Perfect Chemsitry

Pages: 357
Genre: Romance
Rating 5/5


Summary
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.


My Thoughts

Perfect Chemistry is about a girl and boy who hate each other. It’s funny, suspenseful and touches your heart. It resembles the story of Romeo & Juliet, but it is also quite unique too, despite the stereotypical characters, the dialogue and characters bring it something that you can’t resist.

Alex (or Alejandro, which he hates being called) lives with his two younger brothers and his mother. He’s living on the poor side of town and he’s in a gang called the “Latino Blood.” There are rumors that he’s in to drugs, been arrested several times and he gets into knife fights. “Alex probably brings his dates sharp knives as gifts, in case she’ll need one when she’s out on a date with him.” But really, he’s like a leather teddy bear; tough on the outside, yet squishy on the inside.

Brittany lives with her anxious mother, mostly absent father and her autistic older sister, Shelley. She’s living on the poor side of town and she’s in the popular crowd and the cheerleading team. There are rumors that she is perfect, happy and only cares about her boyfriend and shopping. “This summer she went to the mall, bought new clothes so she could expand her wardrobe, and spent her daddy’s money on plastic surgery to enhance her, ahem, assets.” But really, she’s just a sweet hard piece of candy; heavenly tasting, yet she could do some serious damage to your teeth.

Overall, I loved Perfect Chemistry even though it has some flaws; Simone Elkeles brings something to this story that has never been told before.

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Pages: 213
Genre: Suspense, Realistic Fiction
Rating: 3/5


Summary
Sixteen year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription at the pharmacy. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, their car is being stolen--with her inside! Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, all he needed to do was steal a car for the others. But once Griffin's dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes—now there’s a reason to keep her. What Griffin doesn’t know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, she is blind. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare, and if she does, at what price?


My Thoughts
I was quite impressed with the research the author must have done for this novel. I believe that the research was mainly based on people who are blind and car theft.

The story began with a fast-paced opening and it just gripped me. I didn’t want to look up from the page to save my life. However, as I read further into the story, the pace died down quite fast and I found I was losing my interest. There were some parts in the story that seemed drawn out and not related to the main picture. I thought that it was silly that Cheyenne was constantly stressing about how she might die if she didn’t get her medication, but really it was like she had the flu.

Girl, Stolen went back and for the between Cheyenne and Griffin’s perspectives. I love books when they do that. I feel it gives you better insight to your main characters and really brings the book to life.

I enjoyed reading about how Cheyenne adapted to the new fact that her eye sight was gone and may never come back. I marveled over how she would fold her bills in certain ways so she would know how much money she had and how she struggled with her walking stick and eventually had to snap at people for asking to pet her seeing-eye-dog. “He’s working!” she would say, not wanting to sound uptight, but people just didn’t get it through their thick heads. Cheyenne has learned not to be picky about her food and eats whatever ends up on her fork. This fact shocked me because there are so many things that I am picky about. If I became blind like Cheyenne I don’t think I would ever have found myself eating whatever ended up on plate. Another thing that struck me was the she wouldn’t be able to read on her own…ever. Reading is something I do quite often and when I listen to something being read to me I find it’s just not the same as reading it myself.

Griffin’s age is not mentioned in the story, but I’m assuming he’s between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. He’s the one who accidentally kidnaps Cheyenne. He plays the “nice bad guy” in the story which I wasn’t so sure if I liked. Griffin was trying to befriend Cheyenne, which I thought was kind of nice but then when I got the feeling that the author became to insinuate that Griffin was developing a crush on Cheyenne I was like “what the hell?” “No,” and “that’s weird.”

Over all, I did enjoy the book, but it’s not something I loved. The story line was awesome, the information I learned was cool but the book just didn’t seem like it was pulled together right. It seemed odd and not as realistic as it should have been. It just didn’t meet its potential.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin



Pages: 288
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Rating: 5/5 (Awesome)

Summary
If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn't have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn't have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn't have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her "Chief." She'd know about her mom's new family. She'd know about her dad's fiancée. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn't have wanted to kiss him back.

But Naomi picked heads.

After her remarkable debut, Gabrielle Zevin has crafted an imaginative second novel all about love and second chances.


My Thoughts

This story blew me away. I couldn’t imagine being Naomi, losing my memory of the past four years, forgetting who I am, who I was. The way she dealt with her memory loss amazed me. I wondered; how is she not frustrated or angry? How does she sit there so calmly wondering about what her life used to be like? Instead, it was her best friend William asking those questions too.

