More like 3.5 stars. 
 I found this book on the bargain shelf at my local book store and figure, eh, why not? 
 Surprisingly, I actually really liked this story. The author did a very nice job of introducing 2 wonderful leading characters and giving them a very real feel. The character development felt real and thorough in the beginning chapters. 
 Brittany seemed like a "little miss perfect" to everyone who didn't know her, but as we see early on, this is all an act. She plays the part because she thinks she has to. It's a true trait of many teen girls who just want to please their parents and fit it. 
 Alex--oh, my, Alex. The boy is just hot. Then again, I'm still not sick of the bad boy. Though, Alex is not actually bad. Yes, he is in a gang, and he talks and acts tough, but like most "bad boys" in YA lit, he's not. I enjoy Alex because there are reasons he is the way he is, and really, he's just really freaking hot! 
 I loved this story--maybe even enough for about 4.5 stars--up until the romance really got started. Don't get me wrong, I loved the love story part, but it seemed to happen unrealistically fast. One day they hated each other, and then one day they couldn't stand not being together. It was just too fast for me. I guess I needed another few chapters of them dancing around each other before diving in. 
 There were some wonderfully sexy bits thrown in, which I really loved. They weren't distasteful, but they weren't a total fade to black either. Really nicely done. 
 Another thing that kept hanging me up was the Spanish. Living in the South, I know a lot of Mexican people, and the way the author used the Spanish did not feel authentic. The Mexican families I know don't speak that way, using only one word of Spanish here and there. Usually, when they intersperse it with English, they use whole phrases and/or sentences, and switch back and forth. Every once and awhile they'll use one or two words, but not like the author here did it. It just kept tripping me up because it didn't flow the way I'm used to hearing it. 
 All in all, I really enjoyed this read. Didn't care for the epilogue at all, but the rest was great!