The author get a few stars for the creativity of the topic of evolution and creationism but that's about it. The character Mena is somewhat likeable but not someone who I felt great sympathy for as she was bullied and bothered in school. I don't think the author did a good job of creating any depth to Mena's character but considering this is her first novel, it isn't bad. Teen readers might relate the Mena's problems at home and in school. This fairly quick read is definitely more for teens than any other readers. ( )

Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature is an enjoyable read that does not hold up under close scrutiny.

Mena begins her freshman year of high school as an outcast. She's been kicked out of her church group for mysterious reasons, her parents seem to have turned against her, and her only friend is her nerdy lab partner. When her former church friends decide to protest the teaching of evolution at school, Mena has to choose whether she will take a stand against them.

The book starts slowly. In the opening chapters, Mena's voice feels like a forced imitation of teenager speak, punctuated by awkward slang and an excess of the word "totally," as if this was the only way the author knew to characterize her as young. However, about fifty pages in, Mena emerged as a likeable, realistically flawed character, and the authenticity of her voice carried me through the book. I really believed that she was religiously conflicted, floundering at home, and struggling to process the new ideas her lab partner exposed her to.

Unfortunately, the rest of the characterization felt off. Kayla, her lab partner's older sister, is obnoxious and not quite believable; Ms. Shepard, the science teacher we're suppoesd to love, seemed crazy rather than amazing. Mena's parents' reason for ostracizing her wasn't totally realistic, and the strained link Mena forges between the Bible and evolution is the weakest part of the book.

But for all these flaws, I enjoyed reading it. The ideas the book espouses are not revolutionary for adults who've had time to think over their religious and scientific views, but for teenagers, they feel profound. As someone forced to reconcile her parents' more radical religious reviews with the dictates of reason, I found Mena's conflicts realistic and empathetic. Most importantly, I can't justify giving a poor rating to a book that left me feeling so good at the end. ( )

The first three-quarters of this book were very enjoyable, which is way I'm giving it two and a half stars---even though the ending had to go and ruin it all.

Mena starts out as a confused, lonely girl, looking for her place in her new school, in her family, in the world. It's a little annoying how she just lets everyone walk all over her in the beginning, but she's still likable because she recognizes her weakness and resolves to take steps to correct it. And she does get slightly better over the course of the novel---but in the end, not as much as this reader would have hoped.

For one thing, she feels completely guilty about lying to her parents throughout the novel, even when she is fully justified in doing so, and eventually spills her guts to them. This doesn't really accomplish anything, except to make her feel better (and to assuage the author's guilt for promoting teenagers lying to their unreasonable parents).

For another, her old friends from church consistently act like horrible bigots, culminating in the preacher actually telling her she ought to go kill herself---and just a few pages later, at the end of the book, Mena decides that they simply have a different point of view, no better or worse than her own. Umm, no, those people are hateful and evil---not to mention just plain wrong.

The attempt to have it both ways regarding science and religion---i.e., reason and faith---is, well, retarded. No, Jesus did not believe in evolution; that's just ridiculous. And having the science teacher who got Mena interested in evolution (and science in general) in the first place turn out to be a church-goer herself at the end was particularly bad thematically, merely serving to validate the worst elements in Mena's character and arrest her transition from an unreasonable person to a reasonable one.

This should have been a book about independence, in thought and action. Instead, it turned out to be a book enshrining abject conformity. ( )

Robin Brande has done an exceptional job writing such a delicate subject, Evolution VS. Creationism, which she has depicted with such grace and delicacy that I don't think anyone could read this book and go away angry about the focus of the plot. Not to say that there wouldn't be any disagreements on it somewhere, as you can find on any subject today, but that she airs her views so lightly as to give an idea, not a lecture. Lovable characters, interesting idea, brilliant writing; everything you need for a great read. ( )

Rating: D

The review from Publisher's Weekly up on BN.com says that Mena is "an immediately likeable narrator"... I guess "likeable" is a relative term. I didn't like Mena, too much of a wet fish, like this book. This book tried to strattle the line--be all things to all people. Unfortuantely, they missed the mark. I was never sure who the target audience was for this. Most people who would have believed in evolution prior to coming to this book would probably have been put off by all of the religious references (and been reaffirmed in their thinking that the majority of Christians are a bunch of ignorant, hypocritical zealots), and Christians would be put off by Brande's mixing of intelligent design and evolution. There are a lot of people out there who believe that there is some hybrid between evolution and intelligent design, but not all and this book was written to come across as if you weren't able to see the connection, then you were in the "ignorant, hypocritical zealot" category.

