Love in the Time of Global Warming Review

Love in the Time of Global Warming
by Francesca Lia Block
Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian/Add you Genre here ;)  This book can't be categorized that easily!
Format: ARC from Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Midnight Minute: Pen is a modern day Odysseus, dodging giants and sorceresses, finding love and home after the world she knows is torn apart. 
Expected Publication: 08.27.13 (wow, sorry it's such a long way off!)
From Goodreads:

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.

Midnight Thoughts:

~ This is my first book from Francesca Lia Block, but the writing was so wonderful that it doesn't really matter that her books aren't my usual type.  In fact, that's what I liked about this book.
~ I love mythology.  A LOT. And I love re-tellings and re-imaginings.  But I have read a lot of bad books based on mythology, so far 2013 has brought several mythology based books my way that have been awesome.  
~ The world as we know it is torn apart by earthquakes and floods brought on by Giants. 
~ Pen's journey is similar, but not identical, to Odysseus's troubled journeys.  A lot of the obstacles she's faces are of a familiar kind, but Block puts a very modern spin on everything. 
~ I don't know if I would classify this book as YA.  It certainly can be read by young adults, and most of the main characters fit in that age group, but I think this could easily be on the shelves of adult fiction too. This book, like Pen and her friends, can't be put neatly in a box.
~ Pen is a fascinating character.  This is a short book, ya'll, but it doesn't ever feel shallow.  Pen is dealing with her sexuality and her crush on her close friend, Moira, and Block manages to convey this is very subtle way.  Block has the ability and talent to say more with a paragraph than most authors can say with a chapter.  In away it reminds me of Maeve Binchy, although she and Block are very different writers.
~ This is the most epic feeling book I've ever read that's under 300 pages- it's not even 250 pages long.  It's a fast paced read, reading like a very modern fairy tale.
~ One thing that really struck me about this book was the love of art and music.  It's everywhere, even amongst the destruction of the world. It's part of what made this a beautiful read- amid eyeball plucking and questionable meat. 
~ FINALLY- a butterfly on the cover that really makes sense.  There are butterflies throughout the story guiding Pen's journey (she actually puts quite a bit of faith in the little buggers).  The orange butterfly is the Rabbit to Pen's Alice.
~ Giants, drugged out teens, the real sirens of Beverly Hills, sorceresses and evil scientists, Pen encounters them all.  
~ Although the Odyssey is a big inspiration for this tale, the way that Pen collects friends is not unlike Dorothy picking up the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Cowardly Lion.  I loved how each member of this little ragtag group ultimately made sense in the larger picture. 
~ I loved the visions Pen has of her friend's as children.  Again it tells you more about the characters in fewer words. 
~ Hex's tattoos prove very telling. 
~ This book does have some smexy times in it.  Not an in-your-face HBO kind of sex, but it isn't the fade-to-black kind of sex featured in most YA either.
~ Block does not make a big deal out of it, but all of the main characters are gay, bi-sexual or transgender.  It's a welcome change to the funny, gay best friend that's featured in a lot of books- and I'd like to point out the token gay friend is almost always male.  Usually a book has to specifically be a LGBT book to feature main characters that aren't strictly heterosexual.  
~ I just really liked this story, and it's really stayed with me.  I actually might be liking it more and more as time goes by, which happens sometimes when you have a chance to reflect on a story. I originally gave it four stars on Goodreads, but I'm thinking it's closer to a four and a half, which means I'll bump it up to 5 on there. 
~ I really liked the characters.  Pen is a wonderfully strong young woman, Hex is charming and sexy, Ez and Ash are adorable. I just really liked this book, and the writing is wonderful!

Timeless Characters:

Penelope (Pen)- our female Odysseus, artistic and brave, and world class big sister.
Venice- Pen's unique little brother.
Moria and Noey- Pen's besties before the Earth Shaker.
Argos- Pen's dog.
Hex- a sexy boy Pen meets at The Lotus Hotel.
Kronen- the scientist that made the giants.
Beatrix Lay- former soap opera star and current sorceress.
Ez- a young cake eating artist and chef.
Frekk- a Giant.
Ash- a young male model with a beautiful voice.
Tara- a Tibetian goddess. 
Merk- a helpful man. 
 

Midnight Moment:

If I had to pick just one scene that really got to me, it would be when Pen and her friends go to the museum and a Giant tries to make Pen his bride. 

Stop The Clock:

A beautiful blend of mythology, fairytale and our modern world.  It's unique, well-written and a real page turner! 


Francesca Lia Block— Website |Francesca Lia Block

Love in the Time of Global Warming gets a Midnight Book Rating of: