Review: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Title: Perfect Chemistry

Author: Simone Elkeles

Number of Pages: 357

Rating:  4/5

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A modern tale of star-crossed lovers with a fresh urban twist. 

At Fairfield High School, on the outskirts of Chicago , everyone knows that south-siders mixing with north-siders can be explosive.  So when Brittany Ellis and Alejandro “Alex” Fuentes are forced to be lab partners in chemistry class, this human experiment leads to unexpected revelations – that Brittany ’s flawless reputation is a cover for her troubled home life, that Alex’s bad-boy persona  hides his desire to break free from gang ties, and that when they’re together, life somehow makes more sense.  Breaking through the stereotypes and expectations that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart, Perfect Chemistry takes readers to both sides of the tracks in a passionate love story about looking beneath the surface.

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Brittany Ellis is blond, blue-eyed, rich and a cheerleader. Alex Fuentes is hot, poor, Mexican and a gang member. However, as opposite as all that is, the one thing that separates them from each other the most is that Brittany is from the north side of town and Alex is from the south. In Fairfield that's all that matters. So what happens when they get paired up in chemistry class...well, they discover that they have chemistry. 

Not everyone is happy with their new found friendship, especially Brittany's boyfriend, Colin and Alex's ex-girlfriend Carmen.

As Brittany's home life starts to go from bad to worse as she's faced with the possibility of saying goodbye to her sister, she starts to lean on Alex more and more. 

And Alex, busy trying to keep his brothers off the streets, only seems to keep digging himself deeper into the gang life. 

Then finally Alex has to make a choice. The gang who has fed and protected his family these past years or the girl of his dreams.

I really thought this was a great book. The characters and the plot were believable and easily relatable. You don't have to know the ins and outs of gang life, or grow up in a segregated town to relate to this book, and I think that's what makes it so great. 

The dual narrative adds a great perspective to the story, and the smexy moments make the story more interesting. I guarantee you, you will like (if not love) this book.

-L