California Time
Author: Simone Elkeles
Published: August 16 2011
Pages: 308
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: Luis Fuentes has always been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers’ lives. But that didn’t stop him from taking risks—whether he’s scaling a mountain in the Rockies or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis can’t stop looking for the next thrill.
Nikki Cruz lives her life by three rules—boys lie to get their way, don’t trust a boy who says “I love you,” and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Her parents may be from Mexico, but as a doctor’s daughter, she has more in common with her north-side neighbors than the Latino Blood at her school. Then she meets Luis at Alex’s wedding, and suddenly, she’s tempted to break all her rules.
Getting Nikki to take a chance on a southsider is Luis’s biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by Chuy Soto, the new head of the Latino Blood. When Chuy reveals a disturbing secret about Luis’s family, the youngest Fuentes finds himself questioning everything he’s ever believed to be true. Will his feelings for Nikki be enough to stop Luis from entering a dark and violent world and permanently living on the edge?
Review: Now that I've read all 3 of the books of the Fuentes I can say that I absolutely love the Fuentes brothers!
Luis is the good brother who knows what he wants how to get it. His story starts at the wedding of his older brother, Alex. There he meets Nikki and doesn't see her again until he has to go back to the place where he grew up. Being the good brother, makes Luis understand that he needs to stay away from gangs and get good grades but the more he explores and meets people the, more he gets closer to the dark side of the Fuentes brothers
Despite having Luis as the good brother who doesn't get in trouble he still manages to have the appeal that his 2 older brothers did. Luis had grown in the south side of Fairfield but he had never been exposed to the gang. After returning everything seems like it has changed but it doesn't mean that everything has stopped. After Luis finds some things out he feels like he's been betrayed and does some very bad decisions.
Nikki was different from Brittany and Kiara. After going through some hard stuff with a boy who just played with her, she is hesitant to trust any boy she meets. I loved how she refused to like any guy but at the same time you could see that she was scared that it would happen. She might have been a hard person to get to but knowing what she went through makes the reader more understanding of her.
I loved seeing Alex and Carlos back in this book. You get to see how their lives are going after their story was finished. They are both now good boys who don't want to go back to the way they were but when they see that Luis is in some trouble they are willing to help him. And also, I loved seeing the chemistry teacher back in this one!
I'm sad to see the stories of the Fuentes brothers end but I know I enjoyed reading all 3 books. Simone's books have something that makes me not want to stop reading them because I always want to know what happens next. I would definitely recommend this book and the first 2 to anyone!
