Review: The Chemist

The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Chemist is certainly a departure for Meyer from her other YA novels. I think this novel had a lot of potential but I don't think the execution was entirely successful. For me, this novel was so full of contradictions and odd juxtapositions that it wasn't entirely believable. Granted, it is a fiction novel, but the best fiction does have some basis in reality.

The main characters, Alex and Daniel, both were developmentally flawed. Alex was this awkward, socially inept, Mary Jane character. Yet, I was also supposed to believe that she was this ruthless interrogator? She had a split personality that just didn't quite mesh for me. How can one be both ruthless and naive at the same time? Daniel was too everything - too good, too forgiving, too trusting. They fell in love too quickly. It just made the story unrealistic and unbelievable at times.

At over 500 pages, the story was in need of some serious editing. There were times when the narrative dragged and lulled, which caused the suspense and drama of the story to lag and wane. There were whole scenes that could have been removed that would have moved the story along at a better pace. In the end, this one was just okay for me. I would really give the novel 2.5 stars.

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