I liked Casey, I liked his family, and I even kind of got were Mena's parents were coming from. However, I never liked Mena and I wasn't completely sold on Ms. Shepherd (probably because Brande was lazy and never made you really love Shepherd until way later in the book when Kayla talked about their relationship). Also, I find it kind of watery that Mena thought her parents wouldn't want her to date a boy (nevermind that the boy wasn't a Christian), just that she wasn't old enough. Also, how little did she think of her religious convictions (she makes some statement to the effect of dying before renouncing God), but she just seems to keep following whatever majority is most appealing to her at the time? Whatever.

That's why I gave the book such a low rating. It didn't earn an F because it brought up an intersesting topic for discussion, but it's handling of the material was lazy and lacked credibility. (In my opinion, but I've been known to be wrong before.) ( )

Your best friend hates you. The guy you liked hates you. Your entire group of friends hates you. All because you did the right thing. Welcome to life for Mena, whose year is starting off in the worst way possible. She's been kicked out of her church group and no one will talk to her—not even her own parents. No one except for Casey, her supersmart lab partner in science class, who's pretty funny for the most brilliant guy on earth. And when Ms. Shepherd begins the unit on evolution, school becomes more dramatic than Mena could ever imagine . . . and her own life is about to evolve in some amazing and unexpected ways.

Mena Reece does NOT want to start the new school year. She's been kicked out of church, lost all of her friends, and her parents aren't speaking to her, either. She THOUGHT that being a good Christian meant telling the truth and treating people well, but when she did the right thing, all she got was grief. Then she gets into another religious controversy – evolution vs. intelligent design. Mena has to find new friends, examine her values, and figure out if she can believe in God AND believe in science. And if she falls in love with a Lord of the Rings loving science geek on the way, well, that's just another thing to worry about in this crazy time called high school. ( )

religon, science, theology ( )

I wasn't sure about this book -- I read the dust jacket summary, it sounded interesting, but maybe not quite what I wanted to read. And then, well, I read it. And I have to say that Robin Brande is brilliant. Brande's story follows the freshman year of Mean, a quiet unassuming girl who thrust herself into the center of attention (not on purpose) and got kicked out of her church for doing what she believes is right. Similarly to Barry Lyga's novel Hero-Type, we don't know exactly what Mean did until halfway through the novel. This is probably the one thing that kind of annoyed me, because I kept wanting to know what she did, but I understand why Brande wrote the story the way she did. In a lighthearted (in some ways) and touching novel, Brande explores exactly what it means to be Christian and confronted with things that you used to believe in, but aren't sure about anymore. She turns her novel into one of the most compelling fictional descriptions of the differences of church and state -- as well as Christianity and evolution. There's obviously much, much more to the story than this, but th idea that Brande can write a brilliant coming of age story and mix it up with these serious themes is a clear endorsement of her skills as a writer. Not only did she keep me throughly entertained, but she did it in a way that felt neither patronizing nor preachy. I highly, highly recommend this book. ( )

Read 253/265 pages.

So far, it is about a girl named Mena who has become alienated from everybody around her because she is responsible for getting people she knew sued. This includes

Mena is a shy, insecure teenager who had just entered high school and has no friends. She never speaks up for herself and is always getting pushed around.

I remember when i tattled on someone because i knew it was the right thing to do, that person got mad at me and so did their friends. They didn't talk to me for a while, but somehow we made up.

The thing that i didn't like about this book is that it is taking too long to reveal the main problem of the story and the history behind it.

I would recommend this book to book to teenagers who enjoy stories about high school and troubles that surround it.

