthew the central character, I think there's a better story in what is happening and what will continue to happen with Jack. Now there is a character with the type of complexity that would bring a bit of gravitas to a Y. A. story.
January 30, 2019
I accidentally read the book that follows this one first. The result was interesting because one of the major players in this one appears in the second as a much older young man, and the difference in his character is a bit jarring. There wasn't any real explanation for his change which made seeing how so different he was in his younger form a little odd.
This brings me to a problem I had with this book. The main character (Matt) was so inconsistent to me. He is constantly informing the reader that he lacks confidence, but then there are handfuls of moments when the plot requires him to be Mr. Confident, and he is. Then he goes right back to lacking it again. I did appreciate that Matt was a flawed character, but at times his flaws (or at least one BIG one) kind of made me hate him.
The character I loved the most was awkward, hairlip Phil. Of all the characters involved in this story, he was the one I was always rooting for. Everyone seems to dump on him, especially Matt. I think this made the ending so satisfying for me, because the author didn't cop out and go for an ending that neatly wraps things up. There's still a little chaos, like life. Most of all, nothing was sacrificed when it came to Phil.
While I did really enjoy this book, it wasn't without problems. It really could have used some loving touches from an editor. The general flow of the story was a bit jarring at times. Most jarring, though, were typos, misused words and instances where it seems like the author probably reworked a sentence in subsequent drafts, but didn't quite get all the words changed. Many times words were missing or misused
I'm not going to the future drag me down...
...nor do I think is your school qualified to deal...
Except today I feel being watched even more than usual...
There were also many uses of passive language rather than active.
An editor would have helped catch things like this, and also worked with the author on the general outline of the plot. It felt like so much ended up happening. Hit after hit after hit for the characters. As a reader, I'd just be getting over a huge trauma when another one would hit. Sometimes, traumas happened but weren't really dealt with in a satisfying manner. "So that happened and let's move on with the plot without any real resolution because LOOK OUT here comes something new!" An example of this is a sexual assault that just isn't really addressed very well in the aftermath. The author really doesn't give much of a chance for that. I get that conflict drives the narrative, but when you throw so much at your characters they not only get bogged down, so do the readers! I feel this book would have been a lot stronger had the author reined in on the trauma a little bit. Focusing on a couple major things and properly addressing them would have done wonders!
All in all, some of the characters were likeable, but sometimes too smart for 14-year-olds. One teen made reference to Silence of the Lambs. I mean, it worked in the moment, but I think referencing a more recent movie in the same way would have been more convincing. Same with the E.T. reference. I'm not sure teens would have strong connection to a movie made 21 years before they were even born. Yes it worked for the plot, but maybe Phil could have been teased by being called The Emporer from Star Wars. Teens today would be much more likely to know that character than E.T.
Sometimes, characters in the story were misplaced. Sandy, bless her heart, tried hard to be a great character, but was often unintentionally racist or clueless. She became a best friend, but why kind of eluded me. Most often, she was there out of necessity. She was just so inconsistent! Cluelessly racist at one moment, then a figure of wisdom that Matt needs in another.
Chris and Jack were the only characters that appeared in both books. In the next book, they added to the story, but here they were confusing. They were vastly different from their older versions, for one thing. As for their contribution to this story, they don't really work as major players. The side story they bring was one of the traumas I mentioned earlier. It wasn't really necessary to this story, and wasn't really addressed properly by it, either. Jack had a rich background that would be better served in his own story. Here, it felt more like a plot device. He was just too inconsistent in this story and, in the end, bogged the story down too much.
A big part of the book in the beginning was Matt documenting his life on a website. He insists that it's fictional, yet he uses real names and accurately depicts what is happening in his life. This is all a driving point in the plot, but then once the plot gets going, this idea is completely abandoned. Never again are we told about any more writing getting done.
Then there is the mysterious woman in the Tesla, who becomes blatantly not mysterious about midway through the book, yet the author tries to maintain the mystery. Without giving anything away, her actions over a period of two months don't really make sense. Yes, she becomes important in the end, but her appearance in the early part of the book is unnecessary and unrealistic.
