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Summary
Summary
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, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Simone Elkeles gives fans one more satisfying taste of the irresistible Fuentes boys.
Author Notes
Simone Elkeles received a Bachelor's of Science degree in psychology from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 1992 and a Master's of Science degree in industrial relations from Loyola University-Chicago. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked for a manufacturing company creating diversity programs for their employees. Her books include Perfect Chemistry, How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, How to Ruin My Teenage Life, and Leaving Paradise. She was voted the Illinois Author of the Year by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (1)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 10 Up-Chain Reaction follows Perfect Chemistry (2009) and Rules of Attraction (2010, both Walker), a trilogy centered on the lives and loves of the Fuentes brothers. Luis, the youngest, is a smart, macho "adrenaline junkie" who has a way with the chicas. The story is told in alternating chapters by Luis, who opens with a rock-climbing stunt that lands him in the hospital, and by Nikki, 15, who opens intending to tell her boyfriend that she is pregnant. The importance of la familia is a thread throughout the story, and when the Fuentes family returns to Chicago's South Side, Luis finds himself drawn into the gang life that Alex and Carlos worked so hard to leave behind. Nikki, dumped by her boyfriend, has sworn off relationships, putting her energy into helping out at an animal shelter. The fast-paced story is a melodramatic roller coaster, with gangbanging, drug selling, steamy encounters in pool cabanas, and a shocking family secret revealed. The story is laced with Spanish words and phrases, four letter words, and up-front descriptions of loving teenage trysts. Derek shows some depth of character as a friend who stands up for Luis, as does Reyes, an ex-gang member turned cop. Most of the characters are clearly either good or bad, but this simplicity keeps the story moving briskly along. A no-loose-ends epilogue revisits the family 26 years later, to assure readers that all ends well. The books are best read in order and will find the strongest audience among fans of the first two installments.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
