Chemistry Lessons by Meredith Goldstein is a light and quick read. I ended up finishing it one night before bed.
I really enjoyed this book. What initially drew me in was the cover. I’m a very visual person and covers play a big factor when I search for books that I might be interested in. I loved how it conveyed the ‘science’ aspect and ‘bubbly romance’ in a complimentary way. It really helps sell the story.
Goodreads summary:
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?
Goldstein’s writing was well thought out and easy to read. It’s very apparent that she researched the certain scientific points that that the story covers, but it’s delivered in a way that isn’t over the top. The average person can understand the language and it’s also explained in a way that doesn’t demean the reader, but ties into helping the main character understand.
Another thing I enjoyed was the representation given in the books. The whole cast of characters was diverse: people of color, sexuality, etc. The world is so vast and different outside of an individual’s bubble that it’s a shame when it comes to books that it’s difficult to read a book where you don’t automatically imagine the character is cis-gendered, caucasian, and heterosexual.
Overall, this ended up being a delightful read. I gave it a solid 4 stars.
Leave a Reply