Climate change
Climate change is the most prescient theme in Two Degrees. At a time during which people around the world are dealing with climate change and its effects, the characters in Two Degrees must contend with three separate climate disasters: a fire, a flood, and a viscous ice attack. Each disaster has ravaged the Earth in one way or another, displacing—and sometimes, killing—people across the world. One of the main characters of the novel, Akira, must flee a wildfire before the flames close in on her, preventing her escape. At the same time, Owen and his friend George, two other characters in the novel, must contend with ice and angry Polar Bears. Finally, Natalie must hunker down in her Miami, Florida home as an intense hurricane sends floodwaters crashing into the home, causing Natalie to be swept away in the storm and leaving her with nowhere to hide. Each character must, in other words, deal with the effects of climate change in one way or another. Above everything, Gratz makes the argument, and sends a warning, that the world should be cherished and not destroyed by humans. Climate change, after all, can upend the lives of everyone—and everything—on the planet. In Two Degrees, Gratz shows what happens when humans become too greedy and too cruel to the planet on which they live.
Climate refugees
Another equally important and prescient theme in Two Degrees is climate refugees. In the novel, each character— Akira, Owen, George, and Natalie — are forced from their homes and communities because of climate change and its effects. Natalie, for example, is swept away from her home because of flood waters. Additionally, Akira is forced to flee her home because of a wildfire which has gotten out of control. Akira, in fact, must escape her community and find shelter somewhere safe before she is killed. Because of the situations they find themselves in, each character is a climate refugee, something which an increasing number of people in the world must deal with in recent years. Gratz's novel is a warning to that effect: if humans don't care of the planet they live on, everyone will be a climate refugee (and many will likely die).
Being rescourceful despite hard times
An important theme in the novel is being resourceful despite hard times. Each character — Akira, Owen, George, and Natalie — must contend with limited resources to stay alive and be successful despite the hard times they found themselves in. Natalie, for example, no longer has a home to live in and has been caught up in the hurricane. She has nothing more than the clothes on her back and the things that she has in her pockets. Still, Natalie finds a way to survive in a seemingly impossible situation.