Someone that can play the main character in the movie Hilary Duff. ( )

It's hard enough to start high school, but to have all your former friends hate you makes it even worse. This is what happens to Mena, who's been kicked out of her church, shunned by her friends, and on strict restrictions with her parents, all because she tried to do the right thing. When a boy, Casey, is assigned as her science lab partner, Mena knows her parents won't approve of her going over to a boy's house, even if it's for school, so she lies. Then, when her science teacher starts to teach evolution and the church kids protest, Mena finds herself struggling with reconciling science and religion, and falling in love with Casey at the same time. ( )

very very interesting book which looks at Christianity, evolution, and learning to think for oneself. Very cool. Highly recommended

Grade Levels: 9-12 Category: Realistic Fiction

Read Alouds: pp. 1-2 (first chapter); 6-15 (Biology class); 58-66 (the back turners); 84-94 (Casey’s house); 134-140 (Bible Grrrl); 162-167 (the crush); 239-252 (Mena goes back to church); 261-265 (last chapter)

Summary: Mena Reece gets kicked out of her fundamentalist church right before starting her freshman year of high school. Biology quickly becomes her favorite class and her genius lab partner becomes her only friend. The members of Mena’s former youth group start a protest when they begin to study evolution. In her own way Mena protests right back as Bible Grrrl on the Internet. She learns to have her faith and her science too.

Themes: The most obvious theme is that of “What makes a person a good Christian?” Mena is ostracized by her church and her former friends because she shows compassion to a gay classmate and exposes her church’s agenda against gays. Mena is confused because she knows she did the right thing, but she was kicked out of church. As a result she sees the hypocrisy in her religion and begins to use the Bible to discover what she believes. Another theme in this book is the idea of separation of church and state. The character of Ms. Shepherd (the biology teacher) stands up for this and doesn’t back down when pressured by Mena’s former church to teach intelligent design along with evolution. When we learn that Ms. Shepherd believes in God, it makes her character stronger because we know that it isn’t about science vs. religion; it is about separation of church and state.

Discussion Questions:
How does Mena deal with the fact that none of her former friends want to have anything to do with her any more?
Why do you think the author tells us what Mena’s former friends’ T-shirts say?
Do you think Casey and Mena make a good couple? Why?
Is Kayla using Mena? How?

Reader Response:
I liked this book because it deals with a tough issue. I loved how, though she was treated in a most awful manner by her church, Mena does not lose her faith. I was very disturbed by how Mena’s parents treated her. They were not supportive of her. In fact, they seemed to resent her because the backlash of her actions hurt their business. The only time they seem like they care for her is when they take her to church (on their lawyer’s advice) near the end of the book. Pastor Wells preaches a sermon on Judas, the betrayer, hanging himself. Only then, do Mena’s parents see how Mena has to live everyday. ( )

Mena starts out her freshman year in high school ostracized from her church, friends, and pastor who are all getting sued because she wrote a letter. Her parents hardly say one word to her anymore, and she is harassed at school by her former friends. When those same friends start a protest against teaching evolution and target Mena's new favorite teacher things get worse. Mena also discovers that her new lab partner, Casey, is a science geek and develops a crush on him as they work on a project together at his house. Casey's sister Kayla edits the school newspaper and gets Mena in even more trouble with her former church group.
This book gets a little long in places, and Mena seems a little too good (like when she confesses her lies to her parents) and rational to be real sometimes but it's a clever book. Mena discovers that it is possible to agree with evolution and believe in God, and that following her conscience and being kind are more important than what church you belong to. This wasn't nearly as overtly preachy as I expected to be. I think a lot of Christian girls, especially from strict households, could relate to Mena. ( )

This was a really good, interesting story that is hard to describe. It's about Mena, who is a Fundamentalist Christian, but she has had a falling out with her church because she believes some of what they were doing was wrong. Now she feels very alone, except for her faith, and her eyes are being opened to new things. This is her quest to reconcile her faith with science, her relationship with her family, and her efforts at finding new friends yet staying within the confines of her religious beliefs. I really enjoyed this book. ( )