Again, an editor really could have helped with things like this.
I did like the book, but I didn't love it. I loved the idea of the story, but feel like it could have used some TLC in the editing department to really make it a much stronger book.
This brings me to a problem I had with this book. The main character (Matt) was so inconsistent to me. He is constantly informing the reader that he lacks confidence, but then there are handfuls of moments when the plot requires him to be Mr. Confident, and he is. Then he goes right back to lacking it again. I did appreciate that Matt was a flawed character, but at times his flaws (or at least one BIG one) kind of made me hate him.
The character I loved the most was awkward, hairlip Phil. Of all the characters involved in this story, he was the one I was always rooting for. Everyone seems to dump on him, especially Matt. I think this made the ending so satisfying for me, because the author didn't cop out and go for an ending that neatly wraps things up. There's still a little chaos, like life. Most of all, nothing was sacrificed when it came to Phil.
While I did really enjoy this book, it wasn't without problems. It really could have used some loving touches from an editor. The general flow of the story was a bit jarring at times. Most jarring, though, were typos, misused words and instances where it seems like the author probably reworked a sentence in subsequent drafts, but didn't quite get all the words changed. Many times words were missing or misused
I'm not going to the future drag me down...
...nor do I think is your school qualified to deal...
Except today I feel being watched even more than usual...
There were also many uses of passive language rather than active.
An editor would have helped catch things like this, and also worked with the author on the general outline of the plot. It felt like so much ended up happening. Hit after hit after hit for the characters. As a reader, I'd just be getting over a huge trauma when another one would hit. Sometimes, traumas happened but weren't really dealt with in a satisfying manner. "So that happened and let's move on with the plot without any real resolution because LOOK OUT here comes something new!" An example of this is a sexual assault that just isn't really addressed very well in the aftermath. The author really doesn't give much of a chance for that. I get that conflict drives the narrative, but when you throw so much at your characters they not only get bogged down, so do the readers! I feel this book would have been a lot stronger had the author reined in on the trauma a little bit. Focusing on a couple major things and properly addressing them would have done wonders!
All in all, some of the characters were likeable, but sometimes too smart for 14-year-olds. One teen made reference to Silence of the Lambs. I mean, it worked in the moment, but I think referencing a more recent movie in the same way would have been more convincing. Same with the E.T. reference. I'm not sure teens would have strong connection to a movie made 21 years before they were even born. Yes it worked for the plot, but maybe Phil could have been teased by being called The Emporer from Star Wars. Teens today would be much more likely to know that character than E.T.
Sometimes, characters in the story were misplaced. Sandy, bless her heart, tried hard to be a great character, but was often unintentionally racist or clueless. She became a best friend, but why kind of eluded me. Most often, she was there out of necessity. She was just so inconsistent! Cluelessly racist at one moment, then a figure of wisdom that Matt needs in another.
Chris and Jack were the only characters that appeared in both books. In the next book, they added to the story, but here they were confusing. They were vastly different from their older versions, for one thing. As for their contribution to this story, they don't really work as major players. The side story they bring was one of the traumas I mentioned earlier. It wasn't really necessary to this story, and wasn't really addressed properly by it, either. Jack had a rich background that would be better served in his own story. Here, it felt more like a plot device. He was just too inconsistent in this story and, in the end, bogged the story down too much.
A big part of the book in the beginning was Matt documenting his life on a website. He insists that it's fictional, yet he uses real names and accurately depicts what is happening in his life. This is all a driving point in the plot, but then once the plot gets going, this idea is completely abandoned. Never again are we told about any more writing getting done.
Then there is the mysterious woman in the Tesla, who becomes blatantly not mysterious about midway through the book, yet the author tries to maintain the mystery. Without giving anything away, her actions over a period of two months don't really make sense. Yes, she becomes important in the end, but her appearance in the early part of the book is unnecessary and unrealistic.
Again, an editor really could have helped with things like this.
I did like the book, but I didn't love it. I loved the idea of the story, but feel like it could have used some TLC in the editing department to really make it a much stronger book.
