Chain Reaction - Simone Elkeles

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): 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?
Continuing all the steamy romance of the first two books, NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Simone Elkeles gives fans one more satisfying taste of the irresistible Fuentes boys. 

MY OPINION: *****

I know, I know, this is so late. But I keep prolonging my reviews lately and I somehow am finding it harder to write them. I never really know what to write and I can't seem to think of any ideas. I'm still going to keep trying but I feel as if everything I write is falling flat. Any tips, anyone??

Let me just talk about this book:

I thought that the first book was really good. I loved the story of Alex and Brittany, an unlikely romance, and all of the elements added together. Then in the second book, I loved the story of Carlos and Kiara, though I thought that it was way too similar to the first book. I also loved the cameos that Alex and Brittany made in the second book.

However, I may just have to say that this one was my favorite, though it was a really hard choice.

This book was similar to the first two books but it was also different. It wasn't about a Mexican boy and a Caucasian girl and their forbidden love. It was about a Mexican boy and a Mexican-American girl who fall in love, though both come with a long history.

Luis Fuentes. He was always my favorite of the three Fuentes brothers that I've come to know and love through these books. Simone Elkeles is definitely one of my most favorite authors now and I really love her writing style and her characters and the fun words she uses. Luis was so real and so hilarious and so sarcastic and I loved the way he thought and spoke and did things. Joining a gang... not so much. But I understood his actions and the reasons behind what he did. He was just trying to save and protect his family and girlfriend.

Nikki. I loved her so much. She was so fiery and strong and determined though the one thing that annoyed me was about how she was so scared of Luis because of a PAST boyfriend. That is so UNFAIR to compare him to someone else just because she had one bad experience. Yes, maybe it sucks that she got herself knocked up but no offense, it's kind of her fault. She could have said no. Did she ever really love Marco? NO. If she had, she would have told him about her baby. She would have done anything to try to get him back. So why should she compare her past mistakes with her boyfriend with LUIS FUENTES who is so obviously different? Was it a racial thing or a stereotypical thing? Was it just plain stupidity and hate?

I loved the cameos as usual and the writing was amazing (also as usual) and I thought that overall, this book was definitely my favorite. At some points, it was so touching or so romantic that I had to stop and hold my stomach in pain as I felt the raw sharpness of all of this as it happened.

I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for a strong female character, a YA romance novel, and a beautiful story overall.

Main Character: Luis, Nikki
Sidekick(s): Carlos, Alex, friends, etc
Villain(s): Race, Latino Blood, Gangs, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this was very real to life.