Angie
Proceed With Caution:
This book contains homophobia and discussions of parent death.
The Basics:
Love and Other Natural Disasters is narrated by Nozomi, a 100% hopeful romantic. As in she is completely obsessed with the possibility of love and romance. She's always looking on the bright side and everything is an opportunity for love! Even when her crush calls her boring, Nozomi just channels that to become a new her and sets out to find a summer fling while interning at a museum in San Francisco. The perfect opportunity arises when hot girl Willow wants to make her ex jealous, so now Nozomi can use her Rom-Com knowledge in a real world situation! With less than stellar results.
My Thoughts:
Love and Other Natural Disasters was so freaking cute! Nozomi is a bit over-the-top as a character, but I enjoyed her story! She whole-heartedly believes in love and that it's out there for her. She couldn't be anymore excited to live out my favorite romance trope, fake dating. With a fun twist! Willow wants to get her ex back, but Nozomi's secret plan is to keep them together so that Willow will fall for her! So devious! But of course, she has to come to realize that life is not a Rom-Com, no matter how hard to she fights against that truth.
Love and Other Natural Disasters isn't all sunshine, rainbows, and Rom-Com tropes. Nozomi's grandmother has been forgetting things and getting lost, and her uncle and father want to move her to an assisted care facility. Of course, grandma does not want to go! Everything is fine! She just needs a little help from her family! It's all good! Nozomi is having a hard time seeing her fierce grandmother struggle like this. On top of that, she's debating if she should come out to her grandmother. Her grandmother had cut her uncle out of her life for five years when he married his husband and her views on homosexuality hasn't changed.
My favorite part of Love and Other Natural Disasters was, of course, the twisted fake dating plot. Nozomi and Willow seem to hit it off, but Willow is hung up on her ex, Arden. Nozomi, always looking on the bright side, just needs Willow to realize how awesome she is and how much fun they have together! Meanwhile, Nozomi has been spending time with, Dela, Arden's current girlfriend, after wrecking her art installation. Yes, lots of queer girls of color around here! Lots of feelings! Lots of drama!
Love and Other Natural Disasters was just super cute. It takes my favorite trope and made it even more complicated.