3.5 Stars for Wet Paint by Will Parkinson

Wet Paint

Title: Wet Paint
Author Name: Will Parkinson
Publication Date & Length: September 18, 2014 – 212 pgs

Synopsis

Although Addy’s heart and body bear the scars from his life before he was adopted by the Deans, he’s ached for something he thought he would never find. Until he met Benny. He isn’t sure how anyone can care for someone as broken as he is, even though he wants it desperately.

High school senior Benny Peters has his whole life planned out for him, until a chaste kiss at summer camp opens a new world of possibilities. Determined to erase Addy’s insecurities, Benny works to take away his boyfriend’s pain and replace it with love.

When Addy’s past intrudes on their future, it’s going to take everything Benny can muster to show that no matter what – or who – they face, they belong together.

Review

I’ll be honest–I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this one. Stories about abuse can be difficult even under the best circumstances. Yet as I read, I was more than impressed with the sensitive way in which the abuse suffered by two of the characters, Addy and Liam, was handled.

For the most part, I enjoyed the story. It was a decent adolescent drama with plenty of touching moments. I really liked the two main characters, Benny and Addy, and their relationship is very sweet. I liked that they aren’t stereotypes–I love characters who defy our expectations. Benny in particular is a complex person who doesn’t fit a certain mold.

I think this book would have worked better as two novellas rather than one full-length novel. It seemed to have two separate plots, the first half and the second half, with nothing to tie them together except a brief mention of an email related to the first half.

There were also several moments in which I had to suspend my disbelief. I’m not sure that teenage boys talk so openly about their thoughts and feelings, and there were a couple of key moments (the scene with Addy’s biological father and the scene at the end of the book come to mind) which seemed pretty unrealistic and actually distracted from the plot rather than adding anything.

My one biggest frustration was yet again reading the same tired treatment of bisexuality found in so many stories. Towards the beginning, Benny establishes that he sometimes has feelings for girls and sometimes for boys. I was thrilled! But then I was upset by the part where his mother–who comes off in that scene as ignorant anyway–tells him he’s gay because he’s with a boy (and doesn’t have plans to break up with him) and Benny agrees. I don’t think the character owed his mother an argument, but the author has a responsibility to make things clear in those moments. This is especially true in YA fiction where readers themselves may be sorting things out and could potentially be confused or upset by reading beloved characters giving them misinformation. It would have been one thing to show Benny as feeling conflicted; it’s entirely different to leave readers confused.

Despite all that, I would still recommend this as long as a teen reading it had someone to discuss it with. I like the author’s style, and I see a lot of potential there for fantastic writing in the future.

If I only read the first half, I would give it 4 stars; the second half gets 3, so it averages out to 3.5 stars.

~Amy

BuyTheBook

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1uMlZKA
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1r7X01L
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1o9yQ3x
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1ukgDUc

E-book: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5417

Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5418

Teaser

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Excerpt

ADDY SAT in the car, worry creasing his brow. Not even an hour ago, he’d been so happy. Why was he so nervous now? His thoughts drifted back to his conversation with his dad. Would Benny still want him when he found out what had happened? Would he think Addy was too broken? Addy shivered. He tried to tell himself Benny would never be like that, but how could he know for sure?

“What’s up, little man? I can hear you thinking from over here.” Benny chuckled.

“Nothing, Benny. I’m okay.”

“Addy, c’mon. I can tell you’ve got something on your mind. I need to know what it is. I can’t help if you won’t let me.”

Addy took a deep breath. “I’m afraid,” he admitted. “Of what? Camp?” “No… of losing you.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you think you’d lose me?”

“Benny.” Addy sighed. “I need to tell you some stuff. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s really not going to be nice.”

AuthorBio

WILL PARKINSON believes that no matter what obstacles are thrown in the path of young love, it will always find a way to win in the end. He wants his characters to have their happily ever after, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to come easily.

None of this would have happened if he had followed the advice he was given many years ago. “What are you wasting your time on that for? It’s never going to amount to anything.” He believed it for the longest time, abandoning characters he’d created in his childhood.

He picked up his very first m/m story by a writer named Eden Winters, who was an absolute joy when they corresponded. She asked him if he wrote and he told her the story. Eden explained to Will that the voices in his head would never go away and how he needed to let them out. With that thought in mind, Will put e-pen to e-paper once more. It was truly a liberating experience and one he has no intention of giving up again.

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