Review - Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Title: Chain Reaction
Perfect Chemistry #3
Author: Simone Elkeles
Publisher: Walker Books
Publish Date: Aug 16, 2011
Hardcover, 308 pages

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I stopped reading this book and picked up another book, then ho hummed my way back to the book only to realize I had already downed three quarters of the book. Oops! This book was the last installment in the series and apparently I liked it way more than I realized.

By now, I have come to really enjoy the lightness. I like that they cover racial issues and love being difficult enough to require work. It is nice to have such different stories and yet a feeling of familiarity. The characters have this quality where I don't want to like them, but they grow to become people I find fun and attractive. In the end, I am rooting for them to have a great budding relationship.

Check out my other reviews of Simone Elkeles books -
Leaving Paradise

Summary -
Luis Fuentes has always been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers’ lives. But that didn’t stop him from taking risks—whether he’s scaling a mountain in the Rockies or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis can’t stop looking for the next thrill.

Nikki Cruz lives her life by three rules—boys lie to get their way, don’t trust a boy who says “I love you,” and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Her parents may be from Mexico, but as a doctor’s daughter, she has more in common with her north-side neighbors than the Latino Blood at her school. Then she meets Luis at Alex’s wedding, and suddenly, she’s tempted to break all her rules.

Getting Nikki to take a chance on a southsider is Luis’s biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by Chuy Soto, the new head of the Latino Blood. When Chuy reveals a disturbing secret about Luis’s family, the youngest Fuentes finds himself questioning everything he’s ever believed to be true. Will his feelings for Nikki be enough to stop Luis from entering a dark and violent world and permanently living on the edge?