#thedangerousartofblendingin

[stochastique-blog]

Weird

L.A. friends (and those visiting that have already done Disneyland & Universal) come join us for my official book launch! Nervous, excited and proud doesn’t begin to cover all the emotions racing through me right now. Let’s just say, I’m relieved that @jenniferniven will be with me as the debut of my YA novel, THE DANGEROUS ART OF BLENDING IN, happens this month at one of my all time favorite bookstores @chevaliersbooks It’s near where I live and I’ve been a customer since moving to LA! I hope to see you there. There will be donuts! 🍩📚🌈#thedangerousartofblendingin #bookstagram #readya #dontblendin #jenniferniven #chevaliersbooks #lgbtbooks #lgbt #lgbtq #balzerandbray #harpercollins (at Los Angeles, California)

[jenniferniven]

Presenting •Write Your Story• a writing workshop with bff @angelo_surmelis and me! Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll talk writing tips and tricks, do writing challenges and exercises, and (hopefully) answer all your writing/publishing questions! And you’ll have the chance to see your work published in @germmagazine !!! So join us for our first IG live session, Thursday April 16 at noon ET/9am PT! We can’t wait to help you write your story! ✍🏻❤️ #writingworkshop #writeyourstory #writeyourlife #angelosurmelis #thedangerousartofblendingin #allthebrightplaces #holdinguptheuniverse #breathlessbook #write #forwriters #authorsofinstagram #letswrite #writerscommunity #writinginspiration #writingprompts #germmagazine #letscreate #stayhome #isolate2gether https://www.instagram.com/p/B-z_xfkpj-i/?igshid=eg126kmzcbvi

[epicreads]

What’s a book you think is under the radar that you wish more people knew about? 📚 #TheDangerousArtofBlendingIn is a raw and powerful coming-of-age story about a gay boy with an abusive home life. It’s intense and heartwrenching yet hopeful and basically it made us super emotional 😭

[raimskie]

This book will f**k up with your feelings again and again. . Despite its title, this novel is not just about “blending in” with the crowd or keeping one’s self in the closet, but rather, it is about how some people could perfectly hide their traumas so that they could seem—or be deemed—“normal” to the society they’re in. . Dealing with childhood trauma and abuse, @angelo_surmelis has poignantly described the things victims had gone through and how they surpassed it. . I can’t remember how many times I have wanted to shout out to the main character to fight back whenever his mother would beat him physically, verbally, or mentally, and his father doesn’t even give a damn about the situation. . Since the main character tries his best to perfectly hide his physical wounds, his so-called “friends” can’t even—or doesn’t know how to—support him. Lucky for him, his best-friend-turned-boyfriend was there most of the time (even though he had pushed him away for quite some time) and he‘s one of the few people who help him go through with his everyday life. . ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ . 🇨🇦🍁 🤗 📕📙📗📒📘 🤗 🍁🇨🇦 . #TheDangerousArtOfBlendingIn #AngeloSurmelis #HenryxEvan #Henvan #YoungAdultBook #YABook #BookReview #YABookReview #RaNtsOfAQueerGuy https://www.instagram.com/p/CFNxKohHM1z/?igshid=1tr3bsm8hg7c0

[adibkhorram]

SUMMER PRIDE GIVEAWAY! Add Pride to the long list of events being cancelled or otherwise impacted by this pandemic. I'm feeling kind of bummed, but that's when I try to take action! So I've come together with 8 fellow queer young adult authors to give away TEN BOOKS to one lucky winner. That's right, TEN BOOKS. . . THE PRIDE PRIZE PACK: The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender We Unleash The Merciless Storm AND We Set The Dark On Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass The Summer Of Everything by Julian Winters Darius The Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram Reverie by Ryan La Sala . . . HOW TO ENTER: 1. Follow me on Instagram and like this post. 2. Tag a friend in the comments of this post who would also love to win 10 books! 3. Follow the other 8 authors. Just click on the image to see who I’ve tagged, then visit their Instagram profile and follow and like their post too, and then do the same for the author they tagged and so on. When you get back to me, you’ve completed the loop and are entered to win! . . . RULES: This giveaway ends on Monday May 11 at 12pm PST. Books will be sent via Bookshop.org or a local indie. Unreleased books will be sent on their release date. You MUST follow all nine authors to be entered. One U.S. winner will be randomly selected and notified via Instagram following the giveaway. This giveaway is not affiliated, endorsed or sponsored by Instagram. OPEN TO U.S. ADDRESSES ONLY . . . #happypride #epicpride #queerbooks #bookstagram #giveaway #yalit #booklove #yabooks #youngadult #ireadya #authorsofinstagram #booknerd #bookish #bookgiveaway #TheGravityofUs #FelixEverAfter #WeUnleashTheMercilessStorm #TheDangerousArtofBlendingIn #LikeALoveStory #SurrenderYourSons #TheSummerOfEverything #DariusTheGreatDeservesBetter #Reverie — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2W0EH5K

