Review: Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Title: Return to Paradise
Author: Simone Elkeles
Series: Leaving Paradise #2
Genre: YA
Release Date: September 1, 2010
Publisher: Flux
Edition: Paperback
Blurb:

Maggie and Caleb just went through the worst year of their lives. Hit by a car and starting life over with a limp, Maggie never thought she would forgive Caleb. But she did—and fell in love. What they shared was real. But Caleb wanted to be free from the past—and a terrible secret: he wasn't the one who hit Maggie. So he left Paradise—and Maggie—forever. When Maggie and Caleb run into each other in a different town, they can't deny their true feelings. Will Maggie let Caleb get away again? Or will Caleb face the truth and return to Paradise?

In my opinion the last book, Leaving Paradise, didn't have a satisfying ending. This second book at least gives it to us. After leaving town Caleb gets into to trouble. Again. To avoid going to jail he has to do a program that makes him and the rest of the people in it go from place to place telling teens why they shouldn't drink and drive. Caleb goes as one of the representatives of the offender side and Maggie goes as the victim side. Of course, they didn't know the other was going to be there and this creates trouble for everyone (I think this was a little easy, if you ask me).

These two have a lot of things to deal with, starting with Caleb, who still has to admit he wasn't the one that drove the car and has to deal with the emotions of being punished for something he didn't do. For a good part of the book Caleb is a jerk. He lashes out to everyone and there were times where I wanted to smack him. Meanwhile Maggie was trying to prove to everyone how strong she was and how she has moved on, but at the end of it it wasn't true. She was just as scared as before and was only putting up a front. I really enjoyed seeing this two together and I especially liked the scenes where Maggie tries to help Caleb.

We get an update on some characters, like Caleb's and Maggie's families, Kendra, Brian, ... Then we meet some new ones, like Lenny, a guy who at first seems an idiot but later you realize is much more. The character that annoyed me no end was Leah. She hasn't changed at all since the first book and most of the time I wanted to yell at her and make her admit the truth.

Overall, this was a great final chapter of the Maggie and Caleb love story. Loose ends get tied up, the truth finally comes out and all the characters deal with the consequences of the car accident and Caleb's arrest.


Memorable Lines:

Caleb pounds his fist hard into the tree trunk. His knuckles are bleeding from the force, but he doesn't seem to notice as he storms up to me.
"The truth is that I didn't hit you with that car! I went to fucking jail for a whole fucking year for something I didn't fucking do! And you know what? It sucked. I resented every moment in juvie because I wasn't supposed to be there in the first place!"

Previous Book:
1. Leaving Paradise - Review


Rating:

Review: Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Title: Leaving Paradise
Author: Simone Elkeles
Series: Leaving Paradise #1
Genre: YA
Release Date: April 1, 2007
Publisher: Flux
Edition: Paperback
Blurb:
Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares — has been canceled.

After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.

Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.


After reading and loving Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction, both by Simone Elkeles, I knew I had to read Leaving Paradise.

Maggie and Caleb represent both sides of the same coin. He was driving the car that injured Maggie for which he went to juvenile jail and she got injured for which she lost all she worked so hard to gain. He's the bad guy and she's the victim.
When Caleb finally gets out of jail and comes back to Paradise, Maggie and him had to face their fears and find out who they really are.

Caleb comes back to a destroyed family. Nothing is as it was before the accident and he has to adapt quickly to the changes. I liked how he finally sees the true faces of everyone around him, even though it seemed like we really didn't know his friends at all. There has to be more about them than a selfish cheerleader, an insensitive group of guys and some bullies. Also, we don't really get to know his family and why they are the way they are, and I didn't really like that Caleb didn't care enough to face them and stop playing their charade.

Maggie retreated to her shell after the accident and didn't come out until she started interacting with Caleb. I loved seeing her evolve from being scared to facing her problems. I don't understand how she lost all her friends, I don't think teenagers are that cruel. We are also presented with the issue of her dad, but that's never resolved and I felt it wasn't necessary. Her mom is very conflicted, she doesn't know if she should cuddle her daughter or force her out of her cocoon, and that's the main thing that made her seem realistic.

The other important character in this book was Mrs. Reynolds. It's because of her that Caleb and Maggie get together and really talk, she's also the one that starts giving Maggie her confidence back and she also is one of the few people who doesn't judge Caleb for his past. I think that without her probably Caleb and Maggie would have never gotten together.

I loved the story of both the main characters and the time flew while I read this novel. The only problem I had was the ending. I really wasn't expecting that, but at least there's a sequel later this year.


Memorable Lines:

Caleb stands and paces the attic again. "Coming home has sucked. But leaving Paradise would be a copout."

"To me," I tell him "leaving Paradise means freedom. I feel locked up just living in this town where everybody reminds me what a loser I am now."

