256 pages
Published May 12th 2015
Published by Wendy Lamb Books
Source: Publisher
Thirteen-year-old Stewart is academically brilliant but socially clueless.Fourteen-year-old Ashley is the undisputed “It” girl in her class, but her grades stink.Their worlds are about to collide when Stewart and his dad move in with Ashley and her mom. Stewart is trying to be 89.9 percent happy about it, but Ashley is 110 percent horrified. She already has to hide the real reason her dad moved out; “Spewart” could further threaten her position at the top of the social ladder.They are complete opposites. And yet, they have one thing in common: they—like everyone else—are made of molecules.
This is the story of two complete opposites: Steward is your typical nerd while Ashley is the mean girl we all love to hate. What happens when Steward's father moves in with Ashley's mother? Beautiful chaos, that's what.
We Are All Made of Molecules is the perfect book for anyone in their teens. It handles tough subjects with a hint of humor that keeps everything heartwarming and relatively light. The writing is clever and witty. I loved the use of the two points of view and how the story progressed for both of the main characters. Steward and Ashley shine in their own way and are rich characters that have the potential to help younger readers in a moment of need. I do have to admit that Ashley made me a little bit upset because she can be slightly annoying but enough character development is there to get you through her obnoxious stage. Now, to balance that out, Steward's story is very touching. He lost his mother and he has to put up with bullying at school. His positive nature is so well done and I couldn't help but love him.
Even though this novel didn't blow me away, I enjoyed the journey. I loved that it features diverse characters and that it could introduce teens to important issues. Keep in mind that this reads more like MG than YA. This didn't bother me but it might be an issue for some of you.
