Return to Paradise

Title: Return to Paradise
Author: Simone Elkeles
(C) 2010
Publisher: Flux
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1868-2
291 pp.

I don't love this cover. I just felt a need to mention that.

Caleb and Maggie's story continues after that terrible abrupt-and-not-happy ending in Leaving Paradise. But I can deal with it.

Caleb gets busted in Chicago and is forced to call his "transition mentor." Damon manages to post bail and keep him out of jail. Instead, Caleb is stuck going on a four week trip with a group called Re-START. The purpose of the group is to speak to other teens about the life-changing effects of stupid decisions while driving.

What Caleb (and Damon) don't expect, is for Maggie to be on this trip too. She's filling in for a girl who dropped out, before she spends a semester abroad in Spain. It's shock for both of them, which Caleb attempts to cover up with attitude. Maggie, on the other hand, is much stronger than the last time we see her. Caleb broke her heart, which scarred her deeper than the scars left on her legs, but she's come to terms with it. Seeing him again isn't easy, but she's dealing.

However, this book truly is about facing the truth. The truth about the accident is something only a few people know, and it's a covering up of that truth that is tearing their lives apart. Our author doesn't pull punches, she makes it clear that life is tough, no matter what decision you make, and you have to be the prepared to take the consequences of those actions.

I mentioned earlier that she writes about places and people that are dear to my heart. I've spent six years teaching in a very diverse preschool. It's funny, cause I say diverse, but really, I pretty much am the minority. It's not easy. I can't always relate to the families, or the kids that I teach.
Many of the kids I see every day come from families vastly different from mine. Their childhood is nothing like what I had. The characters I found here come from families like that. Families, that are still just people, struggling to get by and not always making great choices. People that need to be seen for their potential. I love the chance I'm given to help these people, even if it is a struggle.

So, if you do read these books, I hope they inspire you to see others in a new way; to look for that potential that everyone has somewhere inside of them.

Until next time...Happy Readings!

Leaving Paradise

Title: Leaving Paradise
Author: Simone Elkeles
(C)2007
Publisher: Flux
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1018-1
303 pp.

Is it possible to pull your life back together after you've been hurt?

What about trusting the person who hurt you?

Each person has to answer those questions for themselves when something happens in their life. I am a "keep moving forward" kind of person. So for me, the answer to that first question is a yes. That ability to pull my life back together isn't easy, but it's so deeply ingrained into my personality that I don't think I could be any other way.

For Maggie, that's a different story. She's scarred after being hit by a drunk driver and left for dead. What's worse, the drunk driver is her next door neighbor - her best friend's twin brother. At least, that's what the police report says.

This book can draw you in and make you physically hurt for Maggie and the situation she finds herself in. I found myself being annoyed and proud all at the same time as she slowly learns to push herself to be stronger. Some of it is the guidance she doesn't have at home, but all that changes when she starts working for Mrs. Reynolds to earn money to leave Paradise. (Oh! That's the name of the town.)

Meanwhile, we get to meet the drunk driver, Caleb. We learn about his year spent at the Department of Corrections (DOC) and the way his old life begins to unravel when he returns home to find nothing the same, despite his parents' desperate attempts to appear normal.

Caleb's story is a rare glimpse into what juvinile detention is like. Caleb, once a popular high school jock, is unknowingly transformed inside those walls. If he's learned one thing, it's that one mistake and your life will never be the same. What he doesn't realize until coming home, is that neither is anyone else effected by it.

So what happens when Caleb comes back into Maggie's life? Can she learn to trust him again? Can he let himself trust again?

The story ends rather abruptly. I got the sense of "where's the next page?" hanging over me when I finished it. It might bother some people, but I knew the sequel was coming out soon, so I was patient and found other things to read until then.

And now I finally have the sequel!

Rules of Attraction

Title: Rules of Attraction
Author: Simone Elkeles
(C) 2010
Publisher: Walker and Company
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2085-6
324 pp.

Isn't that a lovely cover. These scene does happen in the book too.

So, something I forgot to mention in the last post. There is some gang violence, some use of profanity, and yes the characters have sex. Don't let your grade/middle schooler read these books. I don't care how well they can read, there are just some of the things the characters in these books end up facing that they aren't ready to read about yet.

That being said, don't let those things turn you off from these stories either.

Rules of Attraction is the sequel, following Alex's brother Carlos. At the end of Perfect Chemistry, Alex's family packs up and moves back to Mexico. There, Carlos (the middle brother), gets into trouble and is shipped back to America to live with Alex in Colorado.

Do you think Carlos will be able to make decisions that keep him out of trouble there?

HAH! The boy has a bigger ego and even bigger attitude than Alex did in high school. I absolutely adore him!

Well, when bad decisions put the lives of his family and a new friend in danger, Carlos learns quickly that sometimes you have to rely on others, and sometimes it's alright to put your faith and trust in someone other than yourself.

Ms. Elkeles follows the same format; this time switching between Carlos and Kiara. Kiara makes a great balance for him. She's determined and loyal. She sees in him what almost no one else can; that deep down he really does want to be good guy. He just doesn't know how to become that person.

There was something else I forgot to mention in the last post. Because of the Mexican influence of the characters, Spanish is sprinkled throughout the conversations. It's not always perfectly defined, but even without knowing a lick of Spanish, you can understand what's being implied. What I love even more is that she generally uses slang words and phrases. To me, that makes a character come alive. I don't want a text book phrase that I can translate online, I want what someone would actually say.

I've heard that there's a third book coming out Spring 2011; Chain Reaction. I'm curious if this is planning to be about the third brother, Luis, or something else entirely. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Perfect Chemistry

Title: Perfect Chemistry
Author: Simone Elkeles
(C) 2009
Publisher: Walker and Company
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9822-0
357 pp.

Can I gush? Cause I'm going to sit here and gush about these books for the next four posts.

You were warned.

The cover attracted me. The title attracted me. The whole back of the book attracted me and I knew I'd never be happy until I read this book.

Imagine the suburbs of a major city. Most of them are pretty typical. They have a nice side and a not nice side. Where Brittany lives, it's rich, it's white, it's perfect. And where Alex lives, it's poor, it's diverse (in this case predominately Mexican and Latino), and you fight for survival. So how the heck are these two ever going to get together, much less see eye to eye?

Well, that would be giving away the book and I don't plan on doing that. Instead I'd really like to tell you about some elements that make this book stand out.

1 - The format keeps you moving forward. Chapter 1 comes from Brittany's perspective. Chapter 2 switches to Alex. It goes back and forth from there. This shift really allows you get to know each character in a personal way.

2 - LIFE IS NOT PERFECT! There is continual pressure on these two from home, from school, for all these negative outside influences, even from each other. Don't get me wrong, I love a happy ending, but that doesn't mean that getting there will be filled with rainbows and unicorns.

3 - The characters have flaws. They make stupid decisions. Even though I genuinely have nothing in common with them, it's those flaws and those mistakes that help me relate to them. It makes me root for that happy ending all the more.

4 - The woman wrote an epilogue that takes place 23 years later. I love her just for that.

This, and the next 3 books I'm going to talk about, are billed as Teen Romance. I don't consider myself much of a romance reader. I have a few on my shelves and I'll pick one up occasionally if a friend lends it to me, but I am far from being addicted to them. It wasn't the romance that drew me into this book, and it wasn't what kept me reading page after page late into the night.

It was the clash of cultures; the struggle to keep moving forward that had me hooked. It speaks of a place and people that are dear to my heart. It was someone else speaking out about injustice and forgiveness that made me want to share this book with you. If you believe people can be forgiven; that they can move forward after making a bad decision, then you're not alone.