LOVE & OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS

Can you fake your way into the heart of the person you want?

Hopeless romantic Nozomi Nagai is a queer, Japanese American 17-year-old from Glenview, Illinois. Over the summer, she and her older brother, Max, are interning at their gay uncle Stephen’s museum in San Francisco and spending quality time with Baba, their aging grandmother who has dementia. Riddled with insecurity from a humiliating rejection by her back-at-home crush, Nozomi is determined to have a transformational summer romance. She instantly crushes on gorgeous Willow—“like a teenage Gemma Chan”—who works in the museum’s gift shop. Trouble is, Willow is heartbroken: She was just dumped by Arden, an equally gorgeous Black girl who has moved on to be with Dela, a teenage White/Japanese artist with an installation at the museum. When ambiguous comments between Nozomi and Willow leave their social media followers speculating, Nozomi instigates a fake romance in hopes that it will eventually become real. What ensues are hilarious and often cringeworthy situations that Sugiura imbues with depth. By giving voice to Nozomi’s internal struggles with her parents’ pending divorce, strained relationship with her mom, and fear of rejection by homophobic Baba, she layers a complex rom-com plot with deep insights about honest and patient love. That Nozomi’s racial and sexual identities aren’t treated as issues but simply parts of who she is is also refreshing.

A laugh-out-loud, tender, and wholly satisfying read.