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Perfect Chemistry
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Perfect Chemistry
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Perfect Chemistry
Ebook409 pages5 hours

Perfect Chemistry

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this ebook

Opposites attract when a good girl with a “perfect” life meets a bad boy with nothing to lose in this New York Times bestselling steamy romance.

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.

Neither Brittany nor Alex is prepared for the most surprising chemical reaction of all--love.

Don't miss any of these other books from New York Times bestselling author Simone Elkeles:

The Perfect Chemistry Trilogy
Perfect Chemistry
Rules of Attraction
Chain Reaction

Better Than Perfect
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 21, 2010
ISBN9780802720993
Unavailable
Perfect Chemistry
Author

Simone Elkeles

Simone Elkeles is the author of Leaving Paradise and four other Flux novels, including How to Ruin Your Summer Vacation and How to Ruin Your Boyfriend’s Repuation. She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling Rules of Attraction (Walker). A popular speaker at libraries around the country, when the author is not writing she TiVos reality television and watches teen movies. She lives near Chicago with her family and two dogs.

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Reviews for Perfect Chemistry

Rating: 4.084685720081136 out of 5 stars
4/5

986 ratings113 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I saw trailer for this book a while back, thought it was a funny and unique way to promote a book. I've finally read it and now wondering why it took so long. I was pleasantly surprised at how real the characters came across. On the inside Brittany wasn't the person she portrays to others. And the same goes for Alex, he creates a persona of fear to everyone but isn't as scary as he makes everyone thinks he is. The dialogue was believable, the gang vernacular was or at least seemed on point. You can see how the dynamics between the cultures was so different but similar at the same time. Alex and Brittany's worlds were so far apart but yet they have the same fears and hopes. They put this image out there for others to see but when they were forced to be lab partners the hold on their public persona starts to fall apart. I really enjoyed their story, the gang stuff was so real and well written. I did have to do some translations but I didn't mind. I wanted to be in on what's really being said and feel the speakers feelings. I was so drawn in to the story I really felt like Elkeles knew her stuff and was well prepared to write about gang life. Was a real pleasure to read, I read it straight through.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Latino boy. White girl. One from a wrong side of the city. One rich and living "perfect" life. One good chemistry teacher. Lab-partners. Love for life.

    A very good YA book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I feel in love with these series the moment I read the first page!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Best. Book. Ever.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love this book! It shows how discrimination and sterotypes aren't always based in fact. And it gives you a pretty convincing reason to not judge a book my its cover. Add that to a fantastic romance, and you get an amazing book! Also, I would recommend this to some teachers because it most likely will hold the attention of the students and it can possibly teach life lessons about discrimination and sterotypes. Also, I think the author did an amazing job on showing two points of view and bringing them together. Something some good writers can use to help them be better. Overall, I think this is a wonderful, intriguing book for just about anyone. And who doesn't love happy endings?!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Okay, so when I bought this book I wasn't expecting originality, so I wasn't surprised by all the cliches, but what I was hoping for was a great read, and I got just that. We're introduced to Alex and Brittany, who are from different worlds but have so much in common and such a great attraction towards each other that you can't help but root for them to get together.I loved the book. It was addictive. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series. Elkeles really does know how to grab the readers attention and keep them glued. So glad I picked the book up.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Of all the books I've read recently (YA books), this one was a very good one.

    The Bad: There were a ton of cliches throughout and at times some of the writing was unrealistic. There were a few parts that made me pause and roll my eyes. The snippets of Spanish throughout the book felt a bit out of place at times and while I knew what was being said, it would throw me out of the sentence and the scene so I can only imagine what kind of havoc it wreaked on a non-spanish speaker. Maybe if the author had included a translation somewhere in the book, that may have helped a bit because in some cases (as in with the use of the word Querida once Alex begins addressing Brittany as such) the Spanish could have enhanced a scene for the reader. It did for me anyway but I may just be nitpicking.

    The Good: The glimpses we got of Alex's family and friends felt pretty authentic (I am part Mexican). Even if the Spanish was sometimes out of place, I actually felt the Mexican culture in the words (I kept reading the words and hearing them come out of my father's mouth). The entire relationship between Alex and Brittany was what kept me interested and reading along. The end felt a bit rushed (all the books I've been reading lately feel like the endings are rushed) but the pacing throughout was fine and kept me reading.

    Overall: I think if you're in the mood for a YA book but something with more substance and a bit darker than your typical fluffy YA romances, give this one a try. I picked it up because I was always seeing it all over Shelfari and Goodreads, and I'm glad I did. I'll want to read the following books in this series plus anything else this author comes out with just because of this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read this book in one sitting and it was amazing. Brittany is a pretty awesome heroine, though she did have her silly moments telling Alex to apologize to the artist...really?. As someone who has worked with the physically and/or mentally disabled, I loved her care and adoration of her older sister. I loved Shelly and I like how the family problems attempted to work themselves out toward the end.

    Did I mention that I loved this book? ;-)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    So, I started out with the second book to this trilogy, Rules of Attraction, and after finishing that book I was so excited to read Perfect Chemistry (first book) and Chain Reaction (third book.) Elkeles writing style is very unique. In this trilogy, she uses the two main characters of the book to narrate-- which I think is very exciting because in this way, readers are able to "be in the minds" of both characters. The trilogy revolves around three brothers Alex, Carlos, and Luis who all have different personalities but share similar stories of finding true love and escaping the dangers of being involved in a notorious gang. Perfect Chemistry starts off the trilogy by telling the story of Alex, the oldest brother. The book (well really, the whole entire serious) captures all of the emotions and WARNING: you may have a hard time setting the book down once you get into it! I finished this book in one night! If you enjoy romance and adventure and want to escape reality for just a bit, definitely check out this entire trilogy!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I definitely understand the appeal of this book- a romance with a bad boy where he reforms his ways, and there is a definite happy ending. I, however, really disliked it. The relationship depicted is extremely unhealthy, the dialog is rather dated, and the epilogue was just about the corniest, most unrealistic thing ever.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this about 2 years ago and didn't finish. Perhaps I wasn't in the right headspace, I don't know why...but it certainly hooked me this time around.Having far different (read: white, middle class, suburbian) high school experiences to draw on, I was fascinated with the culture and ethnic contrasts depicted in the story compared to my own life perspective. I can't agree or disagree over realistic or accurate culture differences, but I enjoyed seeing things from another point of view. I'll spare you the summary, since you can read that anywhere - instead Ill share what tickled my grey matter the most.I did feel the strong Romeo and Juliet elements. Rich, white, privileged, beautiful cheer squad captain meets intimidating, emotional baggage-carrying, Mexican gang member. They fight to overcome their differences and, in turn, see their commonalities. This could have easily come off as cliched however, the story never felt forced or unbelievable.I also caught the struggle from both "sides of the tracks", of stereotypes and the expectations of conformity regardless of birth, education, money or social status. Breaking out of those expectations and stereotypes are a struggle, especially for teens with wide open futures and fragile dreams. What if a different life road was opened to us, one we dare not hope for, let alone aspire to achieve? Good things to ponder.I am glad I gave this one a second go - inspired to try again after reading Simone Elkeles, "Wild Cards" which is now a favorite.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I loved it until the end, but I didn't think the writing was as good as the beginning of the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I saw trailer for this book a while back, thought it was a funny and unique way to promote a book. I've finally read it and now wondering why it took so long. I was pleasantly surprised at how real the characters came across. On the inside Brittany wasn't the person she portrays to others. And the same goes for Alex, he creates a persona of fear to everyone but isn't as scary as he makes everyone thinks he is. The dialogue was believable, the gang vernacular was or at least seemed on point. You can see how the dynamics between the cultures was so different but similar at the same time. Alex and Brittany's worlds were so far apart but yet they have the same fears and hopes. They put this image out there for others to see but when they were forced to be lab partners the hold on their public persona starts to fall apart. I really enjoyed their story, the gang stuff was so real and well written. I did have to do some translations but I didn't mind. I wanted to be in on what's really being said and feel the speakers feelings. I was so drawn in to the story I really felt like Elkeles knew her stuff and was well prepared to write about gang life. Was a real pleasure to read, I read it straight through.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As soon as I started reading this I couldn't put it down. I didn't even want to finish it. It is so good and I really liked it. I love how you could feel the love that Brittany and Alex had and how you felt apart of it throughout the book. I wish Simone would have continued the story instead of leaving you hanging on to your own imagination.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A very nice, unorthodox, Romeo and Juliet. Itade me laugh out loud so hard and so often that I had to put it down because I couldn't read with the tears and the book shaking in my hand. It needed that humour element to balance the large amount of sadness in the book.

    I recently reread the books and I definitely still love them. I don't think I'll ever lose my adoration of those Fuentes boys.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm trying this writing out review thing, we'll see how long this lasts! However I bought this book because I heard it was good, and a fun read for the coupling. Yet after recieving my copy I started to see reviews critizing the crime life and how gang life isn't shown correctly. So I started to read the book not really sure what to expect. However I really liked the book, I think Simone Elkeles has very develped characters that I really didn't pay that close attention to the gang life. Now that may not make sense, but what she describes as gang life isn't any different then what other authors or TV/Movie productions have shown. The basic idea this the gang is a family, you are loyal to them, and do each other favors, it is just like any other alliances.

    Now the characters were fun and realistic. Alex is fun, and dark with yet a heart of gold that the reader will love! Brittany (I usually have issues with people with this name!) but she was relatiable, what person hasn't hit the wall of stress and want to understand life? Their friends agreed and argued with their friends. Who doesn't love a teacher who likes to fight? Overall a good read, suspance, love, and fighting for life all in one book!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    L-O-V-E-D this book! SOOOO sweet and interesting and cute! Definitely going to follow this series! Both characters are interesting and so was the story;)
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had mixed feelings about this one. I flew through it, and it definitely kept me interested. I had some issues at the beginning, getting past the constant "I wear designer everything and live in a huge house"/"I'm a tough gang member trying to keep my family safe" during the first fifty pages. I get that it's all about looking beneath the surface, but the superficial stuff was laid on a little too thick early on.

    The middle of the book - fantastic. Alex and Brittany have great (for lack of a better word) chemistry, and I have to agree with all the reviews that call this book "hot, hot, hot." I enjoyed seeing their relationship progress as they got past the assumptions they held, and started seeing each other as people who are more alike than they realize. The last 100 pages or so felt rushed - like she was trying to tie up all the loose ends in a hurry, and different from the pace of the rest of the book. The epilogue was a bit too much for me as well, but overall this was a quick, fun, enjoyable read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read the book in one sitting! Overall a very good but a bit apprehensive to start the second because the plot seems too similar!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was expecting to either hate the book and quit within the first five chapters or find a surprising new favorite. I actually did neither.My first impression was that Simone Elkeles is trying pretty hard, and almost has really good writing. Instead, it's just pretty good. The best thing this book has going for it is that it's real easy to read quickly, so the 350 pages goes by in a breeze. If it didn't, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have finished the novel.I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet or not, but it basically is. So I might consider excusing the stupidity and hopelessness of Brittany, the heroine. Alex isn't as bad, but still. Neither of them are overly interesting, and their "love" isn't very... lovely. Admittedly, it's better than Brittany and Colin, but still.I personally like Alex and Shelley. But whatever.Mrs Peterson is also awesome. But whatever.I might look into the second book, but I might not. It's an okay quick romantic read if you're looking for an okay quick romantic read, but nothing more.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The story of an upper class girl who falls in love with a gang member. They both must choose what is important to them.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book sounded hella cheesy at first, but give it a chance. Characters were colorful and interesting and there wasn't a dull moment. Perfect easy-going fun romance
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I LOVED THIS BOOK. I read it over a couple of days whenever I had free time. The storyline was great and I loved the chemistry between Brit and Alex! I laughed a lot and even cried. Very well done book!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a great cheesy book. It really is like a high school cliche, but better. I really recommend this book!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    re-read #5: 23/09/2015 *sigh* this book is as good as ever, i can never get enough of Alex and Brittany
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I found this book whilst searching for YA novels with Latino characters for a reading challenge.

    I enjoyed it immensely. Took a while for me to get into it, but once I did it was impossible to put down. The plot was fairly predictable for the most half of the book, then took a few surprising twists towards the latter half and I loved the ending.

    I found the characters well fleshed out and interesting too see the different cultures and how they mix together. The romance was a slow burner (and again a little predictable) but very well written. Emotional and believable.

    All in all an excellent read.

    And a square crossed off for Bookish Bingo challenge- Latino MC
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Full review at Amatereasu readsReading this was like riding an emotional roller coaster, at least for me. There were times I wanted to cry, and cry I did. There were times when I just want to laugh, times when I feel giddy and happy and warm inside and times when I think hard because what they say makes sense.It's a very poignant story, one that has moved me in more ways than one. Breaking the mold, defying expectations and trying to find the real you, what you are and who you really want to be, acceptance, loyalty, and loving your family. There's just so much this book has.Britanny and Alex's love for each other was beautifully portrayed in this book. It amazes me how the author was able to write something so real, so complicated, so powerful and yet something you just can't stop reading. Theirs was a journey of trying to find who they are, of what their love could do for each other, and of how much they are willing to risk and give away for their love.This book had me mesmerized. I didn't want to stop even when I've reached the last page, the ending putting a small smile on my lips. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and I didn't want it to end. I'm glad this is the first book off a trilogy. I can't get enough of Simone Elkeles' writing!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Perfect Chemistry has been sitting on my TBR pile for a while. After hearing a lot of good things about it, I’ve very much been looking forward to reading it, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. This is a tale of young lovers from completely opposite sides of the track that has the vibe of West Side Story or Romeo and Juliet, except with a happy ending. In this story, both of our protagonists are seniors at Fairfield High School, which has a mixture of kids from two disparate social classes, the wealthy, mostly white kids from the north side and the poor, mostly Hispanic kids from the south side. But despite their outward differences, they are more alike than they might seem as first glance with each of them putting on a facade each day to hide who they really are inside. Our heroine, Brittany, is a lily white rich girl, who tries to project an air of perfection to cover up for a less-than-perfect home life, while Alex tries to be the tough gangbanger while hiding his kind heart of gold. These two are paired up by their chemistry teacher to work on a term project together, and in the process, they start to learn that outward appearances can sometimes be deceiving as they gradually get to know each other and fall in love.Brittany may have everything she wants from a material perspective, but her home life is less-than-stellar. Her father always seems to be working and out of touch with the family, while her mother is more concerned with outward appearances than with paying attention to her family’s real needs. Then there’s her sister, who’s disabled. Brittany loves her sister dearly and doesn’t mind helping take care of her, but at the same time, she feels like she needs to be perfect to make up for the older sibling who’ll never be “normal.” As such, she spends most of her time and energy trying to earn good grades, never getting in trouble at school, being the captain of the pom squad, and generally staying tightly in control of every aspect of her life. She even has the “perfect” boyfriend, but in spite of them being a couple for two years, she can’t help feeling like something is missing from their relationship. Her carefully orchestrated world slowly comes crashing down when she’s paired with Alex in chemistry class. He’s everything she despises, or so she thinks, until she gets to know him. Then she finds hidden depths in him that give her a whole new perspective and that make her slowly start to open up to this bad boy who’s so much more than he seems. Brittany may be wealthy but she’s not a snob, especially as she gets to know Alex and some of his friends from the south side. She’s the best sister a girl could ever wish for, and I love how sweet, kind, and patient she is with Shelley. It would be easy to peg her as a mean girl given her first moments with Alex, but her interactions with Shelley not long afterward prove that she’s anything but. I enjoyed watching Brittany’s metamorphosis from someone who always has to be in control to a girl who learns to be more open and free.Alex’s dad was murdered in front of him when he was only six years old, and he was so traumatized by the event, he can’t recall who the perpetrator was. As the oldest of three brothers, he sees himself as the man of the house and responsible for protecting and caring for his mom and siblings. Knowing his dad was a gang member, he didn’t really want to go down that path, but when it seemed like it was the only way to keep his family safe, he agreed to be jumped in. Now he’s stuck, wishing his life could be different, but believing it’s the only path he can take. When he gets paired with Brittany, Alex despises her as much she does him, because he only sees her as a privileged, white girl who has everything he never will. Not caring anything about her at first, he makes a bet with his friends that he can get into her pants before Thanksgiving, but as he slowly gets to know her and sees the parts of herself that she hides from the world, he finds himself caring about her more than he wants to. As he gradually falls in love with her, it scares him, because his world is a rough and dangerous one for a naive girl like Brittany. Alex is one of those bad boys that most romance readers – myself included – can’t help falling for. He has sympathetic reasons for being in the gang, and he draws a moral line at what he will and won’t do for them. He has a good heart and he’s a smart kid, too, who has the potential to be whatever he wants to be, but feels shackled by the life that was handed to him. I have to give him major props, though, for turning over a new leaf even though it wasn’t an easy path to take.Perfect Chemistry is generally categorized as young adult romance, although I suppose new adult would also be a valid designation as well since both Alex and Brittany are eighteen. However, since they’re both still in high school, YA seems like the more pertinent category, so I’ll address the potentially objectionable content of which there’s quite a bit. Since Alex is in a gang, there are depictions of gang violence, including a drive-by shooting, beatings (one of which was pretty brutal), and two characters getting shot, one fatally. Despite this, I’d say that the violence was only moderately descriptive. There’s a fair bit of language, including