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micaelamariem's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book had a somewhat interesting premise: a family drama inspired by telenovelas. But it failed to deliver. The majority of it was, well, boring. The characters were unlikable. I personally didn’t like the way “chapters” were divided, making it impossible to find good places to pause. Weather is supposed to be an extended metaphor about the health of the family but, by the middle of the book, I was ready to throw it down every time they were talking of the weather and the drought because it was SO boring. I also hated the way the point of view skipped around, making it hard to find who was talking, which was quite annoying. I don’t know if I’m too young to appreciate this, or family dramas aren’t my thing, or this truly was not a great book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Infertility, Rape, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Classism, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Medical content, Cursing, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.25
I really wanted to love this book. I love a family drama, and I was excited to dive into the Alvarados’ journey juxtaposed against droughts and fires in LA. But unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me.
I read that Escandon wanted this story to feel like a telenovela. While she definitely brought the drama and some ridiculous plot points, I’m not sure that she succeeded in tone. Telenovelas are inherently outrageous and are in on the joke. They know how outlandish the storylines are. There wasn’t anything in the writing here that made me think we weren’t supposed to take this seriously. Perhaps I missed the humor, but the book didn’t seem to be aware of how silly it was.
I also think that the structure of the book, written almost as a log of the year, hurt it. The book is divided by month, and within each month, by various dates. Each date entry is anywhere from one paragraph to three pages, but never follows more than one character or incident, resulting in a very choppy read. We read about things happening, but we never get to really know the characters (the three daughters are basically all the same person) and there never seem to be any consequences.
In the end, that was my biggest issue with LA Weather: none of the plot developments ultimately matter, because half of them are dropped with no follow-up, and the others never really have any major consequences for our characters. This lack of consequence or deep examination of plot points makes the inclusion of some sensitive topics clunky, poorly handled, and downright offensive.
I read it quickly and wanted to know what happened, but in the end, nothing really mattered. The best thing abou this book was that I buddy read it with @whatkissreads and we exchanged some very yelly voice notes about certain plot points.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Medical content, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Infidelity and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal death
amcghig's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
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