Review Detail

Not only has Mena Reece been ostracized by her church friends, she has actually been kicked out of her church. Even her parents arent talking to her. She is totally friendless. And why, you might ask? Well, Im not going to tell you, because in Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature, Robin Brande will unveil the reason in her own way.

Menas first day in high school is a disaster. Her former friends talk about her in class, bump into her intentionally in the hall and call her names. The year looks hopeless. It is third period biology class with Ms. Shepherd, however, that is going to change things for Mena. Firstly, she was paired with Casey Connor as a project partner. Her parents would never let her go to a boys house, even if it is for school. Secondly, one of the topics Ms. Shepherd will cover is Evolution and survival of the fittest. The church kids would never go along with that&as a matter of fact, when the topic is introduced they all turn their chairs around and face the back of the room.

Casey is a geeky science guy, though not bad looking. It soon becomes apparent that he may be Menas only friend. She lies to her parents in order to go to his house to do their science project. It is here that a whole new world opens up to her. Sheltered by her parents and the church from virtually everything, shes introduced to a fun family, Lord of the Rings films and Kayla, Caseys older sister and editor of the school newspaper, who sweeps her into her web of drama. As the furor of Evolution vs. Creationism accelerates, Kayla convinces Mena to write Biblical essays under the pen name Bible Grrrrrl validating that the scientific method and religion can co-exist, which Kayla will publish on her website,.

As you can expect, Menas role as Bible Grrrrrl, her involvement with Kayla and the school newspaper and her visits to Casey are exposed and big decisions must be made. I couldnt put this book down. What I liked about it was the subject: Science vs. Religion. Brande could have written a very one-sided, dogmatic book. Instead, she took great pains not to denigrate the belief in God and his/her role in the earths creation. There is a lot of action. Theres romance. There are thought provoking issues about life, family, religion, science and friendship. This is a fast reading book and in the interests of survival of the fittest and natural selection, you should select Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature.