Rules of Attraction Book Review

I blame Simone. Its 100% her fault. What can I say? She writes a great book. That's right, folks. I went out and bought Rules of Attraction. In hard cover. And read it in 1.5 evenings. Just look at the cover. Doesn't it make you want to cry? Beautiful.

Rules of Attraction is book #2 (of 2 but another is coming next year) in Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry book series. Carlos Fuentes is sent by his mother to live with his brother Alex. Kiara Whitford is a friend of Alex's and volunteers to be Carlos' peer guide to help him adjust to his first week in a new school. Kiara and Carlos find they have clashing personalities, but not so bad that they keep their distance. Rather, they spend time together and when they aren't, they are playing tricks on one another (funny locker pranks, etc).

Trouble at school = Carlos facing two options: serious punishment or moving in with the the school principal (Kiara's father) and his family and attending an after-school program. Guess what happens? (Hint: smooching). As the story moves on, we find the trouble at school was more than another prank. Carlos must decide what is truly important to him and what he is willing to go through to have it.

Rules of Attraction has the same chapter-to-chapter switching of viewpoint between Kiara and Carlos that is seen in Perfect Chemistry. It also has the same raw dialogue that makes you feel like you are eavesdropping on someone else's life and characters you want to hug / shake some sense into. I also love Kiara. She is such a cool character with her interest in cars and hiking and is a totally awesome friend to anyone who can get past her stuttering.

After some digging on the internet (well, actually the first hit on a google search), it turns out Ms Elkeles has written four other YA novels unrelated to the series. However, I plan to distance myself from them for a while, otherwise there will be a reenactment of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Fiasco, where I gobbled all the books at once then wrote all over my jeans and wandered the house aimlessly when I realized there was nothing left to read. Besides, I have a garden to plant. Laundry to fold - One of these days, the book store is not going to allow me and my mismatched clothing in.

I can't explain how much I liked this book without the hand gestures, flailing arms and shrill voice a personal encounter will allow. Instead, I leave you with the book trailer.