Review of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Rating - 4
Young Adult

 When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, 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.  Bad-boy Alex makes a bet with his friends that he can sleep with Brittany, but he soon realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. (Des. Amazon)

Elkeles flawlessly depicts the differences between the "haves" and "have-nots" at many urban high schools in this country, especially when gangs are involved. This story is full of tension and romance and probably ends better than it might in real-life, but it is an engaging read and high school students should definitely relate.

Review of Brutal by Michael Harmon

Rating = 4
Young Adult

When her surgeon-mother leaves LA and goes to South America on a charity project, 16 yr. old Poe Holly goes to live with her father in the small town of Bender. Poe has never met her father who also happens to be the school counselor at her new high school. Poe doesn't know why her parents divorced. She is a rebellious teen who doesnt' get along with her mother and blames her father for never being there for her. Poe meets two new friends...Theo, the son of the mayor and "Velveeta", a troubled teen who is the perpetual target of school bullies.  Poe soon realizes that a major bully at the high school is Colby Morris, star football player.  Colby is brutal and untouchable...his father is well-connected. Poe sets out to prove that Colby and his friends are responsible for a near-fatal attack on Velveeta, thereby putting her own life in danger.

Harmon does a good job of keeping the action moving. Brutal was hard to out down once started. The characters aren't fully drawn; it's very hard to understand the motivations and actions of Poe's parents. Poe's constant rants about the hypocrisy of the school and adults is a little over-the-top and not always believable...she gets pretty obnoxious sometimes. However, the issues are timely, the characters are likable and there is lots for teens to relate to.

Review of Exposure by Therese Fowler

Rating = 4
Young Adult

High school students Amelia Wilkes and Anthony Winter met when they were both in a high school play together. Their relationship grew deeper, cemented by their talent and love of theater. No one knows they are a couple because Amelia is the only daughter of an influential and powerful family in town and Anthony is a scholarship student at the elite private school they both attend. Amelia and Anthony have a plan to audition for entry into the New York University theater de4partment and work toward careers in theater. This is something Amelia's father will never condone, so they keep their plans and their relationship secret. As their love deepens, they become intimate and feel the need to be in constant contact...via e-mail, texting, phone or in person. When Anthony, at Amelia's request, takes photos of both of them naked, Amelia asks him to forward them to her computer. Her father finds the photos while browsing through her computer and has
Anthony arrested. The events that follow snowball completely out of control, affecting Amelia, Anthony and their parents and with almost tragic consequences.

Exposure is thought-provoking with its examination of the "sexting" phenomenon, especially among teenagers, and the posible legal consequences.

Review of Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas

Rating - 3 1/2

Mark Nolan is grief-stricken learns that his sister was killed in an automobile accident, but he is astonished when he learns that he has been named guardian of his young niece, Holly. Mark is single and has no idea how to raise a child. To make matters worse, Holly has been unable or unwilling to speak since the death of her mother. Mark talks his brother, Sam, into allowing him and Holly to move into the ramshackle farmhouse the brothers have been renovating. Mark and Sam both are at wits end about how to help Holly until a young widow, Maggie, comes into their lives and effects a Christmas miracle.

Kleypas is one of my favorite contemporary romance novelists (she also is an award-winning historical romance writer), This is the first in a series about the Nolan brothers. It's almost a novella with the holiday theme and touch of magic to it. It's highly entertaining and a quick read. I'm looking forward to the rest of the books in the series.