Calec crouches down, his face right in from of mine.
"You are not a loser. Hell, Maggie, you always knew what you wanted and went for it."

I tell him the honest truth. "Not anymore. When you hit me, a part of me died."


Next Book:
Return to Paradise - Leaving Paradise #2 - September 1st 2010


Rating:

Review: Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Title: Rules of Attraction
Author: Simone Elkeles
Series: Perfect Chemistry #2
Genre: YA
Release Date: April 13, 2010
Edition: Hardback
Blurb:
When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.



Simone Elkeles is becoming, without a doubt, one of my favourite YA authors. Afer finishing the first book of the trilogy, which I loved, I couldn't wait to get my hands into this one, and I devoured it in one sitting.

Carlos is a lot like his brother Alex. He's arrogant, prideful, tries to protect his family at all costs and he doesn't believe he belongs or is worthy of Kiara. I loved seeing his interactions with Alex, especially when they were talking about "their" girls. It was also funny and a little heartbreaking seeing him deal with Kiara's family, especially her dad, because Carlos grew up without paternal guidance.

Kiara is shy, responsible and loves her family. She's also a car lover, hikes almost everyday, has a funny & competitive side and when she gets nervous she stutters. As the story moved forward, you could see sparks flying between Carlos and Kiara. I loved how at some point or another, they had to risk their pride, heart & soul to one another, as well as seeing their protective instincts.

One of my favourite things was the relationship between Carlos and Kiara's best friend. It was fun seeing the progression from hate to an amicable truce. I also loved how Carlos deals with Kiara's ex. He completely had it coming!

I don't usually talk much about covers but this one is based on one of my favourite scenes of the whole book. It's so romantic and exciting that I've re-read the scene a few times.
The plot moved along nicely, and even though I've never been a huge fan of books that switched narrators from chapter to chapter, this 2 books of the trilogy are an exception. The author makes it work wonderfully and I love seeing the point of view of both main characters.
I can't wait to read Luis' book and see how the trilogy ends! Seeing as how I loved this book even more than the previous one, my expectations for the next book are really high.


Memorable Lines:

“I can’t be normal with you,” I tell her.

She turns to me, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“This morning in front of Michael you asked me to be normal.” I take a deep breath and tell her what I should have said after the game. Instead of lettin’ her ignore me when I finally got home, I should have told her the truth. “I can’t. When Tuck told me you’d dated Michael, all these visions of you with another guy drove me nuts. I don’t want you with another guy.”

“I don’t want to be with another guy. I want to be with you. Now pick a movie before I say something you don’t want to hear.” She waves me over. “Pick one.”

Next Book:
Untitled Perfect Chemistry #3 (Luis' Book) - 2011


Rating:

Review: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Title: Perfect Chemistry
Author: Simone Elkeles
Series: Perfect Chemistry #1
Genre: YA
Release Date: April 19, 2010
Edition: Paperback
Blurb:
When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. 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. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.


At the beginning of the book, we have two completely different characters: Brittany, who appears to be a classic cheerleader with superficial problems & Alex, a cocky gang member that doesn't seem to like "snow" people at all.
The most important thing about the story is that even if they are completely different persons, at the end they both are lonely and even if they don't know it, they seek comfort and a way to end it. In that sense, they understand each other perfectly.

Another important aspect of the book was the relationships each of them have with their families and how different they are.
There are a lot of interesting secondary characters like Paco, Alex's best friend who is always looking after him, Sierra, Brittany's best friend and confidant or Isabel, who starts as Alex's friend and ends up being really close to Brittany.

I really liked how the author created the two different sides and how as the story moved forward, both sides collided until all it was left was one world with a lot of different people and problems.

This was an amazing book, with realistic issues and a great ending. All I can say is that I can't wait to read Carlos' story, who's Alex's younger brother, and see how the author develops the next two books of the Perfect Chemistry trilogy.


Memorable Lines:

“This is Brittany Ellis,” I say, all eyes now focused on me. “This summer she went to the mall, bought new clothes so she could expand her wardrobe, and spent her daddy’s money on plastic surgery to enhance her, ahem, assets.”

It might not be what she wrote, but it’s probably close enough to the truth. Unlike her introduction of me. Chuckles come from mis cuates in the back of the class, and Brittany is as stiff as a board beside me, as if my words hurt her precious ego.

Brittany Ellis is used to people fawning all over her and she could use a little wake- up call. I’m actually doing her a favor. Little does she know I’m not finished with her intro.

“Her secret desire,” I add, getting the same reaction as she did during her introduction, “is to date a Mexicano before she graduates.”

Next Book:
Rules of Attraction - Perfect Chemistry #2

Rating: 1/2