L.A. Weather
María Amparo Escandón

“In Los Angeles people are like ducks on a pond. They glide effortlessly on the tranquil surface, but when you go underwater you can see that they’re frantically paddling along.” And so goes L.A. Weather by Maria Amparo Escandon, a story about Angelenos who are holding their heads above water, navigating their personal lives amidst drama pulling them in the undertow.

Escandon jumps in the middle of the Alvarados complicated lives, the Los Angeles weather taking center stage as the protagonist of the patriarch’s misery and the matriarch’s contemplation of divorce. The book takes us into depth in some places, but in other places in the story it might oversimplify the complex issues each of the Alvarado daughters are experiencing. Woven throughout the book are topics of gentrification, generational wealth, mental health, LGBTQ+, and evolving marital dynamics.

The book has no true ending, but is a continuum of the truth that life goes on. It brought closure, but more questions of how the Alvarados were going to endure the next chapter of their lives, pun not intended.

With such a cast of characters including the infamous weather of Southern California, I would welcome a follow-up to see how the Alvarados are doing during a pandemic.

María Amparo Escandón is the author of #1 Los Angeles Times bestseller Esperanza’s Box of Saints and Gonzalez & Daughter Trucking Co. Named a writer to watch by both Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times, she was born in Mexico City and has lived in Los Angeles for nearly four decades.

L.A. Weather is publication by Flatiron Books. Click here to purchase.
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Reviewed by
Harmony Trevino​
​12/9/2021

Harmony Trevino is a writer and voracious reader of books. She started her education in journalism, and ventured into nonprofit communications. Harmony eventually went to work at TOMS Shoes for five years supporting their philanthropy efforts. She currently resides in Tennessee.

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