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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
This book was so good. It had action and romance and sadness and happiness. I rrly liked how there were different points of view.
Latino gang-banger + high society chick with secrets = better read than I expected.
Okay, I must say that the Perfect Chemistry series is my favorite series ever! Everything plays out nice and slow like how it should be. I really like how the main characters start out hating each other in the beginning but then end up growing to love each other. The really emotional part was when Paco had died and when Alex said those horrible things to Brittney. But, in the end, love prevails. Very cute and wonderful. I'm probably going to read for the twentieth time.
A lot of stereotypes in this book, but I can see why it is so appealing to some teens. I wanted to read brush up on a few more contemporary YA romance books.
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5***
****This story does include gang behavior, anxiety, cerebral palsy and sexual situations.
This was a good contemporary romance that had some unique plot points. While it isn’t the best novel ever written I did enjoy reading it.
**I will make a note that the description of Brittany’s mother’s anxiety was in my opinion not done well. Having anxiety does not make a woman a mean and vindictive mother. I don’t have a problem with the character just that anxiety is used as evidence to how bad if a parent she is.
****This story does include gang behavior, anxiety, cerebral palsy and sexual situations.
This was a good contemporary romance that had some unique plot points. While it isn’t the best novel ever written I did enjoy reading it.
**I will make a note that the description of Brittany’s mother’s anxiety was in my opinion not done well. Having anxiety does not make a woman a mean and vindictive mother. I don’t have a problem with the character just that anxiety is used as evidence to how bad if a parent she is.
Why have I not read anything by Simone Elkeles before? I happened to stumble across an audiobook of Perfect Chemistry on my shelves in the Teen Section of the library where I work. It sounded interesting and I saw on Goodreads that it had received stellar reviews. Always a sucker for a good romance I dove in and couldn't get enough. I couldn't wait to get in my car every day to hear more from Alex and Brittany (BTW, excellent audio on this one - the narrators are great and really capture the essence of Alex and Brittany . . . right down to Alex's dreamy Latino accent).
This story is the perfect boy and girl from opposite sides of the tracks fall in love and have to overcome all of the obstacles that go along with it book. I think what I love most about this book is the way Elkeles flip-flops between characters so we really get into each of the main character's heads. Many times, the romance narration comes from the female's perspective but here I was able to see how Alex perceived the situation - big tough guy on the outside but swooning for the unattainable girl on the inside. I really cared about the characters and felt they were "real" unlike a lot of the fluffy stuff I have read lately with one dimensional characters. I loved Alex's complexity and Brittany's as well and think this book makes for good discussion about judging people from outside appearances without considering what might be going on on the inside.
Elkeles is a fabulous author and I felt like she was letting us take a peek in to Brittany and Alex's world. Reader beware, there are some steamy scenes in this book . . . probably best for ages 15 and up or so.
Loved it and couldn't wait to get my hands on the second installment!
This story is the perfect boy and girl from opposite sides of the tracks fall in love and have to overcome all of the obstacles that go along with it book. I think what I love most about this book is the way Elkeles flip-flops between characters so we really get into each of the main character's heads. Many times, the romance narration comes from the female's perspective but here I was able to see how Alex perceived the situation - big tough guy on the outside but swooning for the unattainable girl on the inside. I really cared about the characters and felt they were "real" unlike a lot of the fluffy stuff I have read lately with one dimensional characters. I loved Alex's complexity and Brittany's as well and think this book makes for good discussion about judging people from outside appearances without considering what might be going on on the inside.
Elkeles is a fabulous author and I felt like she was letting us take a peek in to Brittany and Alex's world. Reader beware, there are some steamy scenes in this book . . . probably best for ages 15 and up or so.
Loved it and couldn't wait to get my hands on the second installment!
Where to begin...
It's not often that I read or watch a film starring a Mexican main character, and it's even more rare for it to be a love story (at least in mainstream American pop culture). Needless to say I was excited after reading the premise and seeing the 4-star average review.
Boy, what a let down.
Meet Alex Fuentes. High school senior, auto body mechanic, and part of the local gang known as the Latino Blood. His bad boy 'tough' exterior is emphasized by his multiple arm tattoos and fit physique (his abs are described on the regular as 'washboard abs'). Alex is as much of a stereotype as you can get: his father was killed in a drug deal, his family crossed over from Mexico, he smokes/drinks regularly, and has had plenty of sex.
Then there's Brittany Ellis. Brittany is not far from the 'rich white girl' stereotype. Blond hair, blue eyes, and a "hot bod". The novel really emphasizes that although her life is seemingly perfect, it's anything but. Her mother is a perfectionist who cares more about what the neighbors will say than her own daughter's feelings and her father is a workaholic who appears for no more than 5 pages. The Ellis family has a 'dirty little secret' in the form of Brittany's older sister, Shelley, who has cerebral palsy and is rarely taken outside the house.
I don't dislike the fact that Alex is a middle-class gangbanger or that Brittany is a rich popular cheerleader. What I dislike (and was so disappointed by) is how one-dimensional these characters are. While there's growth in them, they literally go from "I'm in a gang" to "I'm quitting the gang" and with Brittany it's "I need to keep up an image" to "I don't care what anyone thinks, f-you mom". I stared at the pages thinking, where's the progression?? When did they decide to change??