January 10, 2020
I have mixed feelings with all the characters, except Phillip. Phillip was the only thing I loved from the beginning until the end.
January 26, 2022
Gut wrenching and beautiful
This book is such a wonderful story, so diverse, so painful in places but so very very heartfelt. It is an absolute must read.
This book is such a wonderful story, so diverse, so painful in places but so very very heartfelt. It is an absolute must read.
February 25, 2021
Over all I thought the story was good , but it did have a lot of flaws. Like how Chris and Jack both sexually assault Matt. Yet, they both see no problem with there actions. Even Matt who was very angry but then still ended up being both of their friends without ever really resolving what happened. I hated Matt’s sister . She was just too obsessed with her brother being gay. It’s all she ever talks about or thinks about which is very odd.
Also Matt spent a half of this book being really rude and mean to Phill yet the minute Matt realizes Chris is not a good guy, he suddenly has feelings for Phill. Sandy came off very homophobic and sounded uneducated on the topic, yet turned out to be one of Matt’s biggest allies which did not make much since. Then there was Gabe who was a brat the whole book . I feel like the author tried to give him an ark and make everyone feel sorry for him when his friends posted the video but I still really did not like him.
Matt’s parents came across as cool parents , and very supportive. Then suddenly the mom turns and wants Zoe to spy on Matt, called and outed Phill to his parents. It made no since for her character to suddenly change and act this way. I also wish Matt’s best friend would have been in the book more and played a bigger role. He was just a character who is there but never really contributed that much to the story.
Also Matt spent a half of this book being really rude and mean to Phill yet the minute Matt realizes Chris is not a good guy, he suddenly has feelings for Phill. Sandy came off very homophobic and sounded uneducated on the topic, yet turned out to be one of Matt’s biggest allies which did not make much since. Then there was Gabe who was a brat the whole book . I feel like the author tried to give him an ark and make everyone feel sorry for him when his friends posted the video but I still really did not like him.
Matt’s parents came across as cool parents , and very supportive. Then suddenly the mom turns and wants Zoe to spy on Matt, called and outed Phill to his parents. It made no since for her character to suddenly change and act this way. I also wish Matt’s best friend would have been in the book more and played a bigger role. He was just a character who is there but never really contributed that much to the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2022
I have been on a binge of LGBT books recently and this is the only one I could not finish. It is baffling bad and cringe in many ways. Maybe it gets better but at 32% through I cannot see a single thing I like about this book.
First, the main love interest (who is out) is best friends with literally one of the most homophobic characters I have seen in a long time. The homophobic friend cannot seem to have a single line without saying something terrible…so I don’t really get it. Also the main love interest is also kind of an asshole. So I really don’t get that either. There is a half hearted explanation that the homophobic guy is not that bad, but at this point I cannot see anything that would redeem him.
Second, the main character is unlikable. He spends a ton of time basically being an asshole to a deformed kid in his class for no reason. I know high school kids can be mean, but this was just painful to read.
Third, the internet blog element of the story becomes more and more cringe. I did not finish the book but from my prospective it is pretty clear who his anonymous emailer is, but it becomes difficult to watch that relationship unfold.
First, the main love interest (who is out) is best friends with literally one of the most homophobic characters I have seen in a long time. The homophobic friend cannot seem to have a single line without saying something terrible…so I don’t really get it. Also the main love interest is also kind of an asshole. So I really don’t get that either. There is a half hearted explanation that the homophobic guy is not that bad, but at this point I cannot see anything that would redeem him.
Second, the main character is unlikable. He spends a ton of time basically being an asshole to a deformed kid in his class for no reason. I know high school kids can be mean, but this was just painful to read.
Third, the internet blog element of the story becomes more and more cringe. I did not finish the book but from my prospective it is pretty clear who his anonymous emailer is, but it becomes difficult to watch that relationship unfold.
May 24, 2018
Bittersweet
This book was bittersweet and realistic. This story was about Matt growing from a boy to a man. I really felt for Phillip, from the bullying to wearing the same outdated clothes everyday, it really pulled my heartstrings. I'm glad Matt learned to see past outward appearance.
