Book Review : How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation (How to Ruin, #3) by Simone Elkeles

How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation (How to Ruin, #3) by Simone Elkeles
Paperback, 257 pages

Published November 1st 2009 by Flux

Guess who's jetting to the Holy Land this summer!

Remember me, Amy Barak-Nelson—a.k.a the queen of disaster? In case you forgot, my boyfriend Avi is in the Israeli army. A visit is definitely in order.

Somehow my grandmother convinced me to sign up for two weeks of pure hell in a military training base. Getting up before dawn, peeing in a hole, and playing war games in the desert isn't my idea of fun. But what's worse? Our team leader turns out to be Avi!

Amy plans to give Avi a surprise by signing up for the military boot camp in Israel. However, when she realizes that they are not going to have a happy reunion consisting of kisses and endless two-person time together, she is devastated. Worse, she finds out that boot camp isn't a relaxing trip, but rather a place which consists of unsanitary wash rooms, hot bedrooms and many grueling activities aimed to push one's physical limits.

In How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation, Simone Elkeles gives readers the satisfaction of seeing Amy going all the way to Israel to seek her beloved Avi. Even though Amy seems immature and bitchy most of the time, she is actually a good person. She tries her best to help her friend Miranda to get over her crush with Nate by encouraging her to try befriend a fellow soldier at the camp, who is an American-Jew.

After the intensive trainings in boot camp, Amy eventually becomes more matured and her fighting spirit is stimulated until it reaches a peak. She gradually understands Avi's commitment and passion towards protecting his country and develops a new-found respect towards her boyfriend.

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Simone was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and then Loyola University-Chicago where she earned a Master’s of Science in Industrial Relations while working for a manufacturing company creating diversity programs for their employees. In her spare time she’s a hockey mom and an active Girl Scout leader specially trained in outdoor education. She also spends time mentoring other teen and adult authors.

Book Review : How to Ruin My Teenage Life (How to Ruin, #2) by Simone Elkeles

How to Ruin My Teenage Life (How to Ruin, #2) by Simone Elkeles

Paperback, 281 pages

Published June 1st 2007 by Flux

In this sequel to How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, EVERYTHING in sixteen-year-old Amy Nelson Barak's life is going wrong! Her mom got married and moved to the suburbs, and now they are going to have a baby. Amy moves in with her dad in Chicago and signs him up for an online dating service. His first four dates are that night . . .

What else? Her dog Mutt impregnated her grumpy neighbor's prized poodle, so Amy will actually have to get a part-time job to pay for half the veterinary bill. And there's this totally annoying boy, Nathan Rubin, who just moved into her apartment building. Luckily, Amy has a cute boyfriend named Avi. Only he's more like a non-boyfriend considering Avi is in the Israeli army for the next three years.

What's a girl to do when everyone is conspiring to ruin her life?

How to Ruin My Teenage Life is the second book about Amy Nelson-Barak, who comes back to America after the summer vacation ends. Amy misses her Israeli non-boyfriend, Avi Gefen, but she seldom gets to call him on the phone and writes him letters, much less meet him in person.

Her new neighbour, Nathan turns up, miraculously, to be the new transfer student in her school. Too bad they don't get along with each other too well. Meanwhile, Amy's mother is officially married to her stepdad, Marc with a 'c', and is now expecting a new baby.

I don't deny that sometimes Amy acts like a snob, but she's actually a nice person inside. She really cares about her best friend Jessica, and tries her best to help Jessica when she's down and blue. The new boy, Nathan, looks like a geek with his outdated outfit and also his slippery nerd-like glasses. Although he seems uncaring, he actually has a big secret which he never tells anyone.

In How to Ruin My Teenage Life, Amy Nelson-Barak learns the real value of friendship - how friends should help and support each other through hard times. She also strengthens her love relationship with her non-boyfriend Avi Gefen, the hot Israeli hunk who is now her official boyfriend. Though not as amazing as the first book, it's still a likeable novel with its themes of family, love and friendship. And as always, Simone Elkeles humours me with her clever words.

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Simone was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and then Loyola University-Chicago where she earned a Master’s of Science in Industrial Relations while working for a manufacturing company creating diversity programs for their employees. In her spare time she’s a hockey mom and an active Girl Scout leader specially trained in outdoor education. She also spends time mentoring other teen and adult authors.

Book Review : How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

Paperback, 234 pages

Published October 1st 2006 by Flux

Available on Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Synopsis

Moshav? What’s a moshav? Is it “shopping mall” in Hebrew? I mean, from what Jessica was telling me, Israeli stores have the latest fashions from Europe. That black dress Jessica has is really awesome. I know I’d be selling out if I go with the Sperm Donor to a mall, but I keep thinking about all the great stuff I could bring back home.

Unfortunately for 16-year-old Amy Nelson, “moshav” is not Hebrew for “shopping mall.” Not even close. Think goats, not Gucci.

Going to Israel with her estranged Israeli father is the last thing Amy wants to do this summer. She’s got a serious grudge against her dad, a.k.a. “Sperm Donor,” for showing up so rarely in her life. Now he’s dragging her to a war zone to meet a family she’s never known, where she’ll probably be drafted into the army. At the very least, she’ll be stuck in a house with no AC and only one bathroom for seven people all summer—no best friend, no boyfriend, no shopping, no cell phone…

Goodbye pride—hello Israel.

Review

It's an open secret that I adore Simone Elkeles' writing. How to Ruin a Summer Vacation is a great start for her How To Ruin series. This book is sorta like a chick-lit, but infused with humour, sarcasm and wit. In this book, our protagonist Amy Nelson is sent to Israel because her grandmother on her father's side is terribly ill and her father (whom she dubs as the Sperm Donor) insists that she visits Israel for the Summer.

Amy initially resists going to Israel, but she has no choice - she goes there anyway. She hates her father for being absent in her life for so long, and her words are always filled with venom. She cannot understand how her father gave up on her and her mother so easily. When her father tells her that his family doesn't even know of her existence, she feels so angry and sad that she bursts into tears.

However, after spending more time with her new family, she learns to accept the differences in Israelite and American culture. She learns to live in harmony with her new family members, taste the sweetness of a blossoming romance and rediscovers another part of her heritage which she has denied all these while.

This is a book about love, family and acceptance.

This is a book which teens will gladly devour.

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Simone was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and then Loyola University-Chicago where she earned a Master’s of Science in Industrial Relations while working for a manufacturing company creating diversity programs for their employees. In her spare time she’s a hockey mom and an active Girl Scout leader specially trained in outdoor education. She also spends time mentoring other teen and adult authors.

Book Review : Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Paperback, 324 pages

Published April 27th 2010 by Walker & Company
Available at The Book Depository at $9.31

Synopsis

When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for the past year, he doesn't want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him in Colorado. When he meets Kiara Westford, a good girl totally unlike any of the girls he's usually drawn to, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she's too good for him. But will he put his pride aside when he realizes that being with Kiara might finally allow him to be his true self?

Review

I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. In this book, the second Fuentes brother - Carlos returns to America and meets a down-to-earth, studious good girl by the name of Kiara Westford. At first, Carlos seems to dislike Kiara, but later, he discovers that this girl is kind and one-of-a-kind. She wears sluggish clothes, has her hair constantly tied up in a ponytail, and like Carlos himself - loves challenges. Kiara, despite not feeling any attraction towards Carlos initially, can't stop herself from falling in love with Carlos after she glimpses different sides of him and observes the real person behind his bad-boy facade.

I don't know why, but I just love the conversations between Kiara and Carlos. They are witty and funny at times - but never boring. The characters' development is also well penned by the author. We have Carlos, who is protective towards his loved ones and is actually losing hope about having a bright future, Kiara, who has a minor speech problem and is close with her family members, little Brandon (Kiara's 6 y/o brother) who is cute, innocent and extremely excited over the prospect of having Carlos staying in their house, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Westford, who are kind and accepting and treats Carlos like their own son.

