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A review by jenniepat0604
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
5.0
So, Kelsey from Reading or Breathing insisted I read two books. One was The DUFF, the other was Perfect Chemistry. And after I read and LOVED The DUFF, she basically yelled at me through Twitter to read Perfect Chemistry.
Upon reading the first few pages, I’ll admit I started out thinking “Oh, rich white girl with horrible home life and poor gangbanger Mexican boy. This will be original. *eyeroll* ” By the end of the one day it took me to read, I was more along the lines “OMG. IF I DON’T GET THE NEXT BOOK NOW, I WILL STAB SOMEONE IN THE THROAT WITH A SPOON.”
Nice transition, huh? It’s really difficult to say what or when these characters were pushed from stereotypical set ups to something 3D and real, but all I know is that by the end I was totally cheering them on. (I’ll go ahead and just say that the Epilogue was REALLY diabetic-ly sweet and a bit contrived, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t smile like a complete moron from it.)
If I ever had to note a book for its characters arcs, this would be one. You watch Alex and Brittany grow and transform naturally without any overt, beating over the head of the larger themes presented. (Sorry, English major slipped out there.)
I think what I loved most about it was the passing back and forth of the POVs. Elkeles did it so beautifully that you never missed one delicious moment of what one character perceived from the other’s action. And in dual POV stories, I usually favor one character over the other, but I have got to say that I really liked both Alex and Brittany equalling and it was never a matter of “Oh, god, not THIS character again”. Brittany is tough, resilient and snarky while Alex is one sexy hombre. There really is something about this story that I cannot stop thinking about and I read it over a week ago now.
I don’t know what’s not to love about this book. If West Side Story is the new Romeo and Juliet, this is the new West Side Story. Though it has its Grease moments, too. And perfectly set in racially-charged Chicago. Ah! Perfect! Thus the title, right?
Upon reading the first few pages, I’ll admit I started out thinking “Oh, rich white girl with horrible home life and poor gangbanger Mexican boy. This will be original. *eyeroll* ” By the end of the one day it took me to read, I was more along the lines “OMG. IF I DON’T GET THE NEXT BOOK NOW, I WILL STAB SOMEONE IN THE THROAT WITH A SPOON.”
Nice transition, huh? It’s really difficult to say what or when these characters were pushed from stereotypical set ups to something 3D and real, but all I know is that by the end I was totally cheering them on. (I’ll go ahead and just say that the Epilogue was REALLY diabetic-ly sweet and a bit contrived, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t smile like a complete moron from it.)
If I ever had to note a book for its characters arcs, this would be one. You watch Alex and Brittany grow and transform naturally without any overt, beating over the head of the larger themes presented. (Sorry, English major slipped out there.)
I think what I loved most about it was the passing back and forth of the POVs. Elkeles did it so beautifully that you never missed one delicious moment of what one character perceived from the other’s action. And in dual POV stories, I usually favor one character over the other, but I have got to say that I really liked both Alex and Brittany equalling and it was never a matter of “Oh, god, not THIS character again”. Brittany is tough, resilient and snarky while Alex is one sexy hombre. There really is something about this story that I cannot stop thinking about and I read it over a week ago now.
I don’t know what’s not to love about this book. If West Side Story is the new Romeo and Juliet, this is the new West Side Story. Though it has its Grease moments, too. And perfectly set in racially-charged Chicago. Ah! Perfect! Thus the title, right?