Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey chronicles Jill Jekel a girl whose father has just been murdered and Tristen Hyde a boy with a troubled past, a murdered mother who has murderous visions put there by the monster in his head. Both characters are of course chemistry nuts and they pair up to try to win a chemistry competition and to perfect the formula from the old novel to rid Tristen of his beast.
This novel is plagued with problems. The first problem is that the author chooses to have both characters narrate the story and doesn't give either one enough of a voice so that the reader can know immediately (without reading the chapter title) who is narrating. The romance wasn't believable and the main story was illogical and absurd. The main characters sneak around and break into schools preparing dangerous chemical compounds for Tristen to drink while also preparing for a high school chemistry scholarship competition. Tristen admits that he's dangerous and has fantasies that involve murdering Jill yet she still loves him and tries to change him. As you get further into the plot it becomes more and more strange and unbelievable.
Appropriateness: As for content that parents would find objectionable there's discussion of rape (along with the monster within being blamed) drinking and glorified petty crime. There is a lot of violence that's excused as being the fault of the alter ego and a girl running to a guy who has told her how dangerous he is and how he dreams of raping and murdering her (and she doesn't even seem to like him that much).
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