Book Review: Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block

Summary: 
Seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) has lost everything—her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother. Like a female Odysseus in search of home, she navigates a dark world full of strange creatures, gathers companions and loses them, finds love and loses it, and faces her mortal enemy.

In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. At the helm is Pen, a strong heroine who holds hope and love in her hands and refuses to be defeated.

Release Date: August 27, 2013
Age Group: YA
Source: Review copy from publisher

Review:
Love in the Time of Global Warming was unlike anything I've ever read before.  It was almost like reading a poem, the prose was so lyrical.  Block's writing reminded me of Maggie Steifvater's, except with more depth.  The writing style was beautiful and gripping.  It made the story feel emotional and almost haunting in its intensity.

I've never even imagined or read anything close to the premise of this book.  The 'bad guys' were something I never expected to read about.  I read the first encounter with the 'monsters' twice, thinking I was reading something incorrectly: I was that surprised.  It was really unique and made for an interesting read!

In the midst of the unique premise and fast-paced plot, Block manages to insert a timely and well-executed love story between the main characters.  I don't know if this book is classified as LGBT, but I think it could be.  

I felt very invested in the outcome of the story, and this feeling kept me reading until the end.  The story was full of magic and also an element of magical realism.  At first, I really enjoyed that, but towards the end, it got to be a little too much for me.  Things were happening without any kind of reason or logic behind them and that bothered me.  There was a lot of introspection, magic, and a sort of dreamlike feeling to the book, and ultimately, I would have preferred something a little more grounded.

Overall, I did really enjoy Love in the Time of Global Warming and would recommend it. 


 


1 comment:

  1. Glad you liked this one, Kelli! I had my eye on this title for a while because it seems so interesting. My ARC copy of this one from NG unfortunately expired before I could get to it but I will definitely check my library to see if they have it. I think it's something that I would enjoy.

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