Book Review: Prefect Chemistry

Title: Perfect Chemistry

Author: Simone Elkeles

Genre: Young adult fiction, romance

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: December 23, 2008

Synopsis: 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. Read more...

Review: Ever since I read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, in April, I have been OBSESSED! Finally my craving from oooey-gooey romance consumed me to the point where I needed to read something else that would make my heart melt the same way that Anna and the French Kiss did. I thought Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles might just be it. It too had a cheesy title, and even worse cover design, a surprisingly high goodreads rating and tons of positive reviews. Unfortunately this novel was not it, and fell completely short of my expectations.

From the beginning of the novel I felt that this was not for me. I am not really sure what it was, but I didn’t really like the plot or the characters. It all felt really fake to me. Nevertheless I persevered, but continued to dislike the novel. I felt that neither Brittany nor Alex were stand out characters, and completely 2-dimentional. Yes, there was passion and romance, but compared to other teen romance novels that I have read (guilty pleasure!), I was not into Prefect Chemistry at all.

Two things that I did like about this novel were the gang elements and the alternating narration from Brittney to Alex. I thought that the gang elements were interesting and added a nice subplot to an otherwise bland and cliché story, while the alternating povs allowed the reader to see both sides of the story. These two elements of the novel though did not save it from being dull and painfully predictable in parts.

And, incase you’re wondering – I will not be picking up Rules of Attraction, the companion novel about Alex’s brother, anytime soon.

Warning: Extremely cheesy and clichéd. Read at your own risk!

What you might enjoy, instead: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Any Sarah Dessen novel or, if your interested in alternating view points between male/female characters: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist or Lily and Dash’s Book of Dares, both by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

My Rating: 2.0/5.0