Review Detail

4.4 24

Perfect Chemistry

Young Adult Fiction 775

My book crush!

June 23, 2010

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Reader reviewed by jillian r

Synopsis:
Alex Fuentes is a gang member from the South on the outskirts of
Chicago. Brittany Ellis is a privileged and popular girl from the
north, who seems to have it all. They are total opposites who will
never get along. When they are forced to be lab partners in their
chemistry class, "the results are bound to be explosive." With
stereotypes, impressions, and misconceptions about each other comes a
lot of expectations -- hate, pranks, arguments, among many others. But
what happens is one that they least expected; they fall in love. Can
they break through the boundaries and the walls that separate them both?

Review: This is West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet combined
in a Young Adult novel. Bad boy and Miss Popular starts off hating each
other's guts, and ends up falling in love. Sounds stereotypical?
Overdone? Not one bit. Simone Elkeles takes a seemingly "overdone" premise, and adds a new and modern twist to it.

I'm
going to have to confess, I'm a bit of a sucker for love stories, and
when they're well-told, it makes me love them even more. The story of
Alex Fuentes and Brittany Ellis is just what I was looking for. Yes, I
loved Perfect Chemistry! In fact, I loved it so much I was able to read this in just one sitting.
While
this is mainly about their romance, it doesn't entirely dominate the
story. There are other important themes covered as well. However, the
truth is, the best parts about this book are the romance itself and the
two main characters. I love them! They were very realistic and
believable, and I was able to empathize with them as if they were my
own friends. It's one thing to read about characters, but it's another
when you are able to actually care about them.

Sure, there were
a few cliche lines here and there -- including the epilogue, even
though I still liked it haha. I also don't know if I would be able to
call this book "amazing" (define amazing anyway!?) but honestly? I
don't really care. It was still good. At the end of the day, I was
entertained. I cared about the characters and their story. Sometimes
that's all you really want in a book. So as not to make this review any
longer, I'm just going to say that I fell in love with Alex and
Brittany. Period. If you love YA, I highly recommend this one. 5 stars,
most definitely!