Force of Nature

Gr 9 Up–When Chloe’s grandma announces that she has something big for her sweet 16, Chloe thinks she is getting a car. Instead, she receives a key to an underground control room filled with computers and monitors that will help her in her new role: next in line to be Mother Nature. What follows is a steep learning curve, particularly after Grandma dies unexpectedly. Chloe is thrown into her new role, and readers follow her trying to cope with the job’s many demands. These requirements are constantly interrupted by school, her resentful and neglectful mother, her rivalry with classmate Brooklyn over curly-haired Curtis from chorus, and her attempts to stay close to her friends. The sad and troubled relationship between Chloe and her mother is the most poignant part of the book. ­Following Chloe as she learns more about the earth’s climate will engage readers. Problems both large and small are resolved a little too easily throughout, including the weight of Chloe’s powers and the ­consequences when she uses them for ill. The ­confrontation with the ­villain tends toward the absurd, but the exploration of climate change brings freshness to the story of a teenager finding out that she is a deity. The plot is overall compelling enough to keep readers intrigued. Characters cue white.