Chemistry Lessons by Meredith Goldstein -Optional

Goldstein, Meredith Chemistry Lessons, 245 pages. hmh,  2018. $18.  

Language: G (20 swears); Mature Content: PG13 (dating, kissing, talk of sex); Violence: G. 

HS – OPTIONAL 

Things couldn't be better for Maya -she is going to MIT in the fall to follow in her now deceased mother's footsteps, she has a great boyfriend Whit whom she is about to lose her virginity to, and she has a great group of friends both at work and home. But her world is shattered when her boyfriend dumps her for someone else. Now Maya is desperate to get him back. When she finds out her mother was researching attraction and pheromones, she has the idea to use that knowledge to make Whit like her. But first she and Ann (her mother's beloved research assistant) have to test the formula -first on a guy friend and then on a guy that's a stranger. Maya isn't happy about the idea and it embroils her in some drama. Will she ever get Whit back? 

I didn't enjoy reading this book and found the main character kind of pathetic. But I think teen readers will relate to the desperation that comes after an unexpected breakup. The plot felt very linear with very few, if any, side plots, so it didn't feel like a truly fleshed out world. I thought some of the conclusions were very forced and didn't feel natural. Honestly even though I spend the entire book with the main characters perspective I didn't feel like I really knew her -most of her life seemed to be tagging along with her best friends well established acting life. The sex talk isn't detailed or graphic, more just about who had sex with whom and about virginity. 

Stephanie, Elementary School Librarian & Author