03 Sep / L.A. Weather by María Amparo Escandón [in Booklist]
Oscar Alvarado is a multi-generational Angeleno Mexican American; his wife Keila was a high-school exchange student from Mexico City. They lovingly raised three daughters. Thirty-nine years later, their three-year-old twin granddaughters almost drown in their neglected pool. The accident fuels Keila’s marital discontent and emboldens her announcement that she wants a divorce. Family shock ensues.
By the end of the year, the entire family will be back under one roof. The kleptomaniacal eldest daughter will wake from a medically induced coma and excise her cheating spouse. The architect middle daughter will dump her useless partner but steal their remaining embryos. The youngest, who still lives at home with her child born of rape when she was 14, will, well, most amicably follow suit. As for the titular weather, it proves to be most crucial for the Happy Crunch Almond Orchard.
Telenovela anyone? Why, yes, bestselling María Amparo Escandón (Gonzalez & Daughter Trucking Co., 2005) also works in film and TV, so, naturally, the Alvarados are getting the Hollywood treatment. If the print version is any indication, the forecast sure looks promising for screen success.
Review: “Fiction,” Booklist, August 2021
Readers: Adult
Published: 2021