If all of my books were this engrossing, I would be much farther along than 11 books in June. :)
This is the perfect blend of easy summer reading, romance, and honest questions about society and relationships. It may come off as a bit too good to be true in the end, but I really cared about Alex and Brittany by the end of the second chapter. I liked how the chapters alternated between the characters, giving us both points of view without being overbearingly omniscient.
I really enjoyed watching the characters change throughout the novel. That's one thing that bothers me about a lot of teen literature: the characters are often very flat. But Alex and Brittany both grow and learn a lot as their relationship deepens.
I am always very interested in novels with an element of urban life, like Alex's gang life. I wonder how many of my students have similar, if milder, experiences. I wonder how many of them could relate, in one way or another, to the characters in this book? Probably most of them could.
That said, I could never use this book in my classroom because it has a LOT of language (which didn't really bother me because that's absolutely how Alex would talk) and a fair amount of sex and violence, with a liberal sprinkling of drugs and alcohol to round it out. However, all you high school teachers out there, you might want to consider it for book clubs where kids have a choice (especially with parent permission). There would be plenty to talk about!
