The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis Published by Penguin Random House Australia on February 12th 2018
Source: Publisher
Genres: Contemporary, Diversity, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Amazon | Book Depository | Publisher | Angus & Robertson | Booktopia | Barnes & Noble
Add to Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Evan doesn’t know where he fits in. He loves his family, but is terrorised by his abusive mother and confused by his father's silence. He has friends, but one of them - Henry - has become distractingly attractive, and seems interested in being more than just a friend.
Oh, and yes, Evan kissed a boy this summer.
As things with Henry heat up and the violence escalates, Evan has to decide how to find his voice in a world where he has always survived by being silent.
Trigger Warnings: emotional abuse, physical abuse, bullying
The Dangerous Art of Blending In is, on paper, my cup of tea. It’s an #ownvoices book, with some heavy and emotional themes, and I thought that I would love it more than I actually did. I enjoyed the story and themes but I couldn’t really engage with it as much as I wanted to and was a little irked and distracted by some of the dialogue in the book.
The novel is a coming out story that follows Evan, who comes from a strict Greek family, and has endured physical and emotional abuse from his mother since he was five. While appearing to others as a devoted mother and wife and upholding the image of a perfect Greek family, his mother treats Evan as if he’s wicked and believes that she can beat the evil out of him. His father has never really stepped in to stop the abuse properly and instead seems to try to placate everyone. He’s stuck between the world of his strict mother at home and the world at school where he can’t reveal anything about himself. On top of that, Evan has feelings for his best friend, Henry, but has been hiding his true feelings because of how his mother and peers would react. It’s an emotional story about being who you are and leaving behind the bad.
I really enjoyed how the themes were explored in this book and thought that it was a really successful story. Having said that, I felt a bit detached from it and I don’t know whether it was the writing or the fact that I didn’t want to be engaged because of the hurt that Evan was going through. Evan also isolates himself from those around him a bit, and my detachment from the emotion of the story could have been due to that. I liked how unflinchingly honest the story was in terms of the domestic violence in the novel and how nobody would come to Henry’s rescue even though they knew about what was happening. It was really confronting at times but I also understood Henry’s actions and why he was so hesitant to trust others and have them help him.
The aspect of the book that I wasn’t a huge fan of were the relationships between the characters. I didn’t think any of the characters really had any chemistry with one another and I didn’t get any feelings of friendship or romance. Their interactions seemed a little bit rehearsed and fake and I didn’t really like the dialogue between the characters. The text speak was another thing that I couldn’t get over because it was hard to read and written in a way that was extremely 2004. Little details like this kind of ruined the story for me and it was hard for me to focus on any of the friendship and romance elements because of this. I didn’t mind the dialogue and the interactions between Evan and his family members, as confronting as some of them were, but the friendships in the book were a throwaway for me.
Which brings me to the romance. I loved Evan and Henry as individuals but they had no chemistry together. I wasn’t a big fan of how it developed throughout the story and wish it had been executed a little bit better given that it was part of the coming out story. However, what I did enjoy was how great the coming out aspect of it was, despite this lack of chemistry in the romance. I enjoyed how much confidence Evan took from seeing his friend come out about his sexuality and how it pushed him to think more about himself in a positive light. Evan was such a sweetheart and I love him dearly.
The Dangerous Art of Blending In was a really enjoyable (though that’s not the correct word since it was such a heavy and emotional book) story and I loved the coming out and self-love aspects of the novel. I had some problems getting into the writing and dialogue but overall, it’s well worth the read.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Thank you to Penguin Teen Australia for providing a review copy of the book.
The Dangerous Art of Blending In was released on 12th February by Penguin Australia and is now available at all Australian retailers for $19.99.
Jenna
Latest posts by Jenna (see all)
- Love on the Brain Review: Deja Vu? - September 1, 2022
- The No-Show Review: Definitely Not What It Seems - July 28, 2022
- Something Wilder Review: A Wild, Adventure-Filled Story - June 30, 2022
Aw, I didn’t know this was an #ownvoices story! It sounds really cute, but I’m not sure I could connect with the characters when their relationships sound like that.
(ALSO, that picture looks so yummy!! It’s making me hungry 😀 )
Aila J. recently posted…Indulgence Insider #74 – Love YA Event, Fantasy Book Club & March Wrap Up
Yeah it’s probably one to skip, though it does have a really great message about domestic violence. It’s so important for kids to be able to tell someone what’s happening and I liked that this novel tried to convey that. Yessss I love donuts so much!
Jenna recently posted…I Have Lost My Way Review: Finding Their Way Together
Aww sorry to hear that this book didn’t live up to your expectations Jenna! It sounded so great at the PTA night (and what a brill cover!!), but understand that it’s not always the right cup of tea for everyone.
Ugh, and 2004 text speak just puts me off a lot haha. Hope your next read is much, much better! x
Joy @ Thoughts By J recently posted…eARC Review: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Thx Joy! 2004 txt spk is the wuuurstttt! H8 it so much.
Jenna recently posted…I Have Lost My Way Review: Finding Their Way Together
It’s a shame this book had a few issues that let it down. OMG…those doughnuts look amazing, You are not helping me stick to my healthy eating plan, you know!
Hahaha one of the really good donut chains in Australia just closed down due to poor financial management so it’s helped me eat clean so much better!
Jenna recently posted…I Have Lost My Way Review: Finding Their Way Together
This sounds so incredibly powerful Jenna but let down by the format and lacklustre romance. I love that young adult is now exploring domestic violence, especially in Australia where family violence is a community issue. It sounds incredibly realistic in that sense, people seem to ignore the neighbours heated yelling or violence in the home as something that isn’t their business and doesn’t concern them so really interested to see how that arises and is spoken about. Might save this one for a rainy day. Brilliant review Jenna, so glad you were still able to enjoy it despite those niggling issues <3
Thanks Kelly. Yeah it really is a serious topic that people should pay more attention to. I was browsing Youtube yesterday and ended up going down a rabbit hole watching videos about children who had been abused or neglected by their parents. It really just takes an attentive neighbour to make a difference to a child’s (or adult’s) life and we need to be more aware of domestic violence.
Jenna recently posted…I Have Lost My Way Review: Finding Their Way Together
Oh man, 2004 textings sounds like a lot of ROTFLMFAO with a swarm of emojis. MSN chat vibes are something I would not want to revisit haha. Sorry this book didn’t live up to your expectations seeing as how this book would seem very Jenna.
Joey @ Thoughts and Afterthoughts recently posted…[Alternatives] – Movie Review – Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Hi Joey!!!! Yeah I thought I’d enjoy it more too given that I do like heavy contemporaries haha but it wasn’t a stand out. Still really enjoyed the themes and the plot though.
Jenna recently posted…I Have Lost My Way Review: Finding Their Way Together
I tried reading this book a few times but never got past the first few pages of it. I know some people love it but it just doesn’t grab me?? If I’m ever in the mood for a read like this, I might give it another shot but otherwise I think I’ll just leave it be and focus on other books instead.
Bee @ Quite the Novel Idea recently posted…{Bee Reviews} Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
I totally understand what you mean! It took me a little while to get into it too but really enjoyed it in the end. It’s a hard one to get into since it’s so heavy and you kind of have to be in the mood. But there are donuts?!
Jenna recently posted…I Have Lost My Way Review: Finding Their Way Together