Review | Perfect Chemistry

Title: Perfect Chemistry
Author: Simone Elkeles
Publisher: Walker Books
Pages: 360
Rating 5/5

"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."

Perfect Chemistry is a heartfelt, amazing novel that took my breath away from the first page. It's more than a star-crossed love story. It goes deeper than that and it's portrayed well in this novel.

Both Alex and Brittany's connection and chemistry felt so real. There was no Boom-I'm-In-Love-With-Him moment, it grew over time and flourished. Just as the characters did. Each of the characters, even the secondary ones, were well developed and rounded. Brittany wasn't just your snotty, rich kid. Alex wasn't just your typical gang member. Shelley wasn't just the older sister with cystic fibrosis. Each character had many layers underneath their exterior and I loved that. The alternating chapters between Alex and Brittany was perfect as well. It gave you views into what was going on in each of their lives, what they thought about each other. It was amazing.

I was blown away with everything about this novel. I found myself laughing with the funny parts, swooning with the A & B interaction, and wincing with every thing gang related. Heck, I even teared up a couple times. And the ending, oh the ending, was perfect in every single way possible! This is definitely one of my most loved books now. It's that good, people. Meaning you should go read this NOW. Now, I tell you.

Updatez... well, sort of.

"Summer is where the girls go barefoot,

and their hearts are just as free as their toes."
--

It's summer, and you can blame that little tidbit for the lack of me posting. And reading books nonetheless. My mind has been on everything but reading and my blog! Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Music, boys, shopping, staying outside all day, swimming, all that jazz.

The last week, or beginning of July, me, my aunt, sister, and my niece (who, let me remind you, is four. she's team edward, btw. yes, my niece is the most awesomest toddler EVAH.) are going to see Eclipse.

From there, a week later, my whole family is taking a trip to King's Island. That's just an amusement park a way up from where I live. Then we're coming back and hopping on a plane and heading over to San Diego for however long!

Busy, busy, busy, eh? You're telling me! The next post will be announcing the winner of the contest that's on my blog. Look out for that ;) But I will be posting posts when I have time.

So I'll be back sooner or later when things calm down and I can pick reading back up. Wait for me my dear followers? :)

Review - Keep Sweet by Michele Dominquez Greene

Title: Keep Sweet
Author: Michele Dominquez Greene
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 215
Rating: 5/5

"Alva Jane has never questioned her parents, never questioned her faith, never questioned her future. She is content with the strict rules that define her life in Pineridge, the walled community where she lives with her father, his seven wives, and her twenty-eight siblings. This is the only world Alva has ever known, and she has never thought to challenge it.

But everything changes when Alva is caught giving her long-time crush an innocent first kiss. Beaten, scorned, and now facing a forced marriage to a violent, fifty-year old man, Alva suddenly realizes how much she has to lose--and how impossible it will be to escape."

Keep Sweet is one of those books that leave your jaw dropped and your mind racing about the reality that there really are places like that of the book. Where girls as young as eleven have to be married off to men twenty to thirty years older than they are. Where choice isn't an option. I was enticed reading this novel. Everything about it brought realization and horror of what Alva had to go through. It was a roller-coaster of emotions. From the very beginning, her voice brought me into the polygamy lifestyle and never lost its grip. Throughout the first part of the novel, Alva is perfectly fine and keeps sweet. She thinks it's normal. But as the novel progresses, she starts seeing everything in a new light. One that shows how bad she was really living life. You could say Alva grew and flourished as a character and I found myself proud of her as she did. She was one of those characters that just lifted off the pages. The author's writing really opened my eyes up with these polygamy lifestyles and created what Alva saw in my own head. I found the entire story eye opening and compelling to the last page. The ending didn't leave me satisfied and had some untied strings. That's the only complaint I have with the novel. Overall, there are some aspects of this novel that are intense, so I wouldn't recommend it for kids under thirteen. But everyone over that, definitely try to read it!

Favorite line: "I learned that sometimes you feel more lonesome when you're surrounded by people than when you're all alone."