Review: Perfect Chemistry ( Perfect Chemistry #1) By: Simone Elkeles

Title: Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry #1)

Author: Simone Elkeles

Published: December 23rd, 2008

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars!

Goodreads Summary:

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

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:

Simone Elkeles created a great contemporary read full of romance and tough choices, two characters from opposite worlds, destined to not be together, and it also gave me a vibe of Westside Story, a Latino guy from a gang falling in love with a girl who he isn't supposed to be with. Although this book was full of real and emotional issues, it still gave me the warm fuzzies inside when I finished it.

Brittany is your normal sixteen year old girl, she wants to please her parents more than anything, she is rich and popular, the captain of the school's dance team and one half of the golden couple of her high school. But, all that Brittany seems to be in public is not how her life really is in private. Her mother is obsessed with her having the perfect image. Her older sister is handicapped and because of this Brittany feels like her mother pushes her more then she would if her sister wasn't the way she was. Alex is a bad boy, part of the Latino Bloods, and although on the outside he might just seem like a gang banger, it's not who he wants to be. He wishes for more for his life and his family. Brittany and Alex never see their love story coming but, it changes both of their lives forever.

Brittany's character was someone I was really surprised that I related to right away. When you see the image that she portrays at school and to her friends, you think she's perfect and she doesn't have a care in the world, but when you get to see what her home and private life are like you can't help but feel for the girl. Her parents want to send her sister to a home and Brittany is completely against it. She already has plans to go to a college close to home, so she can live there and help take care of her sister. It was obvious that her parents didn't want to take care of her sister and how frustrated they were. Her mom wanted to portray their family as perfect, Brittany felt like she had to live up to her mom's expectations and more because she knew that her sister couldn't. 

Alex was one of the most memorable characters as far as a love interest goes. The book has a multiple perspectives of Alex and Brittany with each chapter switching  between the two of them.  Alex wants to be more then what he is. He joined the gang to protect his family, he didn't have a choice it's what he had to do as man of the house. He is smart and he wants to go to college and to have a life more than just being a part of a gang but, he feels trapped with what he needs to do to protect his family and what he wants to do.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it's always nice to read a real and raw book, that still gives you a happy ending. The series continues with Alex's brother's and their love stories. If you enjoy a raw and real contemporary full of romance, then you will definitely enjoy this one!