[storyofasolivagantsoul]

I've squeezed as many bookcases in this tiny space as possible. Being surrounded by books and magazines makes me feel calm. It makes the room seem wrapped in a layer of protection. As if nothing or no one can get to me. #AngeloSurmelis #thedangerousartofblendingin (at Lincoln Corner Islamabad) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp6n80gn2AJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rz71venybqho

[chandie-washere]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Dangerous Art of Blending In By: Angelo Surmelis . . This book is absolutely amazing and pulls at your heart. Evan is the type of character who just needs a good hug and someone to tell him it's going to be okay. I can't explain in words how attached I got to this character in such a short amount of time. Anyone looking for a good LGBT+ book should definitely pick this up. I can safely say that I have been changed forever by both Evan Pano's and Angelo Surmelis's stories. This book will most definitely be making an appearance on my book shelf soon. . . #bookreview #thedangerousartofblendingin #angelosurmelis #bookstagram #evanpanos

[crushingcinders]

Happy Book Birthday to The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis! @AngeloSurmelis https://crushingcinders.com/adding-to-tbr-january-2018 #TheDangerousArtofBlendingIn 

[sleeponrooftops]

This has been one of those perfect nights. 🌙 . After racing me to the bed so we could snuggle, Grace has only moved to find the absolute most comfortable position. I’ve been sitting with these quartz crystals in my lap for the last hour, slowly drinking @plumdeluxe’s coconut macaron desert tea in my new mug that I’m simply over the moon in love with, and reading the last pages of this daring and beautifully bold book. Today is a good day, and it’s a good life. I’m so grateful for quiet moments like this night in between all the rest of the wild ones. . #maryreads #amreading #readersofinstagram #catsofinstagram #lilyandgrace #tea #crystals #smokyquartz #rosequartz #thedangerousartofblendingin

[herondalesgonehaywire]

I didn't know what to do with all the dust jackets so I decorated my wall with them.

[angelosurmelis]

This was a huge surprise when I went on to the @twitter today! An animated promo from @planetalibrosmx for the Spanish Version of #thedangerousartofblendingin It brought back so many memories of Evan & Henry. ❤️📚😭#evanandhenry #representationmatters #lgbtq🌈 #gaylovestory #immigrantstory #imnotcryingyourecrying #bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B0o0uFvHkLV/?igshid=rdqz8i9k3ezz

[thetypedwriter]

The Dangerous Art of Blending In Book Review

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis 

The Dangerous Art of Blending In Book Review

Do you ever read the jacket of a book and congratulate yourself on finding such a spectacular find and metaphorically pat yourself on the back? That was me with The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis. I had never previously heard of it, the author was unknown, but I was enlivened to try something new after taking in the lovely, yet ambiguous cover with its rainbow of colors and messages.

It didn't quite live up to my grand and nuanced expectations unfortunately. To start off simply, I thought this book was about a small town boy struggling to find a peaceful equilibrium between his Greek Orthodox life and his identity as a new age millennial. He likes to draw, he likes to drive, suddenly his best friend has become distractingly attractive over the summer, and he has big dreams of living in the city and making something of himself.

Sounds like a solid plot if not a bit too retired, but there was one key aspect that caught me so completely off guard that encapsulated the majority of the novel: abuse.

Now, either I'm just completely obtuse or the abuse was not clearly indicated as being a major theme throughout the entirety of the novel. It's one thing to say that his mother holds harsh words for her son and our main character, Evan Panos, on the small synopsis given on the inside of the fold, but another thing entirely to have scenes in which his mother was smashing a coffee mug across his face, attempting to drown him, or telling him to die. Repeatedly.

I've read books dealing with child abuse or domestic violence before, but this novel really went above and beyond the normal descriptions of abuse. Surmelis details Evan’s every depreciating thought, his brokenness, his idiosyncrasies reminiscent of a victim, and the lens into his life is so candid that it's disturbing and heart wrenching.