My boyfriend of 6 years is the "hot one" in our relationship so I can really appreciate this. From people telling him he could do better while I am right beside him to being immediately dismissed, I've seen it all. Not everyone young can get past appearance, looks fade but a connection lasts.
The only thing I didn't like was the characters not being described. All we got was Matt wasn't too skinny or too chubby. What color was his hair, eyes, etc? Many of the others too. I personally like to visualize characters in my head. But overall it was a good read and I'd recommend it.
This book was bittersweet and realistic. This story was about Matt growing from a boy to a man. I really felt for Phillip, from the bullying to wearing the same outdated clothes everyday, it really pulled my heartstrings. I'm glad Matt learned to see past outward appearance.
My boyfriend of 6 years is the "hot one" in our relationship so I can really appreciate this. From people telling him he could do better while I am right beside him to being immediately dismissed, I've seen it all. Not everyone young can get past appearance, looks fade but a connection lasts.
The only thing I didn't like was the characters not being described. All we got was Matt wasn't too skinny or too chubby. What color was his hair, eyes, etc? Many of the others too. I personally like to visualize characters in my head. But overall it was a good read and I'd recommend it.
August 3, 2021
Oh wow. Wow. This is a fantastic book!! Matthew’s journey from beginning to end is beautiful and touching and i enjoyed seeing him grow as a character. And Philip is such an endearing character (his LV bag and umbrella— soooo cute) with all the crap he has to deal with i just wanted to hug him. There’s a lot going on in this story, lots of layers to be pulled back and explored. i loved it!!
Only thing that cracked me up were the British terms sprinkled in - I think the author is a Brit- such as kit rather than uniform. Saying “hospital” rather than “the hospital” and autumn rather than Fall. But that’s cute too!!
Overall a beautiful story. Definitely recommend for folks that want their heart strings pulled, want a good laugh and to listen to a witty, hilarious narrative from Matthew the main character. He reminds me of myself.
Only thing that cracked me up were the British terms sprinkled in - I think the author is a Brit- such as kit rather than uniform. Saying “hospital” rather than “the hospital” and autumn rather than Fall. But that’s cute too!!
Overall a beautiful story. Definitely recommend for folks that want their heart strings pulled, want a good laugh and to listen to a witty, hilarious narrative from Matthew the main character. He reminds me of myself.
May 30, 2019
It's an interesting book, to be sure. At times, it seems like the characters are the worst people they could be, what with a snooping sister, and an abundance of slurs, and the like.
Even the main character has some deep-seated flaws that are...at times, difficult to overlook. I don't consider myself to be particularly bothered by much, but while reading this book, I found myself closing it at times because "Seriously kids, what the actual fuck." was a real reaction of mine.
Despite some of the scenes that did make me cringe, the book is well written and remarkably beautiful. Lessons learned, flaws examined, and beauty found in places one never saw really do make Cupid Painted Blind a wonder to behold.
Even the main character has some deep-seated flaws that are...at times, difficult to overlook. I don't consider myself to be particularly bothered by much, but while reading this book, I found myself closing it at times because "Seriously kids, what the actual fuck." was a real reaction of mine.
Despite some of the scenes that did make me cringe, the book is well written and remarkably beautiful. Lessons learned, flaws examined, and beauty found in places one never saw really do make Cupid Painted Blind a wonder to behold.
September 10, 2021
Just finally got a Kindle, and this was my first book read in that format instead of on paper. I wanted something sort of "light" for my first Kindle read. The "gay YA" genre was definitely small in paperback when I was young, so seeing how broad it is now in digital form, I dipped my toe. Quite enjoyed it. The story was fun, and the characters were interesting, with realistic flaws. Some grew and changed, others just peeled back layers to show what they really were to begin with. Even the protagonist was not saccharine, so it took some effort to like him despite his shallowness and impulsivity. Nice light, breezy read.
April 17, 2020
4.9999999999 stars
this book so deserves a 5 star ...
the only reason I am not giving this book a 5/5 is that ....... i really wanted an epilogue. That's all.