What honestly had me on the verge of tossing the book across the room every five minutes was the HORRIBLE SPANISH. People who speak Spanish and English do.not.talk.like this. We don't choose random words to say in Spanish in the middle of our sentences and we do not immediately translate those words!
Some highlights:
It really frustrates me because it's clear that there wasn't someone who spoke fluent Spanish working on this book. The grammar is sometimes incredible cringeworthy and there's even a couple of misspellings sprinkled in the book (seriously??). And I thought it was really strange that Brittany only asked once for something to be translated, did she just use context clues all the other times?
Also, can books and media please stop describing Latinos as spicy and fiery? We're not food! (Though there is a scene where Brittany has chilaquiles and sticks her tongue in a cup of cold water and I was like...yo...chilaquiles are not meant to be that spicy.)
I honestly don't think Brittany and Alex were really in love, sure they found someone that could see past their public image, but it didn't feel like they ever really knew each other. Here's a great moment:
I could talk for hours about the numerous ways this book let me down and quite honestly, offended me in more ways than one. Oh and in the epilogue Brittany and Alex develop a medication to halt the progression of Alzheimers.
Someone let me saber if the Perfect Chemistry series gets mejor, because I don't see myself coming near a Simone Elkeles novel anytime soon. Know what I'm sayin', amigo? Me entiendes?
It's not often that I read or watch a film starring a Mexican main character, and it's even more rare for it to be a love story (at least in mainstream American pop culture). Needless to say I was excited after reading the premise and seeing the 4-star average review.
Boy, what a let down.
Meet Alex Fuentes. High school senior, auto body mechanic, and part of the local gang known as the Latino Blood. His bad boy 'tough' exterior is emphasized by his multiple arm tattoos and fit physique (his abs are described on the regular as 'washboard abs'). Alex is as much of a stereotype as you can get: his father was killed in a drug deal, his family crossed over from Mexico, he smokes/drinks regularly, and has had plenty of sex.
Then there's Brittany Ellis. Brittany is not far from the 'rich white girl' stereotype. Blond hair, blue eyes, and a "hot bod". The novel really emphasizes that although her life is seemingly perfect, it's anything but. Her mother is a perfectionist who cares more about what the neighbors will say than her own daughter's feelings and her father is a workaholic who appears for no more than 5 pages. The Ellis family has a 'dirty little secret' in the form of Brittany's older sister, Shelley, who has cerebral palsy and is rarely taken outside the house.
I don't dislike the fact that Alex is a middle-class gangbanger or that Brittany is a rich popular cheerleader. What I dislike (and was so disappointed by) is how one-dimensional these characters are. While there's growth in them, they literally go from "I'm in a gang" to "I'm quitting the gang" and with Brittany it's "I need to keep up an image" to "I don't care what anyone thinks, f-you mom". I stared at the pages thinking, where's the progression?? When did they decide to change??
What honestly had me on the verge of tossing the book across the room every five minutes was the HORRIBLE SPANISH. People who speak Spanish and English do.not.talk.like this. We don't choose random words to say in Spanish in the middle of our sentences and we do not immediately translate those words!
Some highlights:
"Si, everything's bien." (33)
"She might be a mamacita, but she ain't got nothing on this hombre." (51)
"'Brittany Ellis is out of your league amigo. You might be a pretty boy, but you're one hundred percent Mexicano and she's as white as Wonder Bread.' A junior named Leticia Gonzales walks by us. [...] Paco nudges me. 'Now she's a bonita Mexicana and definitely in your league.'" (54)
"I'm in trouble. Tengo un problema grande." (120)
It really frustrates me because it's clear that there wasn't someone who spoke fluent Spanish working on this book. The grammar is sometimes incredible cringeworthy and there's even a couple of misspellings sprinkled in the book (seriously??). And I thought it was really strange that Brittany only asked once for something to be translated, did she just use context clues all the other times?
Also, can books and media please stop describing Latinos as spicy and fiery? We're not food! (Though there is a scene where Brittany has chilaquiles and sticks her tongue in a cup of cold water and I was like...yo...chilaquiles are not meant to be that spicy.)
I honestly don't think Brittany and Alex were really in love, sure they found someone that could see past their public image, but it didn't feel like they ever really knew each other. Here's a great moment:
Brittany rests her chin on my chest. "You're going to quit the Blood now, right?"
My body stiffens, "No," I say, my voice filed with torment. Hell, why'd she go and ask me that?
"Everything's different now, Alex. We made love." (315)
I could talk for hours about the numerous ways this book let me down and quite honestly, offended me in more ways than one. Oh and in the epilogue Brittany and Alex develop a medication to halt the progression of Alzheimers.
Someone let me saber if the Perfect Chemistry series gets mejor, because I don't see myself coming near a Simone Elkeles novel anytime soon. Know what I'm sayin', amigo? Me entiendes?
This is the first book I read of this author or of this nature for that matter. The approach towards the social problems portrayed on the book was awesome. I found myself drawn towards the story like I was there with them and I simply couldn't put the book down. The ending made me smile and my eyes water. Hands down one of the best books I've ever read.