Book Review: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Title: Perfect Chemistry 

Author: Simone Elkeles
Series: Perfect Chemistry, #1
Pages: 368
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Books
Date of Publication: 29th April 2010
Source: RAK from Lesley at My Keeper Shelf
Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.

My Thoughts:
I've had this book for a long time. I've been wanting to read it for a while now, and when I got it I was so excited to read it, but I had a couple of review books that I needed to read first, and after I read those, I never got around to reading Perfect Chemistry. And now, I regret leaving it so late. I WISH that I'd read it earlier, because it was AMAZING. Seriously, it was one of my favourite books I've read this year, and it's definitely one of my favourite YA contemporary reads of all time.

The idea of the book was very simple, and after reading a couple of books that had very complex plots and characters, it was nice to read something that I could sit back and relax with. Boy meets girl, they're completely different but they can't help but be drawn together. But, for some reason, they can't be together. This plot has the potential to be incredibly boring, but Elkeles writing made it very readable and extremely addictive. I sat down and started reading, just trying to get a feel for the book and see if it was what I wanted to read at that moment, but before long, I'd already read 50 pages and I had no intention of stopping any time soon. This was one of those books that you just can't stop reading.

I really enjoyed the setting of the book. It felt like a real high school, and the relationships and rivalries between characters were very believable. While I was reading, I felt like I could walk into an American high school, and the things that happened in Perfect Chemistry could be happening in the corridors, it was great. And maybe this is because I've never been to a real American high school, but still ;)

The characters were awesome too. I loved Brittany, and Alex, for that matter. They were all great. I loved how one of the main focuses of the book was that both Alex and Brittany were pretending to be someone that they weren't, and that the image they show their friends, and their schoolmates is completely different to the person that they actually are. I felt like I really understood Brittany - I understood her need to hide her sister, Shelley, because she has to be the school's It girl. While pretending to have the perfect life is not exactly what I would think to do in her situation, I understood why she did it and because of this I really related to her. And when she started to feel something for Alex, again, I believed in her, and I believed that what she was feeling could have actually been real because of the difficulties of deciding what to do that was best for her, and I could really imagine a real teenager going through those kind of decisions.

And Alex... Well, I think I might love him. He was amazing. Like, St Clair or Cricket amazing... At the beginning of the book I thought he was going to be a jerky and arrogant guy, who for some reason Brittany feel in love with, but it turned out that behind his carefully built up image of a rough gang member, he was actually a really nice, really sweet, and really funny guy. When Brittany introduces him to her sister, Shelley, and he doesn't judge her for being twenty and still needing her underwear changed, I swooned SO much. It was adorable, and suddenly I was rooting for Alex to get together with Brittany because no other guy was good enough.

Overall, I absolutely LOVED Perfect Chemistry. It was fun, adorable, and super readable, and I was addicted. While I was reading I didn't want to stop, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about the characters and what was going to happen next. I can't wait to get my hands on the next two books - they will definitely be in my basket on amazon very soon! I would DEFINITELY recommend this to all YA contemporary fans, or anyone looking for something awesome. It's a must read, so don't make the mistake of waiting to read it!

*My one complaint. The cover! It's awful - my brother teased me about it the whole time I was reading it... And the models aren't even good looking! ;)

My Rating:

I give it 5 Feet!

Challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge #93