Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Alright, another book that I marked to be read about two years ago now! And another book that did not disappoint! So this book follows two very different individuals, Alex and Britney. And they could not be more different. Alex is a Mexican gang member and Britney is stereotypical head cheerleader. They are partnered up in chemistry for a year long project and, well, they have chemistry together. Yeah. I'm sorry for that terrible pun. But like I said, they are stereotypical opposites, or, at least they present themselves that way.

So, quickly, I'd like to get this out of the way, no, the plot isn't stellar. There really is just enough going on that it will keep you entertained, but it won't be overwhelmingly complicated or in depth. It's literally just enough. This book is one hundred percent a character based book. And it's actually a really good one at that.

Stereotypes are one of my biggest pet peeves in general, so reading a whole book with them as the foundation for a story was not ideal for me. But you have no idea how glad I am that I gave this book a chance. Yes, on the surface, this book and it's characters seem like nothing more than a cliche, by the numbers chick lit book. And, I guess to some extent, that's true but in all honesty, there is more to this book than that. Alex isn't just some poor boy from Mexico that is only staying in school until he can drop out. And Britney isn't some rich white girl who only thinks about spending Daddy's money. They both have some heavy baggage that you may or may not expect but there is also a smart, hardworking person behind both of them.

This story is told form alternating points of view, so I have to say I really enjoyed reading from Alex's perspective a lot more. Maybe it's because I am Mexican and could just identify with his life ten times more than I could with Britney's but I think he's just a more fun character to read about (along with his friends) because he isn't as restricted as her. I also feel the need to point out that the two voices that you read from are very distinct and I guess that isn't hard to accomplish when the characters are polar opposites but I think we've all read some books that try the dual point of view and sometimes I forget who I'm even reading as so I'm glad that this book wasn't like that.

I highly recommend this book if you want an easy summer read but also want something that has more to it than romance. This book really got me thinking about the way we present ourselves to the world and the reasons behind that. I'm sorry I didn't really tell you much about the plot or the characters personal lives but I think it's better if you read this book and found out yourself. 5 out of 5 stars.