But again i couldn't have asked for a more perfect read ....
What really touched my heart was the way everything became a lot better for Phil. I was deeply touched by the portrayal of his character.
I wish everyone could have a sister like Zoey and friends like Sandy and Alfonso.
Anyways loved it.
this book so deserves a 5 star ...
the only reason I am not giving this book a 5/5 is that ....... i really wanted an epilogue. That's all.
But again i couldn't have asked for a more perfect read ....
What really touched my heart was the way everything became a lot better for Phil. I was deeply touched by the portrayal of his character.
I wish everyone could have a sister like Zoey and friends like Sandy and Alfonso.
Anyways loved it.
December 22, 2022
This was yet another awesome surprise read. Great characters, some interesting situations, and some interpersonal interactions that certainly were a surprise to me - because I would never be that forgiving (given the circumstances).
I enjoyed this so much I searched out other books that I enjoyed by the author as well. I recommend giving this book a shot and seeing if it speaks to you. I intend to have my kids read this and engage in some discussions on the topics that are depicted!
I enjoyed this so much I searched out other books that I enjoyed by the author as well. I recommend giving this book a shot and seeing if it speaks to you. I intend to have my kids read this and engage in some discussions on the topics that are depicted!
February 11, 2019
Wowed and baffled
Has some great film quotes.
The central characters are easily likeable and relatable when reminiscing my youth.
Slightly baffled with some of the prejudices the book deals with by just quick mentions and nothing conclusive on it. Would recommend to anyone, if it relates to you or not.
Has some great film quotes.
The central characters are easily likeable and relatable when reminiscing my youth.
Slightly baffled with some of the prejudices the book deals with by just quick mentions and nothing conclusive on it. Would recommend to anyone, if it relates to you or not.
June 18, 2018
It was a great story in the way that our young hero had to learn what love really was, while trying to come out, and dealing with sibling rivalry. I experienced high school again--that four-year, angst-ridden time many of us would rather forget--all of it through a fresh pair of eyes.
December 30, 2018
Amazing
Nothing I can say can justify the greatness of this story. The only things stopping me from giving a 5 star are the typo errors. The story though is so beautiful that it's heart warming and heart-breaking at the same time. Thank you, Mr. Herzig.
Nothing I can say can justify the greatness of this story. The only things stopping me from giving a 5 star are the typo errors. The story though is so beautiful that it's heart warming and heart-breaking at the same time. Thank you, Mr. Herzig.
March 10, 2019
Disturbingly sweet
When I started reading this book I was ok until Philip made his appearance and people started insulting and treating him badly. I nearly put it down and stopped reading. But something kept nagging me to continue. I'm glad I did. It is an excellent book.
When I started reading this book I was ok until Philip made his appearance and people started insulting and treating him badly. I nearly put it down and stopped reading. But something kept nagging me to continue. I'm glad I did. It is an excellent book.
January 19, 2023
I wanted to like this book, but a couple of issues I had detracted from it. The over use of a particular slur (The R word. I get high-school kids are mean but still) Not a fan. And a scene that showed a minor under the influence who was almost assaulted. Detracted from an otherwise fair story.
December 16, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The author put in the effort to make both the story and characters original and interesting. Where he failed though was on the back end The editing was haphazard. Because of the dozens and dozens of errors, I cannot in good conscience award this work five stars.
October 20, 2017
Sweet
Just as described, a little sweet, a little heartbreaking, and a little funny. Some typos, but the writing is pretty solid.
Just as described, a little sweet, a little heartbreaking, and a little funny. Some typos, but the writing is pretty solid.
October 3, 2018
It could have been much better without those serious stereotypes.
January 21, 2019
I love EVERYTHING about this book. Speechless. Definitely gonna read more by this author. Marcus Herzig FTW.
March 17, 2019
It was fun reading it!
I didn’t really know what to expect, it was fun and intriguing coming out story, I really enjoyed reading this books.
I didn’t really know what to expect, it was fun and intriguing coming out story, I really enjoyed reading this books.
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