Narrated by Blas Kisic & Roxanne Hernandez
I recently read and loved Perfect Chemistry which is the first book in the linked series about the three Fuentes brothers. When I saw Chain Reaction was available for review, I wanted to try the audiobook. I haven’t read the second book yet but as that one is set in Colorado and not Chicago like the first and third, I don’t think it impacted my understanding all that much. There are strong links between Perfect Chemistry and Chain Reaction however, so congratulations to past me for choosing to read them in order.
I don’t read or listen to a lot of YA. I’m a romance reader first and foremost so I’m always looking for a HEA/HFN and YA doesn’t necessarily guarantee that (listeners are safe with this series however, fear not). When I choose a YA title, I tend to go for the older end of the spectrum so I was a little thrown when Chain Reaction began when Luis, the youngest Fuentes brother, and Nikki Cruz were both 15. They were both dealing with very adult things even then. However, I can’t say I wasn’t relieved when the book quickly skipped forward two years to when they’re both commencing their senior year of high school at Fairfield High.
Luis has a plan: to graduate high school, go to college at Purdue to study aeronautics and from there, apply to NASA’s space program. His return to Chicago and the old neighbourhood brings him back into proximity with the Latino Blood gang and he finds himself caught up in gang activity in spite his best intentions.
Nikki Cruz, who lives on the wealthier north side of Fairfield, is Latina by heritage but has no cultural connection to her Mexican roots. She doesn’t identify as Latina and she doesn’t speak Spanish, as a result of a deliberate decision by her parents to “assimilate”. Despite a bad past experience with a “south sider” involved with the Latino Blood, she is irresistibly drawn to Luis. The feeling is quite mutual but there are more than class issues dividing them. There is a very clear and present danger to Luis from the gang and Luis is torn between his feelings for Nikki and being with her, and staying far away from her to protect her.
There is a gritty reality to this series that surprised me – I’m a YA novice though so probably it shouldn’t have. It’s not a book about high school notes passed in class or does he/she like me or anything particularly juvenile. These kids are dealing with very serious issues and, as with Perfect Chemistry, I was truly wondering just how the happy ending was going to arrive.
There were some dangling threads which felt underdeveloped – I’d have liked to know more about Luis’s relationship with his mother after the big reveal late in the book, Nikki’s parents’ concern about her relationship with Luis was barely covered and Nikki’s desire to learn more about her Mexican heritage was only touched upon briefly. However, I did feel the intensity of the situation Luis found himself in (even if it didn’t quite hang together as well as in book one) and I totally bought the romance between Nikki and Luis.
I had mixed feelings about the narration. Blas Kisic is clearly a Latino and he brought a level of authenticity to his narration of Luis that I appreciated. I didn’t mind that the non-Latino characters tended to have a Latino accent (some effort was made to voice them with a mid-western USA accent but it did slip regularly). There are Mexican words and phrases used in the book and it was great to hear them authentically spoken. However, I didn’t always feel the emotion of the story, with Mr. Kisic sometimes coming across as monotone rather than expressive.
Roxanne Hernandez did not have an accent but this made sense because Nikki doesn’t identify as Latina for most of the book and was raised to blend in. She doesn’t speak Spanish and she doesn’t have an accent. There was a little too much of the wide-eyed innocent in the portrayal – it didn’t ring true to Nikki and it felt more like a problem with the performance/delivery of character.
It wasn’t a bad listen by any stretch but it wasn’t compelling either. What kept me listening was the story. The narration didn’t hinder my listen but neither was it a huge draw.
I’ve been reluctant to read or listen to a lot of YA – I think I’m mostly too old to relate – but Simone Elkeles tends to write characters that I can identify with (even though we tend to have almost nothing in common). There is something special about the way she writes young people who are dealing with serious stuff. There is a level of authenticity to it which I appreciate. I’ll be looking for more from this author.
Kaetrin
Narration: C+
Book Content: B
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence Rating: Escalated Fighting
Genre: Contemporary Romance - Young Adult
Publisher: Audible Studios
Chain Reaction was provided to AudioGals for a review.
[jwl-utmce-widget id=32435]
