For her last year of high school, Brittany, captain of the cheerleaders, beautiful and from a wealthy family finds herself in a compulsory pair in chemistry class, with Alex. This one may be very attractive, but his tattoos and the bandana he wears make him a member of a very dangerous Mexican gang. Everything opposes them and yet both hide behind a facade. They have a reputation to protect.
From one chapter to another, Alex’s voice alternates with that of Britanny, which makes the characters even more realistic, lively and endearing. The brutality of the events gives a passionate tone to the story. The reader goes with a shudder from Brittany’s golden cocoon to the violence of the streets in which Alex lives.
A realistic, acerbic and uncompromising treatment of racial hatred opposing whites to Mexicans and apparent social differences without persistent restraint to separate these two peoples who nevertheless live in the same country. It is therefore through Brittany and Alex that we will dive into this world of violence governed by the law of the strongest…
From the first chapters of the story, alternating between the thoughts, aspirations and visions of Brittany and Alex, we are caught up and impregnated by a gentle, superficial atmosphere whose latent violence is highly palpable.
Simone Elkeles, by this novel, knew how to stand out from the lot of youth romances by knowing how to make it mature and topical, raising a sexual tension and an omnipresent sensuality which will go crescendo between Alex and Britany. The simple and incisive pen of the author ends up convincing. Using a familiar and sometimes raw language but totally anchored in reality and in agreement with the current youth and the circles in which the protagonists are immersed.
