During the summer my kids swim on teams—yup plural. With three different age groups, I take them to three different practices, affording me with tons of poolside reading time. (Another upside, my tan is already on point.) So I’m always on the hunt for great poolside reads. Chemistry Lessons by Meredith Goldstein is the latest YA contemporary to meet my poolside requirements. Reminiscent of Love Potion Number Nine, Chemistry Lessons is a cautionary tale about tampering with love and free will. Mostly because it is illegal but that’s what summer reads are for: suspending reality.
Somewhat personal, Chemistry Lessons also deals with the loss of a parent. Meredith Goldstein lost her mother to cancer in 2013 and you can feel her loss in the pages of Chemistry Lessons.
About Chemistry Lessons
A few years after her mom’s death, Maya finally has it together. She starts her freshman year at MIT in the fall, she has a great summer internship at the MIT lab where her mom used to work and she has a fantastically perfect boyfriend. Until of course, her boyfriend dumps her and she begins to tailspin.
Desperate to get her boyfriend back, she learns her scientist mom was working on a formula to prolong or ignite attraction. Maya enlists her mom’s former lab assistant to restart the experiment. But the lab assistant will only do it if they keep the study a secret (because of legal and ethical reasons) and expand the experiment to three subjects: a friend, a stranger and Maya’s ex-boyfriend.
Why I enjoyed Chemistry Lessons
It has all the necessary ingredients for a fast summer read: romance, hijinks and a snarky gay best friend. Obviously sparks fly with all three subjects and Maya faces the unethical consequences from the experiment. The best part of the book is hands down her best friend Bryan, a Junior Barder destined for fame.
It has strong themes of love and loss. While Maya tries to win back her boyfriend, she mostly fights to cope with the loss of her mother in a very real and believable way. Chemistry Lessons reminds me a lot of Tell Me Three Things and for good reason, both authors lost their mother.
The whiff tours and pop culture references. Like a great song of summer, Chemistry Lessons references lots of pop culture and literary works. Maya and her friends also go on Boston walkabouts searching for great smells where you really feel like you’re in the city.
Obviously, the premise isn’t believable but the story is cute. If you’re itching for something fast and entertaining, Chemistry Lessons is fun YA summer read. Chemistry Lessons is out 6/19. You can buy it on Amazon. Meredith Goldstein also writes an advice column for The Boston Globe called Love Letters where she tackles love issues. She also recently launched a podcast for the column.
If you could, would you ever use a love potion? On who?
Chemistry Lessons is out Tuesday 6/19!