Naomi is a seventeen year old girl who is sporty, laidback and extremely popular. Our first impression of her isn’t much though, considering the fact that she has no memory of herself. However, she is trying to figure out who she was, but she’s more interested in the person she wants to be. She learns things about herself that repulse and surprise her. And she begins to wonder if losing her memory was for the better, or at least I did. Something that repulsed her was when she realized she was mean, very mean actually, and she begins to change that right away. Her meanness seems to be fueled by her anger towards her parent’s divorce. While something that surprises her is that she is insecure with her body just like any typical teenage girl but the part she was shocked about was that she kept a food diary.

Will is one of my favorite characters in the book. He’s the jealous, protective and patient best friend. He knows you like the back of his hand, and he’d take a bullet for someone he especially cares about. He’s funny and playful and always creating mix CD’s for Naomi. He’s even hardworking and dedicated but he has his flaws too. He sometimes is annoying and on the rare occasion gets up Naomi’s face, and has a slight problem controlling strong emotions such as anger and jealousy.

James is the dark, brooding mysterious love interest in the story. He’s the guy who finds Naomi and rides in the ambulance with her to the hospital. He sounds like a cool guy with his leather jacket and all. Naomi wishes he had told the paramedics he was her boyfriend rather than her brother. When we finally reach into the depths of James’s secrets we realize he’s severely depressed and in need of great help. And he knows it, but he doesn’t let anyone get too close.

Ace is athletic and “hot” according to all the girls, even Naomi. But he doesn’t seem to do it for me. He seems quite full of it but genuinely he is a really sweet guy. The shocker is the Naomi is told that this is her boyfriend and she wonders how she’s supposed to handle this one after laying eyes on James and drooling and all.

I fell completely and utterly in love with this story. I want to read it all over again right now. He characters are so real, so funny, so interesting. The book covers such serious matters with hints of humor throughout the story, Memoirs of a teenage amnesiac is something you hope you’ll never forget.

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

Pages: 260
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Rating: 5/5



Summary
After Steven died, Lexi realized she was cursed with a dark secret. Each day she goes to school like a normal teenager, and each night she must swim in her quiet lake as the siren she is. Lexi didn’t have any intention to kill Steven or anyone else; therefore she shut herself out from the world, vowing to protect her friends and family.

But suddenly, she’s caught between Cole, the new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi's curse if she gives up everything else. Lexi is faced with the hardest decision she's ever had to make: the life she's always longed for - or the love she can't live without?


My Personal Thoughts

There’s something different about Ripple than anything else I’ve ever read, something about the way it’s written, the characters, the curse… It was a real current ride where I just didn’t know where I was going to end up next.

Mandy Hubbard lays it on thick that the protagonist, Lexi, is suffering deeply, drowning in sorrow, and treading water just to keep her friends safe and sound. Lexi isn’t exactly The Little Mermaid like most would expect, she’s a siren, a killer, forced to swim at night rather than sleep. I found myself rooting for Lexi to swim through those murky waters and find freedom. I wanted her to go back to her old life, her friends, to enjoy it. Yet, I love the dark brooding secret she harbors. It’s intriguing and I loved every word of it!


Anticipating, dark, and lovable, Ripple is short and to the point rather than annoyingly drawn out. It’s a book that girls would mainly enjoy, anyone in high school, and it’s not a challenging read, but it does make you think and wonder.

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Pages: 400
Rating: 5/5 (AMAZING)


Summary (from Amazon.com)


For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf–her wolf–is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human–or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.



"I said uselessly, "Sam, don't go."



Sam cupped my face in his hands and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were yellow, sad, wolf, mine.

"These stay the same. Remember that when you look at me. Remember it's me. Please."

My Personal Thoughts

I enjoyed this book from page one all the way to the end. Shiver weaved through winter and chilled my bones, and made me want to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate. The brooding, yet playful atmosphere left me breathless. I was able to lose myself in Stiefvater’s supernatural fantasy and that wasn’t even the best part!

I loved Shiver because of the characters Grace and Sam and their unbreakable bond. The book switches between the perspectives of Grace and Sam allowing you to grow even closer to the main characters.

Grace is emotionally strong. She knows how to hold it together even when everything around her seems like it’s falling apart and this is where you can relate to the story. When everything is going rotten, and you just have to work through it.

Sam is well just the way Grace describes him in the book “you are both beautiful and sad.” He’s this beautiful wolf and boy too, yet tortured and kept captive as a wolf. His heart is full of something far more valuable than gold…love.

This is a book containing werewolves; however it does mostly focus on the romance of Grace and Sam and is not somewhere to be searching for action and adventure. The chapters are mainly short making it easy to read it a little at a time (but once you get into it you won’t be able to put it down). The writing style is beautiful with a strong and full vocabulary and the shift between points of view is easy to separate making this a novel not only easy to read, but also to love.

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