Cupidity (Simon Romantic Comedies) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Caroline Goode (Author) "Flies buzzed around the Dumpster in the alley, and the late-summer heat was brutal even in the shade..." (more)
Key Phrases: winged slippers, Laura Sweeney, Jake Mattson, Madame Luisa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 7-9 - This chaotic story of mismatched love mixes together the residents of the Mount Olympus Retirement Home, gods and goddesses, and the entire social structure of Fimbrey High School. Laura Sweeney, 17, is desperate for a boyfriend. She loves Roman mythology and often regales those around her with the tales. After she half-heartedly sends Jupiter an anguished plea to send her a boyfriend, misstep follows goof, and Laura wonders if she can locate Venus so that order will be restored. This is an interesting stab at combining teen romance with some lively mythological figures. However, the zaniness becomes tiring, and the story ultimately seems stilted. - Andrea Tarr, Corona Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. One of 17-year-old Laura Sweeny's interests is mythology, so when wishing for a boyfriend, she sends out a plea to the gods. Little does she know that Roman gods and goddesses are still around--retired to be sure, but living in California at the Mount Olympus retirement home. In a laugh-out-loud scene, winged Mercury, now shuffling about in an undershirt, shorts, and tennis shoes, gets Laura's message. The gods gather at the swimming pool and decide Laura deserves their aid, and that a Danny Devito-looking Cupid should be the one to help her out. Much hilarity and many mix-ups ensue as Cupid comes to Laura's town and takes on the persona of Cupidity, the new girl everyone wants to know. Laura also gets mixed up in the personal lives of the gods, extending the story. This is all silly fun, though the use of real arrows in the love capers may disturb some adults. Bringing in mythology does elevate the story, albeit not to Olympian heights. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; 1st Simon Pulse Ed edition (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689872283
• ISBN-13: 978-0689872280
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #368,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well, it DOES Rhyme With Stupidity..., December 17, 2005

By	Eon (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews

The premise seemed pretty cute. A high school girl calling on the ancient Roman gods for help in her love life. And it is mildly cute...but that's about all.

Goode's writing style is annoying. I can't stand writers who feel the need to constantly remind the audience of their characters' appearence, personality, etc. Usually in sentences like "You're a loser," said the dark-haired beauty. And that's just a mild example of what her sentences are like.
And her characters are even worse. Stereotyped to the Nth degree, with less personality than lime Jell-o. Laura is unsympathetic as a heroine, Cupidity runs around like she's had too many Pixie Styx...only the gods are mildly amusing.

The plot is ridiculous. Apart from being fairly predictable, so much of it is random and scattered. Loose ends aren't tied up, things happen for no good reason, and Laura has one friend (Ashley) who has a habit of appearing out of thing air. There's little explanation or reasoning behind Laura's realization of who she loves, and she's pretty unconvincing about it anyway.

And for someone who most obviously prides herself on being a mythology buff, Goode seems to have forgotten that the gods have been around a lot longer than 3000 years.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cupidity, July 24, 2006

By	Beautiful (Ohio) - See all my reviews

Laura Sweeney wants a boyfriend, so she does what every other teenage girl does: she calls Jupiter to send her one! Cupid comes disguised as a girl and sets her up on a series of double dates to see if he/she can find a match for Laura.
It really was a good book. It was funny in a laugh out loud kind of way. But it wasn't romantic at all. She falls in love on the last page with a guy she was friends with forever but never noticed really until literally the last page. It makes no sense, it's not romantic...but it is a comedy and I liked it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, easy read, June 28, 2006

By	daughterofcokie "book maven" (Chula Vista, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I can't believe the average rating for this book on AMAZON is so low. This was a great, fun read. I loved all the characters - especially Cupidity (Cupid in disguise) and the main character Laura. Too often these days in teen novels, the female characters are petty and annoying but Laura was real and sweet if a little dorky (which is okay because I am too). I would recommend this to any woman (young or old) who likes a little romantic comedy fun.