Title: Perfect ChemistryPerfect Chemistry #1
Author: Simone Elkeles
Publisher: Walker Books
Publish Date: December 23, 2008
Paperback 360 pages
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The first book in any series is always the best simly because of the freshness and awe of the new ideas and plot. This is definitely the case in Simone Elkeles Perfect Chemistry series.
Two defining personalities end up shoved together in school and though all things point to "never gonna happen," Brittany and Carlos learn very quickly being from the opposite side of town doesn't mean there can't be attraction. Brittany is a good, hard working student. She is working on being perfect. A good boyfriend, a kind person and trying to hide secrets from her own personal life. Partnered with Alex, a gang member, Mexicano who is tough and doesn't minx words, she is struggling to stay out of trouble. Just being his science partner is getting her in trouble with the local Mexicana girls at school. Alex then agrees to a bet with his friends that will not only endanger Brittany more, but might show Alex a side of himself he has never seen before.
I loved this romantic story. It is a bit like a fresh take on Romeo and Juliet, though the ending may (or may not) be different. I will not tell. It is wonderfully woven of two opposites that desperately want to just be who they are, but society and culture won't allow it. In order to protect what they want, they must do what they need. Coming from a Hispanic background, I just loved this book. It was what real life looked like to me when I was growing up. No matter what, no matter who, maybe, just maybe good will prevail all else.
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.
