Book Review & Cupcakes: Chemistry by Jodi Lamm

Author: Jodi Lamm

Published: June 10, 2015

Page count: 212

Format: Paperback

You don’t want to read this book. I’m warning you. This isn’t a heartwarming, boy-meets-girl, high school romance. I wish it were—God, do I ever. No, if you read this, you’re going to be angry… with me, mostly. You’ll probably yell at me, if you’re the type of person who yells at books. You’ll tell me not to be so stupid, but I won’t listen. I’ll be exactly as stupid as I need to be to destroy everything I love because that’s who I am: a walking, talking tragedy. That’s who I’ve always been. But if you’re determined to read on despite my warning, I may as well introduce myself. My name is Claude Frollo, I’m nineteen going on ninety, and this is my story. It isn’t pretty, but it’s honest. And it’s the only story I have left to tell.

   This was definitely an interesting read. When I heard about “Chemistry”, it said that it was based on the famous book by Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. That was enough for me to get me start on it as soon as possible. In my childhood, I remember watching the Disney version of this classic novel so while I was reading this book I couldn’t help but keep imagining and classifying the cartoon characters. However, Jodi Lamm’s version is not alike at all to the Disney plot.

   This contemporary retelling of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was starred by a completely crazy character named Claude Frollo. I think that it was intriguing to be able to travel on the mind of this character, at least for me. You see, I’m used to reading books based on the hero or the bad person turning into a good kind of character eventually, but in this story, Claude stays 100% true to his way of being. I kept waiting for the part where he would finally recapacitate and do the right thing, but that certainly didn’t happen. You could see him struggling with his feelings and macabre thoughts. This was, in a way, something new to me. However it wasn’t at all bad, on the contrary, I found it enthralling.

  So really, Chemistry is a refreshing retelling that I believe deserves a thumbs up! It was easy, fast to read and not at all boring.

   And because I had the urge to do a bit of fangirling, I decided to use my hands to express my love for this book. What do you guys think? You like?