Rules of Attraction (Mexican Americans)

Book Title: Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Topic: Mexican Americans, love

Thoughts: This is a sequel to Perfect Chemistry.  I had read Rules of Attraction first.  I don't think you need to read Perfect Chemistry first, but I wish I had so that I knew the background on Alex and Brittany, who we meet in this novel.

Elkeles centers this novel on Carlos, Alex's younger brother and Kiara.  Carlos is not completely like Alex and Kiara is nothing like Brittany.  Elkeles develops distinct personalities in these novels, and I am looking forward to reading Chain Reaction to see what their younger brother Luis turns out to be like.

After Carlos has lived in Mexico for a year, his mother sends him to live in Colorado with his older brother Alex.  Carlos wants to go back to either Mexico or Chicago, but his mother and brother do not give him that option.  Carlos likes annoying people and causing problems, until he is busted for drug possession in his new high school and has to attend an after school program for at-risk students. 

Carlos is more rebellious than his older brother and is a jerk to everyone he meets.  I don't think I would have the patience to put up with his attitude for very long, but after reading this novel and attending workshops last week, I have to look beyond the surface and realize that people act the way they do because of what is going on in their life not necessarily what is going on in the classroom.

While the 2002 movie with the same name has the setting in a college and the same type of characters, this novel centers around the Hispanic population and what they deal with.