Brittany has spent her life perfecting her image -- perfect
clothes, perfect family, and it's all a perfect lie. She's
not the shallow teenager she portrays at school. Brittany
spends her evenings and weekends protecting her disabled
sister, Shelley, from her own parents, who aren't
interested in taking care of the girl and want to place her
in a care home. So Brit tries to take care of Shelley and
make sure everything runs smoothly, so they don't send her
sister away.
Alex has the opposite image problem as Brittany. He's the
punk bad-boy who is expected to deal drugs in the back
halls of the high school and end up dead or in jail. But
few people know that Alex joined the gang he's in so that
his brother didn't have to -- so that his brother could
follow his dreams.
When Alex and Brittany collide, two worlds that normally
don't meet begin to intertwine. Alex learns that Brittany's
life isn't nearly as perfect as it appears, and Brittany
learns there's more than a tough attitude hiding behind
Alex's hot bod.
What is it about the bad guy and the good/perfect girl
story? There's something compelling about it and maybe it's
what we all hope inside can be true -- that someday people
will be judged by who they are and not slotted into roles
and lives they don't want.
PERFECT CHEMISTRY is a nice romance -- very unrealistic --
but nice. Although Alex's world is clearly bad, I do think
it's portrayed as "romantically" bad in a way that doesn't
exist in a real-world scenario. Still, Ms. Elkeles' writing
flows and you'll enjoy the sweetness of the romance between
Brittany and Alex.
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.