Rules of Attraction is a 2010 young adult novel written by Simone Elkeles as the second installment of the Perfect Chemistry series.

[1] The novel, Rules of Attraction is about Carlos Fuentes falling in love with Kiara Westford and the obstacles they face when trying to be together.

After he moved to Colorado he enrolls in Flatiron High School where he meets his peer guide Kiara Westford.

As you already know, marijuana isn't hard to find in this city, but you have to stay clean per court order.

The two of them end up almost having sex, but Carlos stops it because he doesn't want to hurt her: “I have to get it out before I'm in too deep,” he says.

Carlos tries to fight Devlin's gang because they threatened his mother and brother Luis back in Mexico but gets injured badly.

Professor Westford ends up asking Carlos to take in a troubled teenager.

Carlos had his own rule he wanted to make sure was stated loud and clear.“Dating Cecilia is out of the question, so don't even think about it.

He was in a gang back in Mexico to provide money and protection for his family, but tries to find a way out of it in order to become a better person.

Kiara Westford - She is a tomboy, smart, logical and also a grease monkey, having a hobby for fixing cars.

She is Carlos Fuentes's love interest and the daughter of Professor Richard Westford.

He takes in troubled kids to try to change their lives for the better and works with the DEA sometimes for psychological evaluation.

As a result of accident, he was left on the streets and in and out of foster care before eventually enlisting in the military.

After revealing his past to Carlos, he helps him get out the Devlin's gang and gives him his blessing to be with Kiara on the condition he either goes to college or enlist in the military.

Wes Devlin - A “business man” who recruited Carlos Fuentes into his gang instead of killing him because he need connection to Mexican drug dealers.

Her parents don't approve of her relationship with Alex on account of his history, which leads them to break up in the novel.

A critic from the Multicultural Review wrote, “The dialogue is witty and realistic, the characters authentic, and the setting of Boulder, Colorado, is described in much detail” [8] Likewise, the School Library Journal noted the novel's appeal to teens, stating that Elkeles “delivers a steamy page-turner bound to make teen swoon”[9] The novel is notable in teen fiction for its ability to “help to tear down ... stereotypes in a manner that is both funny and genuine.”[8] Indeed, Rules of Attraction suggests that cultural differences do not have to be a problem for today's youth.

Despite its realism and appeal to a teen audience, the story was critiqued as being “contrived and rushed, and minor character are not as well developed” [9] Rules of Attraction is written in the alternating narrative voices of Carlos and Kiara.

[9] It is also notable for its use of “brother dialogue... infused with plenty of Spanish, but clear in context.”[9] Elkeles, Simone (2011).