Just so you know, the cover actually portrays a scene in the book, where Kiara and Carlos kissed in the rain, which is uber romantic. However, parents should take extra care in letting their children read this book because this book has some *coughs* inappropriate scenes between two unwed teenagers. In my humble opinion, this book, along with Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles are must-read books, but if you think you can't handle the profanity, drugs, alcohol and teen sex, you'd better wait until you're older before picking up this book in the bookstore.

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About The Author

Simone was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and then Loyola University-Chicago where she earned a Master’s of Science in Industrial Relations while working for a manufacturing company creating diversity programs for their employees. In her spare time she’s a hockey mom and an active Girl Scout leader specially trained in outdoor education. She also spends time mentoring other teen and adult authors.

Links
Simone Elkeles' Website
Perfect Chemistry Website

Book Review : Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Product Details:

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK, April 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847388051
• ISBN-13: 9781847388056
• List Price: £6.99

At Fairfield High School, on the outskirts of Chicago , everyone knows that south-siders mixing with north-siders can be explosive. So when Brittany Ellis and Alejandro “Alex” Fuentes are forced to be lab partners in chemistry class, this human experiment leads to unexpected revelations – that Brittany ’s flawless reputation is a cover for her troubled home life, that Alex’s bad-boy persona hides his desire to break free from gang ties, and that when they’re together, life somehow makes more sense. Breaking through the stereotypes and expectations that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart, Perfect Chemistry takes readers to both sides of the tracks in a passionate love story about looking beneath the surface. {Read more about Perfect Chemistry.}

Falling in love has never been so beautiful...Simone Elkeles has created a romantic love story between two teenagers who are so different, yet so similar in Perfect Chemistry.

Brittany Ellis has it all - she's beautiful, rich, and has a gorgeous boyfriend. But appearances can be deceiving. Underneath her glorious, perfect facade, she is burdened by the strict demands of her mother and she has to prevent her parents from sending her disabled sister, Shelley away.

Alejandro (Alex) Fuentes is a gangster from the Latino Blood. His sole aim of joining the gang is to protect his family. But deep down, he wants to get out from the gang and be successful in life.

Two people who are at opposite sides of the world are brought together in a Chemistry class. At first, there is only hatred for each other. But as they start to understand each other deeper, a mutual bond forms between them. Will Alex follow the steps of his late father on a journey with no return? Is Brittany willing to reveal her deepest secrets to Alex? Will they be together at last? You'll have to read this book to find out!

I love this book! It's so good that I can't stop reading it! In my opinion, the relationship between Alex and Brittany is very well-written. It's very plausible, and the teenage angst instilled is in a suitable amount. Each chapter is told from alternating point of views - Alex's and Brittany's. This enables readers to judge the characters' situations based on both their perspectives and get a more exact idea of their different ways of thinking and lifestyles. Both narrators are quite good, but sometimes it's hard for me to understand what Alex is speaking because I don't understand Spanish.

Although this book is mainly about the romance between Alex and Brittany, it actually tells us that we cannot judge a book by its cover, nor a person by his or her appearance. It also reflects the various social issues that exist in our society, such as drug abuse and gangsterism.

One good thing I noticed about this book is that Simone never try to impress readers with flowery writing. She uses her words as a medium to express her ideas in a clever and honest way --- and look, she has done it so brilliantly in Perfect Chemistry! The epilogue of this story will leave readers smiling in delight. I never expected that to happen!

As a conclusion, I'm in love with this book and the characters. I'd definitely give it 5 stars! The mere thought of Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry #2) fills me with excitement and anticipation!

*Please note that there are adult contents, gangsterism and profanity in this book. I suggest parental guidance for teenagers under 18 years of age.

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I want to thank Kathryn from Simon & Schuster UK for sending me a paperback copy of Perfect Chemistry for this review! Thank you so much, Kathryn!

Meet Simone Elkeles

Simone was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and then Loyola University-Chicago where she earned a Master’s of Science in Industrial Relations while working for a manufacturing company creating diversity programs for their employees. In her spare time she’s a hockey mom and an active Girl Scout leader specially trained in outdoor education. She also spends time mentoring other teen and adult authors.

Buy Perfect Chemistry (paperback) at:

Simon and Schuster UK / The Book Depository

Links:
Simone Elkeles' Website
Perfect Chemistry Website