Love In The Time Of Global Warming by Francesca Block

 

The worst has come.  In California where Pen lives, an earthquake of unimaginable strength has destroyed much of what was Los Angeles.  Pen gets separated from her parents and brother and doesn't know if they are still alive.  She stays in their house for six weeks, living off the food and water her father was wise enough to stockpile.  When a roving band breaks into her house, she escapes and takes their van.  Now she sees the worst.  Fire still rage, most structures have fallen and giants roam the streets, eating humans.  

Pen manages to find refuge in an abandoned hotel where other teens have gathered.  There she meets Hex, a young man who seems to know what has happened.  He says the giants are the result of genetic engineering gone wrong and they roam destroying what they see.  After several weeks, Pen gets a message that she might find her family in Los Angeles and she and Hex head that way.  Along the way, they pick up other stragglers, Ash, Ez and Venice.  Along the way, they discover that all of them are gay or transgender and they find it ironic that a despised group are the survivors of a world catastrophe.

This is the first in a young adult dystopian series.  Pen is the hero and her ability to go from a middle class home to a survivor in a world gone mad is encouraging.  This band of misfits, who had all been looking for a place in the world, now can make the world what they want it to be, a more accepting place and the need to band together to fight the dangers.  This book is recommended for young adult readers.