Review Detail

Chemistry by C.L. Lynch

The Story:
Twilight spoof. Stella Blunt is forced to move to Vancouver with her parents when her mother gets a new job. Aside from the bullying about her weight, Stella’s life is made more uncomfortable by the boy who won’t stop staring at her. Or more specifically, her brain. Turns out he eats them and is a Zombie. And Stella’s brain waves? He just can’t get enough of them, and he’s not the only one.

The Characters:
Stella Blunt is cynical, defensive, intelligent and ‘blunt’. She is bullied mercilessly about her weight. It is refreshing to read about a character who doesn’t have the entire male population falling at her feet, and who questions anything and everything that doesn’t sit right with her. Stella also likes to swear a great deal. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy profanity in a book, but this book has a great deal of it. Often the main character’s comments had me laughing out loud.
Howard (Edward) is sweet. And though this is a spoof, he complimented Stella’s personality really well. Bullying comments slide right off of him, and he is the opposite of macho! For those who hate possessive lead male characters, you’ll fall in love with this zombie. And the zombie part—hilarious. His fumbling attempts to fit in with humankind will have you chortling.
Stella’s parents are my favorite characters in the book. They are more like Stella’s friends. Their antics and sarcasm, and their relationship with Stella is amazing. This author did a great job with them.

The World:
Twilight…in Canada. Much of the book is based in high school. The rest at Stella’s family home, and Howard’s home. The world is easy to imagine.

The Readability:
Shouty capitals make a regular appearance in Chemistry. Whether this is done on purpose or not, it proves very distracting during reading. Exclamation marks are another regular feature. These do make the novel seem ‘spoofy’, but they also serve to distract from the story. The structure of this novel is shaky. Some of the scenes could be cut down, or cut altogether to ensure a smooth, flowing read. I found the pace dragged in several places. However, the themes within the story itself are presented well and tie in to the final climax. The witty dialogue is a strength of this novel as is the character growth throughout.
Professionally edited – although there is some inconsistency in the editing of a few terms. Suitable for sixteen years and over due to swearing.

Final Verdict:
Fans of twilight (and those who hated it) will enjoy this spoof. Despite a few shaky technical aspects of the novel, there are some truly hilarious scenes. It contains subtle digs at the twilight series that you must pay attention to pick up—and some really obvious ones. The author’s take on this popular series is awesomely sarcastic and completely witty.

Favorite Quote: (I have a couple)
“When I climbed into bed that night, I was wearing a tinfoil hat and a scowl. According to Howie, a government zombie-killing dude was stationed outside in the bushes, in case the tin foil hat didn’t work.”

“Howie kept reaching for my hand and squeezing it under the table and every time he did, it made me feel feelings.”