En realidad son 2.5, pero esta bien que se vea con 3 estrellas

Not a fan of all the gang stuff, but the book is well written. I can see why it was nominated for a RITA.

Read in high school-twice and remember it being a fun read.

Perfect Chemistry I really, really liked this book. Brittany is the popular girl in high school. Captain of the Pom squad, perfect hair and expensive clothes. She dates the star of the football team. She has the perfect life. Except she really doesn't. What Brittany really has are parents who don't care, a handicapped sister that her parents want to send away, and a boyfriend who pressures her to have sex with him and has cheated on her. Alex is the boy from the wrong side of town. He is covered in tattoos, rides a motorcycle, and is a member of a gang. He has a bad attitude and is known as a guy you don't mess with. But underneath the tough exterior is a guy who watched his father get killed in gang violence when he was a child, yet joined the same gang because he feels its the only way to protect his family. He joins in the hopes that his brothers won't have to. Brittany and Alex are nothing alike, or so they think. Until they are forced to be chemistry partners. Then they find out they are more alike than they could ever imagine. This is more than just a love story. It's about learning about yourself and standing up for what you believe in. And breaking sown social barriers that should have never been built.
[spoiler]
One thing that really bugged me in the end is that I think they should have focused on a cure for Brittany's sister instead of a random illness. It was a great discovery, but could have been more personal.
[/spoiler]

I'm having a hard time understanding all of the favorable reviews. Mine will undoubtably get lost in the shuffle, but I found this book to be poorly written. The plot was predictable and the characters ridiculous. I cringed reading various bits of dialogue. Overall, I was disappointed given this book has such a positive rating.

Hidup memberi Brittany Ellis banyak kelebihan. Wajah cantik, uang melimpah dari orangtuanya, ketenaran di sekolah, kapten tim cheerleaders, punya pacar yang juga kapten tim olahraga disekolah mereka. Sementara hidup malah memberi Alejandro "Alex" Fuentes banyak kekurangan. Masa depan kelam, anggota gangster Latino Blood, hidup pas-pasan bahkan bisa dibilang miskin, imigran dari Meksiko, dan bakal didepak dari tahun terakhirnya disekolah jika ia berbuat sedikit saja keonaran disana.

Ya... begitulah hidup. Memberi banyak kelebihan di satu sisi, dan meletakkan kekurangan di sisi lain. Kelebihan dan kekurangan itu bagaikan dua sisi yang bertolak belakangan namun berada dalam satu koin bernama kehidupan pada setiap makhluk hidupnya. Tak terkecuali bagi Brittany dan Alex.

Alex menyimpan banyak kelebihan dibalik sosok badboy-nya. Pintar, bertanggung jawab atas keluarga yang hanya terdiri dari ibu dan dua adiknya. Sementara Brittany menyembunyikan cerita kelam tentang keluarganya dibalik sosok sempurnanya. Ayah yang tak peduli pada keluarga dan hanya menjadikan rumah sebagai rest area, ibu yang selalu kristis pada setiap hal dalam diri Brittany dan berpura-pura segalanya baik-baik saja, kakak yang penderita cerebral palsy, dan pacar yang selalu berusaha untuk berhubungan intim dengannya.

Kelas Kimia Ms. Peterson aliasa Ms. P menyatukan mereka. Well... Kimia itu tak melulu soal reaksi ion positif-negatif saja kan? Pasti ada reaksi-reaksi kimia lainnya kan?

Ide ceritanya sederhana. Bad boy jatuh cinta pada beauty queen. Ada kesenjangan besar diantara mereka. Termasuk masalah ekonomi. Tapi karena mengambil PoV dari kedua tokoh utama membuat buku ini terasa berbeda. Masing-masing tokoh punya pemikiran, tindakan dan gaya bicara yang khas. Dan itu juga yang membuat karakter keduanya lebih kuat. Kekuatan karakter Brittany tampak dari caranya memperlakukan kakaknya yang diceritakan secara detil sehingga tidak terkesan numpang lewat dan melalui tekad Alex agar keluarganya terlepas dari bahaya Latino Blood meski nyawanya menjadi taruhan.

Sayang, ending cerita terlalu cepat dan kurang mengigit. Konflik yang sejak awal cerita dibangun dengan baik rasanya tak rela diakhiri dengan cara "masa gitu doang sih?" Seandainya endingnya bisa dibuat lebih baik lagi.

Saat mulai membaca buku ini saya sebelumnya menonton film remaja yang mirip dengan cerita buku ini. Bad boy yang dipertemukan dengan smart girl di proyek sekolah mereka. Judulnya "Prom" yang dibintangi oleh Aimee Treegarden dan Thomas McDonell. Kemiripannya bisa dibilang hampir 100%. Sama-sama cewek berambut pirang. Sama-sama cowok Latin dengan motor kesayangan mereka. Sama-sama terjebak dalam satu proyek sekolah ditahun terakhir mereka.


Favorite qoutes dalam buku iniyang paling tepat untuk menggambarkan isi buku ini adalah

"We're actors in our lives, pretending to be who we want people think we are."


@ Halmahera
24031203

I tend to judge books by their covers, so I understand why my sister might have bought this; but I assure you that the cover art is the only redeeming quality about this book. I thought others would agree with me but after reading a handful of reviews claiming this book is a ‘must read,’ I realized some people in this world have no compunction in telling ridiculous falsehoods.
This book was full of badly written clichés and the ‘playful banter’ between the characters seemed forced and awkward. There was nothing original that stood out and to be honest I couldn’t get past some of the Spanish words/phrases the author used. Mamacita?! Seriously? I felt embarrassed for the character. It was like the author was trying too hard to connect the character to a stereotype. Dude, we get it. He’s the Mexican bad-boy from the wrong side of the tracks, who has a tough exterior but inside he’s all soft and gushy. And of course, there’s the girl with the rocking bod who seems to have a perfect life, but really it sucks to be her. How will these polar opposites ever reconcile their differences and fall in love? Will society allow them to be together? I don’t see how that can be because apparently it’s earth shattering for a rich white girl to be with a delinquent. [Insert Sarcasm]
I’ve never actually rated a book before, so am I supposed to use stars? Well, what’s the opposite of a star? Dark matter? A black hole? Well this book gets 2 black holes. Cheers!

Not my cup of tea.

This is an awesome peace of work. The Fuentes brothers are caliente. There story intrigues me, as I am a fellow Mexican seeing the struggle to survive in a world that is different and trying to stay away from gangs. Racial and economical barriers become obstacles, but love is the only thing that can blur the lines. Elkeles provides a mixture of humor, love, and life. A great read.

I LOVED this book! So incredibly well written and very relevant to the things young people are dealing with. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.