by Simone Ekeles
Details:
January 1st 2008 by Walker Books for Young Readers
Paperback, 357 pages
Placement in Pile:
I cannot say. . .
Summary:
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.
Review:
So Wednesday is my day to post. It should say something about this book that I've waited to the very last minute of Wednesday before I decided to go ahead and submit my review. Needless to say, I'm left feeling conflicted.
Why?
Never before have I had such a love/hate relationship with a book. It sucked me in, the characters felt real, the emotions had depth, the plot line was practically nail-biting intense, and in the end, I actually LOVED it! There were real-world issues in this novel that were dealt with and pulled together with such plot depth that I felt (as an aspiring writer) utterly flabbergasted. Whether the content was for me or not, I can't deny that Simone Ekeles is a gifted author.
Problem: I could never, ever, EVER, suggest this book to anyone I know. (Well, besides you guys, but that's pretty much because I post here anonymously…or somewhat anonymously.) See, the thing is, the book shouldn't be YA. If it were a movie, hands down it would be rated R. Besides the drugs, alcohol, and sex, the book was packed full of so many f-bombs I had to re-train my eyes to blur the word when I came to it. And believe me, there was a lot of eye-blurring. So, sad to say, I would never recommend this to a teen. Heck, I wouldn't even recommend it to my best friends.
I guess in the end, no matter how great a character is written, how strong a plot line is, or how poetic the prose, if you can't stomach the rest of the novel, then it's not for you. (Would you eat a brownie if it had a worm in it?)
If your answer is yes to that, then by all means, go read this book.
2 comments:
Oh Sad! I have heard such amazing things and I can deal with SOME content and say, I don't like that it was there, but I thought the book had merit anyway. What kills that for me is over use of expletives especially the f-bomb! Thanks for the heads up, I guess I can actually for once take one OFF my list!
aw! dang! It sounds like such a good book, but ya I am not interested in the f-bomb bouncing around in my head all the time. Hmmm if only authors knew that the books would be good without that stuff and they would get more readers too.
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