If you know me personally, you would know who I am the girl that loves to watch movies, go to Broadway shows, shop, listen to music, try new food places and drinks, go to the latest events or pop-ups, and hang out with my friends. However, there is one thing that I feel like a lot of people don’t know about me that I think deserves to be known: my love for reading. Ever since I was a little girl, I was always ready to pick up a book and read at least 50 pages before bedtime. There are times when I can spend the whole day reading and actually finish a book. At first, I would read anything and didn’t have a specific genre I would stick with. But that all changed when my ninth grade English teacher got me into romance with my absolute favorite book series of all time, Perfect Chemistry. I don’t know what it was about this trilogy, but thanks to this series, I found the genre that I became obsessed with. My bookshelf is now filled with mostly romance books. I still have the book series to this day, and I always reread it. For the longest time, I’ve always wondered why it has not become a movie or TV series. It’s such a great series, and I think it would do so well as a live-action adaptation. Don’t get me wrong, I do love to reread the series, but I want more. I want to see whether an adaptation would match everything that I’ve imagined while reading the book and do justice to its iconic moments.
A summary of the book series.
I feel like not enough people know about this book series because the first book is almost 20 years old, and it seems like you don’t hear that much about the author, Simone Elkeles, on social media even though she has a lot of books out. Perfect Chemistry follows three brothers, Alex, Carlos, and Luis Fuentes, and their journey of overcoming family trauma and trying to break away from a gang called the Latino Blood to have a better future for themselves and their families while also finding love along the way. The first book, Perfect Chemistry, follows Alex, who is part of the Latino Blood to protect his family after his father was murdered. He is still a high school student who thought he had no future ahead of him until he starts to fall for the most popular and rich girl in school, Brittany Ellis. He starts to realize he wants more for himself and faces conflict as he tries to leave the gang. The second book, Rules of Attraction, focuses on Alex’s younger brother, Carlos, who gets into trouble and is forced to move to Colorado. Unlike Alex, Carlos wants to live on the edge and doesn’t want to break ties with his gang life. But, that all changes when he not only falls in love with Kiara Westford, but also when a drug lord frames Carlos for having drugs in his school locker and threatens to harm his family. The third book, Chain Reaction, is about the youngest brother, Luis, who learns the truth about his family. Luis must choose between having a bright future with his love interest Nikki Cruz, or going down the wrong path like his brothers once did and joining the Latino Blood and their new leader.
Why should it be a movie or TV show?
In the years since reading this series, I’ve realized that, nowadays, a lot of the books that get live-action adaptations are always the books that are popular. While I get why those books deserve a lot of attention, we shouldn’t forget about all of the books that are out there in the world. After all, everyone has their favorite genres, and I’m sure that people want to see their favorite books become something that they can both read and watch. I’m actually really shocked that Perfect Chemistry never got a live-action adaptation because it has a lot of potential. The story is exciting, crazy, and you’ll be entertained and on the edge of your seat. Each character is amazing because you can understand and connect with them as they make their own choices instead of doing what everyone else expects them to do. It’s a good mix of drama, romance, and violence, so it won’t get boring. Not to mention, it features a lot of real-world issues, such as racism, gang life, and class division so you can see for yourself how these issues still exist and changes are still needed to get rid of them. Overall, with these three books, it would be a fantastic movie trilogy or three-season TV show that gives each of the Fuentes brothers a chance to shine with their own story brought to life. It would also give the author an opportunity to show how incredible her stories are.
Perfect Chemistry will always have a special place in my heart since it was the book that piqued my interest in reading as I got older and helped me find my favorite genre. We all have that No. 1 favorite book that no one gives love to that could possibly become a live-action adaptation. While Perfect Chemistry was popular among many readers when it first came out and was even a favorite at my high school library, it doesn’t really get the same attention nowadays. It doesn’t help that the newer books are becoming more popular and getting movie or TV adaptations. Books like To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and Off Campus are just a few examples of books that have gotten the great opportunity to come to life on the big screen. Even though they are amazing books, I think that there are so many other stories across many genres that deserve the same chance, even if they are older and not trending. But just because they are not talked about as much, it doesn’t mean that they are forgotten by the readers that still love and appreciate them.
Not everyone will enjoy the same books and their adaptations, and that’s totally OK because everyone has their own likes and dislikes. However, if we gave more books a chance, it would not only give the authors more recognition for their hard work, but also give longtime fans the opportunity to watch their favorite stories, moments, and characters come to life. They could even gain new fans who would watch the live-action adaptation first and then become interested in reading the original books. No matter what, some might like the books more than the adaptations while others would prefer watching them. Either way, these stories can still be enjoyed in many ways. I truly believe that Perfect Chemistry has so much potential and heart to become a live-action adaptation. I hope the day comes where we get to see the Fuentes brothers brought to life on the big screen.