Chemistry Lessons
Author: Meredith Goldstein
Pub. Date: June 19, 2018
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 256
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD
Synopsis: From advice columnist Meredith Goldstein, a dazzling, romantic, and emotionally resonant YA debut about a teen science whiz in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who tries to crack the chemical equation for lasting love and instead wreaks havoc on herself and the boys in her life.
For seventeen-year-old Maya, the equation for happiness is simple: a dream internship at MIT + two new science nerd friends + a perfect boyfriend = one amazing summer. Then Whit dumps her out of the blue. Maya is miserable until she discovers that her scientist mother, before she died, was conducting research on manipulating pheromones to enhance human attraction. If Maya can finish her mother’s work, maybe she can get Whit back. But when her experiment creates chaos in her love life, she realizes that maybe love and loss can’t be understood using the scientific method. Can she learn to trust the unmeasurables of love and attraction instead?
Okay, first off – this cover is gorgeous. It’s definitely on my top ten list for favorite book covers, and I pretty much could just stare at it forever. The colors are pretty, the simplistic, yet stunning theme is amazing, and I can’t stop rambling about how awesome the book looks.
If you think the cover is awesome, just wait until you read the story!
This is one of those books that I read in one sitting. The day that I got the book in the mail, I wasn’t feeling all that great, so I settled onto the couch and read the book in the span of about two and a half hours, since it isn’t that long. I was immediately drawn into the book from the first page, because I loved the writing style.
The story was unique and made the story take a bit of a dive into science fiction while still remaining mostly contemporary. Does that make sense? I think it really worked out for the best here because there was just so much on offer. It was such a fun read because of this.
I loved Maya’s character. It was heartbreaking that her mother died, but Maya tried to finish her research and that kind of kept her legacy alive – it was interesting, but also full of so many emotions that it did made me sad, and then later in the book I would find myself laughing at other things. I love books that can take me through full sets of emotions in the book – it makes me feel like I’ve gone on an awesome journey.
The story was an incredibly thought out, original one – I’ve never read anything like this and I really enjoyed that. The way the author wrote the characters, completely fleshed them out (especially Maya – I felt like I really knew her), and managed to write such a great story really says a lot about her talent as a writer.
This book is so perfect for summer. Pack it in your beach bag! Take it to the park! Read it while stretched out on the couch sipping lemonade! I have to recommend this one to anyone who loves a good contemporary that will make you think and feel.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Meredith Goldstein is an advice columnist and entertainment reporter for The Boston Globe. Her first novel “The Singles,” was released by Penguin/Plume on April 24, 2012.
In March of 2016, Grand Central Publishing acquired a memoir based on her column, Love Letters. It is scheduled to be released by Spring of 2018.
Meredith was born in New Jersey, raised in Maryland, went to Syracuse University, and now lives in Roxbury, Massachusetts with a carnival-size cotton candy machine that she bought for herself on her 30th birthday.
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3 winners will receive a finished copy of CHEMISTRY LESSONS, US Only.
Week One:
6/18/2018- The Heart of a Book Blogger– Review
6/19/2018- Sincerely Karen Jo– Review
6/20/2018- Novel Novice– Guest Post
6/21/2018- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review
6/22/2018- Riddle’s Reviews– Review
Week Two:
6/25/2018- Book Briefs– Review
6/26/2018- BookHounds YA– Interview
6/27/2018- Dani Reviews Things– Review
6/28/2018- Smada’s Book Smack– Review
6/29/2018- A Dream Within A Dream– Excerpt
Oh I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed that book so much – glad to hear the inside is as great as that cover! I also love books that gives me all the emotions, from tears to laughter, these often end up being some of my favorite books, so yay for that!
Thank you so much for sharing this review 🙂
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks recently posted…Mini Reviews: Restore Me, This Mortal Coil
If the book is a good as the cover, then this one is going on my TBR! Great review!