Title: Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry #1)
Author: Simone Elkeles
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s
Publication Date: April 2010
Paperback: 368 Pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Young Adult
Reviewed by: Laura
RATING: 8/10 – Brilliant, couldn’t put it down
GOODREADS SUMMARY:
A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.
When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she’s worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.
In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.
REVIEW:
I think it’s fair to say that ‘Perfect Chemistry’ isn’t an original story. We’ve read superb stories of star-crossed lovers before. Ultimately in Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and of course ‘West Side Story’. But this didn’t matter to me. In fact, after the first two chapters I was hooked.
Brittany is your high school princess, the girl every other girl wants to be. Beautiful, rich, the head cheerleader and dating one of the hottest guys in school. Raised by a mother obsessed with perfectionism, she knows what it means to create the ultimate image. Wearing the right clothes, going to the right places, not having a hair out of place or a smear in your make-up.
But scratch beneath the surface and you will see her life is far from the perfect image she has created.
Alex is not a guy that most mothers would like their daughters to bring home. Following his now dead father’s footsteps he has been lured into gang life as a misguided way to protect his family. Now he’s in deep, on the threshold to a spiraling life of crime and violence.
Then one day, their chemistry teacher reassigns everyone alphabetically and much to their distaste Alex and Brittany have been put together as lab partners. Initially sparks fly, and when Alex’s fellow gang members bet him he can’t bed Brittany, ego gets in the way and before he know it his beloved motorbike as well as his reputation end up on the line.
As Alex begins his mission of seduction, things don’t go quite to plan. As he starts to get to know Brittany, he begins to see the girl beneath the veneer. The girl who is fed up of being perfect and the girl who desperately loves and cares for her disabled sister. As he unwittingly begins to fall for her, he begins to question everything in his life and a very small part of him dares to dream.
The story is told with alternating chapters from Brittany and Alex, which gives you insight into each of their feelings and experiences. It grabs you right from the get go and it’s one of those books you just can’t put down. The chemistry between Alex and Brittany sizzles and the love story is one of those that hits you right in the solar plexus.
Alex is ruggedly handsome, the bad boy that every girl could easily fall for. Brittany is at times naive, but there is something pure and shining about her love for Alex.
This is a well written story about hope, dreams and love. Yes, it is at the core of course a love story, but it also tackles teen issues, the problem of social disparity and the circle of gang life in America. This is a book I would most definitely recommend.
One tiny, tiny thing and I was forewarned about this from a fellow reviewer. I’m not a big fan of the epilogue, it was slightly heavy on the cheese factor.
VERDICT:
While this book won’t win any awards for originality, I loved it! Alex and Brittany capture both your heart and imagination from the start. I can’t wait for the next!
SOURCE: Thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending Book Chick City this book for review.
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5 Comments
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It was great.
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Hi Tina, yes that was my feeling too, I was surprised by how much this book sucked me in. I really enjoyed it
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This sounds as though it was a great read. Will have to read it myself one day – thanks for reviewing
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@bookchickcity yes it was a good read, a great love story.
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I enjoyed reading Perfect Chemistry too. I really like reading alternating POVs. I highly recommend you read Leaving Paradise (also by Simone Elkeles)
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