I have to admit- I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was the cover that led me to believe it would be a "chick lit" kind of book. Get passed the pink cover and you'll find depth and plenty of heavy issues: religion vs. schools, Jesus vs. Darwin, peer pressure, and of course, teen angst. My one criticism is the character Kayla, a high school senior. Kayla is way too cool and worldly to be a high school student. Kayla rubbed me the wrong way- a lot like Dawson's Creek's teens use vocabulary and insight that would be foreign to most teens (no offense to insightful teens- I'm sure you're out there!). If nothing else, page 204 will surely get you thinking: Mena writes a blog , which states that Jesus believes in evolution. A very thought-provoking read! ( )

This book really hits home for me. The science versus church debate is very real to me. I like the progression of the story, how you wonder what it is that Mena wrote that caused so much trouble. ( )

So far this is one of the best books I've ever read! I love science so at first I was captured by the title alone… But the story line is excellent!! Mena is beginning her freshman year in high school, which she was excited about up until getting kicked out of her church. Although she struggles she tries her best to stay positive which I love!! Especially with Casey, her lab partner, there to help. This book keeps you guessing, I never knew what would happen next. It was never too revealing. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for something light. It was funny and interesting! I just couldn’t put it down! ( )

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book!!! There is always an undertone of the thought of evolution, while the main character tries to figure out if it's true or not. And of course, the puppies for her science experiment, and I love how she is sort of a geek!!! ( )

This book is laugh out loud funny, especially if you know a thing or two about science. Any science geek should read it! ( )

It is about a girl, Mena, who is kicked out of her church for sticking up fora boy who happens to be gay. She is just starting Freshman Bio and they are of course studying evolution. The pastor at her old church demands that they teach intelligent design (sound eerily familiar?) and there is a huge brouhaha which Mena, despite believing that she is a coward, gets right in the middle of.

Robin Brande bravely tackles one of the religious dilemmas of our day: how to reconcile belief in God with belief in science, especially evolution. Main character Mena, recently ostracized from her very conservative church, is drawn to her new science teacher and even more attracted to her hunky lab partner, Casey. Well drawn main characters, though Mena's former pastor and some of her former "friends" are so negative that it stacks the deck against the anti-evolutionary side of the argument. ( )

Mena's first day of high school is not unlike the one experienced by Melinda, from Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. She's completely ostracized by all her former friends, because she did something that she felt was right but pissed everyone off. But instead of calling the cops and breaking up a party, Mena wrote a letter apologizing to a young man victimized by members of her church for his suspected homosexuality. The letter resulted in lawsuits against the church, and now everyone hates her. Even her parents, who still belong to the church, are angry with her.

Enter Casey, her new Biology lab partner, and Ms. Shepherd, her outspoken new Biology teacher, and suddenly Freshman year gets a lot more interesting.
When Ms. Shepherd starts teaching a unit on evolution, the student church members and their families demand equal time for "intelligent design," kicking off a religion vs. science debate that leaves Mena struggling to reconcile her strong faith with the equally compelling facts Ms. Shepherd presents.

While the religious zealots are portrayed as mean-spirited and close-minded, this book is not anti-religion but instead posits that faith in God doesn't have to preclude scientific reasoning, and even uses Bible passages to support that concept. ( )

Mena Reece just knows her first day of school is going to suck. After all, she's the one responsible for getting her whole church sued... and for a million dollars, no less. Now her friends hate her, she's on permanent restriction, and even her parents are giving her the silent treatment. The one bright spot, well, the one possible bright spot, is her science class partner -- okay, so he's sort of geeky, but in a bright, cute, enthusiastic sort of way. Mena resolves to survive freshman year, but it's not going to be easy.

Brande tackles a controversial issue with humor and heart. While the characters on the side of evolution are more well-rounded and sympathetic than the smart-mouthed, hypocritical, holier-than-thou members of Mena's church, religion doesn't come off poorly -- just small-minded people. And let's face it, we've all met people whose outlook on life is just as narrow as Mena's pastor and her former friends' -- although admittedly, Mena's parent's attitude is a bit disturbing. A readable, not too heavy-handed weigh-in on the side of evolution and religion. ( )

I couldn't really get why Mena's parents were so oblivious to the hurt Mena was going through and yet she seemed to accept it. She complains, but she was such a "good" girl eventhough they weren't such good parents.
The audio tape is well done ( )