several uses of the f-word. Alex and Brittany drink wine and beer with their friends one night, with both of them getting drunk. That same night Alex also smokes a joint, and he regularly smokes cigarettes. Although Alex has tried to take a stand against personally making drug and arms deals, this type of activity takes place as part of gang life. All of the kids openly discuss sex, occasionally in a rather crude way. The sexual tension runs high all the way around, both between Alex and Brittany and with their friends. Before they get together, Brittany engages in a heavy petting session with her boyfriend that nearly leads to sex, and Alex goes skinny-dipping with an ex that leads to a heavy make-out session as well. Alex and Brittany engage in some pretty intense kissing, too, and they do eventually make love. It’s a sweet, tastefully sensual scene that’s rendered with mild, almost euphemistic language with few details. I have to give them credit, though, for having a mature discussion about their sexual histories and for using protection, which is more than I often see in adult romances. However, given the volume of mature content, I’d probably only recommend the book for older teens of about sixteen and up, who wouldn’t be bothered by anything I mentioned.Perfect Chemistry is one of those rare romances that I found to be both sweet and edgy, which was a great combination for me. Normally I’m not a reader who seeks out enemies-to-lovers romances, because I often have a hard time believing that two people who can’t stand each other could fall in love. But this one really hit the spot, absolutely convincing me of Alex and Brittany’s rightness for one another. They may come from opposite sides of the tracks, but they have enough in common to make a relationship work. They also find ways to respect and love each other despite their differences. This book definitely engaged me throughout and kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering how these two could possibly overcome all the obstacles in their way. It wasn’t an easy path to get there, but it was worth it in the end. I absolutely loved these characters and their story and couldn’t wait to get back to it each time I had to put it down. Now I’m eagerly looking forward to reading the two follow-up novels in the series to find out what happens for Alex’s two younger brothers, as well as checking out Simone Elkeles’s other work.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Read the full Review at Witchmag's BoekenplankFinally! I had a hard time lately with finding entertaining books that don’t disappoint me as soon as I start reading them. It doesn’t seem that hard with the large offer of books you have nowadays, does it? Yeah right… I’ve read a lot of books last month and the highest I could give them was a lousy OK. Even that was hard in some cases. Hence the absence of any sign of life on this site ;) Enough about those books, now I want to talk about the book that got me out of the rut. What a great book Perfect Chemistry is! As usual this book has been on my long to read list for a while, but you’ll never know how much you’ll like or hate a book with just looking at the cover ;) . But this one definitely belongs in the first category! I loved reading every minute of it, except maybe the ending, but I’ll explain that part later ;) .First of all I like it when there are two persons bickering in a book. Not fighting, but bickering and eventually fall in love. And keep bickering ( that last part is important ;) ). Those are my favorite books to read, so I really liked the beginning of this one. It was also nice to not read about love or attraction at first sight. That was very refreshing to read. Nowadays you see a lot of YA were the story starts with the transfer of a new boy into the school. I’ve read enough of those books to start finding it annoying. It’s too coincidental. But none of that in Perfect Chemistry and because Brittany and Alex have heard rumors about each other it’s very fun to read which prejudice they have about each other and how they react when they start to see through them and learn the real person.And now something about Alex and Brittany. I loved both of them, although Alex was a little too hot-headed sometimes and set on using violence to solve stuff. I’m not that keen on using your fists to solve things ;) But I do admire him for trying to look after his family on such a young age. Brittany, too, hasn’t had an easy time with such parents and having to take care of her disabled sister. I loved seeing how she’s prepared to keep looking after her. I only had a problem with her choice of boyfriend, but that solved itself during the book ;)As I mentioned earlier I didn’t like the ending very much. The book kinda builds to this scene, but for me it didn’t have to end like this. It also ended a little too quick and I couldn’t get my feelings into it. Otherwise I think I would have definitely cried. It was as if I could read between the lines and knew what was going to happen. So it wasn’t exactly thrilling. And what happened afterwards wasn’t really logical to me, but oh well there could be worse things ;) Sorry for my very cryptic description of the ending but I don’t want to spoil it for the rest of you ;) (I really hope I didn’t… ) Another thing that bothered me a bit was the Spanish. In the Netherlands you don’t use it, or receive lessons. Therefore I had a hard time with the Spanish/Portuguese used in the book, so I didn’t get a single thing what Alex and his family said at times…My conclusion: 4 hearts. It was a very nice read with captivating protagonists. A little bit too violent at times and the ending wasn’t as good as the rest of the story, otherwise this book would have gotten 5 hearts ;) .
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Told in alternating voices, this is the story of Brittany Ellis, the most popular white girl in school, and Alex Fluentes - Mexican, gang member and, to Brittany's horror, her lab partner in senior chemistry. I wondered about this book at first, but soon found myself caught up in the relationship between Brittany and Alex as they fight their mutual attraction. Both characters are strong, complex and dynamic and while they come from vastly different backgrounds they discover they share a number of similarities including their outlook on life. Surrounded by racial prejudice and hatred, Brittany and Alex must break free from the stereotypes that have been placed upon them if they ever have a chance of being together.Whilst the plot is familiar (think "Romeo and Juliet" and "West Side Story") and the epilogue rather contrived, this book will be a huge hit with girls looking for another bad boy to love.