Like some other books I've reviewed in the past, this book would definitely fall under the read at your own discretion category.

I honestly wish I could have liked this book more. Despite the disturbing modality of the themes, this book had the potential to be very powerful for a lot of people. It takes on some formidable messages like abuse, family, religion, identity, healing and sexuality just to name a few but the execution was disjointed and poorly composed.

Only one character seemed like he was flesh and bones. His speech and mannerisms were akin to a pimply angst ridden hormonally driven teenager. Everyone else seemed more relatable to a lab of robots. The dialogue as a whole was clunky and unrealistic. Some moments shifted so fast that I was left with book whiplash. The pacing was so extraordinarily off that I wanted to sit Mr. Surmelis down and show him some prime fanfiction just to give him an idea of how to do it mediocrely well.

In addition, there was not much of a resolution to speak of. If you are going to put my emotions into a meat grinder I would appreciate if you at least gave me some morsel of relief or happiness. Said morsel did not exist in The Dangerous Art of Blending In. And if it did exist, it was only big enough to feed a mouse.

Overall, this book read more like a personal diary with chunks of entries missing rather than a your run-of-the-mill young adult novel meant to enlighten and help teenagers facing some insurmountable challenges. In the afterword, Surmelis mentions how this book was essentially his therapy from his own childhood. I would never discourage anyone from writing as a means of healing, but writing as a means of healing and writing to publish are inherently discordant things.

Recommendation: Unless you loved The Child Called “It” novels, this new read for young adults is best left for those dark days or for people searching for specific psychological and traumatic material.

Score: 4/10

[jenniferniven]

Happy one-year Book Birthday to The Dangerous Art of Blending In and my BFF @angelo_surmelis 🎉🍩💛 I couldn’t be prouder of him and this wonderful, honest, beautiful story that he wrote with his whole heart. If you haven’t read it yet, lovelies, you need to! 💛🧡 #thedangerousartofblendingin #bookbirthday #bookiversary #angelosurmelis #bff #willandgrace #mybestfriendisarockstar https://www.instagram.com/p/BtUMrr4BBwS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=sjyjsm1jrg37

[angelosurmelis]

The answer is always YES! Evan Panos just wanted to be loved as is. It seems like a no-brainer. Yet, being who you were born to be is still an issue for so many LGBTQ people. I came out years ago. It didn’t go well, but eventually I found a family of people that saw me (and accepted me) as my whole self. Coming out is hard. It shouldn’t be. No one should HAVE to come out. We should all just *BE* yet we do. If you’re struggling to step into the light as your true self, know that there will be a giant community of people who will love you. As is. They will love you so hard, so fully and without any reservations. For those that have, congratulations and keep being your own hero. And for the straight friends, family, allies that support us—-Thank You doesn’t seem like enough, but that’s all I’ve got right now. It’s a BIG thank you! Your love and support mean so much. ❤️🏳️‍🌈#nationalcomingoutday #dontblendin #thedangerousartofblendingin #epicreads #representationmatters #balzerandbray #evanpanos #evanandhenry #instagay #gaymanreading #lgbtqbooks #readya #yalit #lgbtbooks #writersofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Boy7jNynLf1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=uhdouiwdo8kp

[angelosurmelis]

Not sure what the recent surge in readers of #thedangerousartofblendingin has been, but THANK YOU for reading! AND for reaching out & sharing your own stories with me--you all are my heroes. I don’t take the fact that you open up with your most vulnerable queer stories lightly. You’ll always have an ally in me & I’ll be forever grateful for your trust & bravery. . #dontblendin #tellyourstory #representationmatters #queerstories #gaylovestory #lgbtqia #readya #bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CNIS24zpflW/?igshid=1s4voamrda3lg

[angelosurmelis]

Guys, it’s serious. My hat is off and I’m wearing my glasses. Last few days of #thedangerousartofblendingin eBook SALE! Just $1.99 whenever eBooks are sold - Link to retailers in profile. Just in time for weekend reading. 📚🇬🇷🍩🏳️‍🌈#dontblendin #ebook #bookstagram #epicreads #balzerandbray #lgbtqbooks #lgbtqia #evanandhenry #greekboy #writersofinstagram #gaysofinstagram #booksale #yalit #readya