Waiting on Wednesday (3)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
 

Title: Chain Reaction

Author: Simone Elkeles

Summary: Luis Fuentes is a good boy who doesn't live with the angst that his big brothers, Alex and Carlos, have always lived with. Luis is smart, funny, and has big dreams of becoming an astronaut. But when he falls for the wrong girl, Luis enters a dark world he's never known, and just when he thinks he's got life all figured out, learns some disturbing news about his family that destroys his positive outlook on life. Will that Fuentes bad boy streak come out with a vengeance and lure Luis to live on the edge like his new girlfriend and his own father?

Release Date: May 24 2011

Why I'm waiting on it: Perfect Chemistry is one of my all time favorite YA Romances, and I LOVE Simone Elkeles style of writing.

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Title: Leaving Paradise

Author: Simone Elkeles

Series? Leaving Paradise

Aquired From: A Friend

Summary: Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares—has been canceled. After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.
Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other. (from Goodreads)

Cover Rating: 4/5

Comments on the Cover: I like the road. It reminds me of the accident (said in a spooky voice to creep you all out) and I REALLY love the Neon Sign. I don't know why, but there's just something about it that I really really like.
Character Comments: I liked the characters in the most part. I really could connect with Maggie and thought that she was portrayed very well as a girl who just encountered such a life changing tragedy. Upset and angry, but deep down inside still very motivated. I really liked Caleb, too. He was a jerk at first, and I hated him blah blah blah but when the truth (slowly) started to come out, I began to like him a little more. Okay, okay, a LOT more.
Favorite Characters: Caleb and Maggie
Character Rating: 5/5

Plot line rating: 4/5

Plot Line Comments: I thought that it was pretty unique for the most part. I mean the falling in love with your "enemy" wasn't quite unique, but Elkeles did it in a way that was unique and well done.

Likeliness to reread it? 4/5
Overall rating: 4.25/5
Books like this that I have reviewed: Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Title: Rules of Attraction
Author: Simone Elkeles
Other Books in this series: Perfect Chemistry
Summary: Carlos Fuentes is moving back to America from Mexico to live with his brother, Alex, in Colorado. And he is NOT happy about it. Carlos almost immediately begins to get into trouble and Alex sends him to live with his college professor and his family.
Enter Kiara, Carlos' peer guide and the professor's daughter. She's obviously not your average girl and definitely not the type that would be attracted to Carlos. But she is.
But there's more to Carlos then anyone realizes, including Carlos. Will these unknown secrets tear them apart?
Review: After I read Perfect Chemistry, I knew that I had gotten no where near enough of the Fuentes boys. I was a little disappointed when I first got this book from the library because it wasn't about Brittany and Alex's relationship. But I loved the new characters and learning more about the younger Fuentes brother. And let's be honest, I was happy that they at least included some depth in Brittany and Alex's relationship. When I started the book, I wasn't expecting anything near that.
Cover Rating: 5/5
Comments on the Cover: I LOVE these covers. So very hot and secretly telling oh so much about the contents of the book...
Character Comments: I LOVE Kiara. And Carlos. When you warm up to him. But Kiara is one of my favorite girl characters in a while.
Favorite Character: Kiara! But I still love Alex
Character Rating: 4/5
Plot line rating: 4/5
Likeliness to reread it? Well, since I reread it... 3/5
Overall rating: 4/5
Books like this that I have reviewed: Perfect Chemistry