South Side Story

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Brittany Ellis is not only from the North side of town, she is THE northsider!  She is not only on the pom pom squad, she’s the captain, and she doesn’t only date a football player, she is dating the quarterback and they are the golden couple and have been for years.  It’s Brittany’s senior year and she is going to have the best year of her life, until she meets Alex. 

Alejandro “Alex” Fuentes is from the South, he is also a gang member in the Latino Blood.  He considers himself a good guy because he only picks up the money, he never deals drugs.  When Brittany and Alex become unlikely chemistry partners, they not only have to learn to work together, they have to learn how to understand each other.  While they both seem oddly drawn to each other, a fateful night puts them together in a non-school event and they learn a lot more about each other.  Will they be able to overcome the racial and social differences to find love?

This is the quintessential young adult story of West Side Story or even going further back, Romeo and Juliet.  Star crossed lovers that cannot be accepted in either lives.  It’s pretty same ole same ole, but it was a fun story. 

I did not like the Spanish in the book.  I think there are more creative ways to show that Alex’s family and friends speak Spanish.  The interspersed random Spanish was not the best way. 

At the end of the book I was kind of hoping it went the Romeo and Juliet way and at least one of them would die, at least I would have had some type of emotion about the book, but at the end I finished and felt nothing.  I wasn’t happy or glad it was over, just finished.

Do I recommend this book?  Probably not.  It has some pretty intense subject matter for some high schoolers (call me naive) like drugs, sex, and language.  Then there was a lot of content that made it too immature for an adult audience.  Anyway, not the best but not the worst. 

Keep Reading my friends!