Force of Nature

This fresh, smart, and funny young adult debut with a speculative twist asks the question: What if Mother Nature was a teenage girl?

Who is Chloe Lovejoy, really? A straight-C student, a girl with a crush on the cutie from chorus, an all-powerful being responsible for taking care of the planet . . . or perhaps all three. That’s what Chloe finds out on her sixteenth birthday, when she unexpectedly inherits the role of Mother Nature from her grandmother. Chloe is overwhelmed, to say the least. Then, when the unthinkable happens, and Grandma is no longer around to guide her, Chloe is left to oversee the natural laws of the world all by herself.

Between managing earthquakes and hurricanes, rivals at school, and her not-very-helpful mother, Chloe tries to maintain balance and harmony on Earth and in her everyday life. But someone in the community has an eye toward harnessing her powers for nefarious purposes, which means Chloe needs to dig deep and get her act together before her secret is found out. After all, the universe is depending on her.

Force of Nature by Melissa Clark is an utterly unique coming of age story about a teen girl rising to the occasion, even when she feels completely in over her head.