Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Published: December 23rd, 2008
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 357 (Paperback)
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.
I will admit that I went into this assuming I’d hate it. Doesn’t that summary sound exactly like every other star-crossed lover book/movie you’ve ever heard of? It kind of sounded like Crazy/Beautiful, but reversed.
I dove in anyway.
I ended up loving how Elkeles toyed with the concept of stereotypes in this, pitting the blonde cheerleader against the Mexican bad-boy. Some of the characters in Perfect Chemistry embodied their stereotypes, while simultaneously struggling against them.
From the title of the book, the blurb on the back, and the picture on the cover, you can pretty much guess where the book is going before you even start reading it. But it’s all in the details, my friends.
By the end, I was so invested in these two, I was in tears. In tears! And this from someone who was sure she wouldn’t be able to get through it. It sounds like such a stereotypical (ha!) YA romance on the surface (ha!), but when you give it a chance, it surprises you.
Well played, Elkeles, well played.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Add it to your Goodreads HERE.
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