Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature

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3.85 of 5 stars 3.85  ·  rating details  ·  2,957 ratings  ·  545 reviews
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 clas...more
Hardcover, 268 pages
Published August 28th 2007 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

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(showing 1-30 of 3,000)
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Tatiana
In case you don't know this about me, I am agnostic. It is beyond my understanding why so many people think that it is impossible to be a religious person and accept science. I can roll and roll my eyes at those who relentlessly assert that the Earth's age is 6000 years and people walked the Earth along with dinosaurs. I am sorry, I understand there is a lot of unexplained about our Universe and some choose to attribute this unexplainable to a God's grace, but denying scientifically proven facts...more
Danielle
Jul 02, 2009 Danielle rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one
Shelves: young-adult
I really wanted to like this book.

I thought that it was going to be so much more then what it was...

But it wasn't.

You see, I was hoping for this nice story about how a (seemingly) Christian girl found a way to defend her faith and what she's believed all her life. You know, like, Live Out Loud or something! Instead, I watched as Mena (who overall was a very believable character to be sure) learned about and then believed in something that I absolutely do not agree with.

As far as characters go,...more
Trevor
Sep 09, 2007 Trevor rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: realistic fiction, soul searching, etc.
This totally takes a spot in my top 5 for 2007! (This coming from the guy who doesn't seriously practice a religion or affiliate himself with any church, herd, or mob!) Absolutely amazing, touching, funny, thought provoking..wow. Brande presents us with a girl's struggle to remain faithful to her personal Christian beliefs while:
a) learning for herself that science and religion can mix.
b) coming to terms with the fact that the Christian clique at her school (her old gang) certainly doesn't act C...more
Jessica
Apr 25, 2011 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Jessica by: Janina
My friend Janina recommended this to me after I had read Brande’s other book Fat Cat and absolutely loved it and I must say that this was a really nice read as well. I didn’t love it as much as Fat Cat but still, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

You can see from the blurb what the story’s about so I won’t go into that any further. Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature does have an awww-worthy romance included but it’s not the thing the story mostly revolves around. IMO, the main topic is how to reconc...more
Janina
Robin Brande has definitely become one of my favourite authors with this book. I loved her second novel, Fat Cat, and her debut, Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature, was great as well.

Mena believes she did the right thing - but the right thing got her kicked out of church, made her former friends hate her and caused her parents to stop talking to her altogether. Not the best situation to start your first year of high school.
The only bright spot is Mena's biology class and her lab partner...more
Allison
Brande, Robin, Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature, 272 pgs. Knopf Books for Young Readers; Language~PG, Sexual Content~G; Violence~G

What if all your friends, everyone you grew up with, and even your parents turn against you? What would you do? This is Mena’s life. This last Summer, Mena chose to stand-up against a movement in her conservative community to shun a former member who has announced he is gay. Her parents aren’t speaking to her, her pastor has asked her to leave the church,...more
Abby Johnson
High school isn't starting out like Mena had always dreamed it would. Her friends aren't speaking to her because she's responsible for most of their parents being sued. She's been excommunicated from her church because she did the right thing and put a stop to the evil things her friends were doing. Her parents aren't even exactly speaking to her right now because her actions caused them to lose a big chunk of their business clients.

The only bright spots in Mena's world are her new biology teac...more
bjneary
Mena is just beginning high school and frantically tries to get through the first day knowing all of her friends hate her, her parents are barely speaking to her and she is forbidden to attend church—all because she did what she thought was right. Add to that, science teacher Ms. Shepherd teaching evolution and things really get out of control in Mena’s life. One good thing for Mena is being paired with brainy reader and science partner, Casey, who proves to be a stalwart friend with an awesome...more
Leela
Feb 03, 2008 Leela rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Girls (12-15) who enjoy romance or comedy
One of my favorite books I have ever read. It has something for everyone, romance, humor, conflict, and food for thought. While it centers around a religous topic, I think anyone of any religon should read this. It is definately worth reading, and while I at first thought it was going to be a chiche "high school girl" story, I was pleasently surprised.
It is the story of a girl who just entered high school. She is responsible for the sueing of half the people in her church, including her parents...more
Melissa Robinson
An interesting and sincere look at religion, science and teen life. Mena is struggling to deal with her first year of high school after being ostracized by her former church friends and their parents. She finds solace in her science class with an inspiring teacher and friendly (and cute) lab partner. When the members of her former youth group protest the teaching of evolution in science class, Mena needs to find the courage to set the record straight. Wonderfully written and unique in teen liter...more
kari
Apr 25, 2012 kari rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2012, ya
Christian bullies. Does that sounds like an oxymoron? Not so fast. When someone is being physically harmed, taunted, cursed at (yes, from Christians) and otherwise abused, that is bullying. Even if it is from the supposed "good" kids, it is bullying. I was outraged that these kids behaved this way to a former friend as, even though it is fiction it feels very realitic. I wanted to ask these Christian kids about WWJD and if Jesus ever bullied anyone into believing. So I guess you could say this b...more
Katy
Brande leads with a bit of a mystery: why, exactly, has Mena been banned from her church and ostracized from all of her old church friends? She's miserable, friendless and even her parents are giving her the cold shoulder... and yet she's not about to apologize for doing what she thinks is right. The new friends she makes, starting with her cute/geeky lab partner, Casey, are cool, smart, pro-active and exactly the kind of people her parents would forbid her to hang out with, if they knew. When...more
Mokamonkey
I really liked this one. Mena does something which causes her family, church and friends (all church members) to turn on her as she enters freshman year of high school. But she knows it was the right thing to do. And even though they all hate her, she retains her faith and tries to live her life on the principles that she believes in. Her perspective broadens as she meets new people.
Chantel
I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book in the end. Some personal background...I'm a Christian with a degree in Zoology whose favorite class at the Christian University I attended was Evolution. So, I suspected up front, that I'd either love or hate Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature.

For the first half of the book, I felt like the characters were too one dimensional... (evil, uptight, judgmental Christian pastor and kids... smart, cool, savvy science teacher... mean, controll...more
Anrol L.
This book is truly amazing.....but first just a warning: if you are reading this in hopes of a well-writen review....STOP READING!!!!

Anyway this book is not superficial, it somehow manages to be "beneficial"(aka something your parents might like that you read) but at the same time so incredibly interesting and entertaining....

Okay, I do admit that I am a complete geek... but I really think that even the least avid readers would like this book, if they gave it a shot. I love the way this book com...more
Jess
So I found this to be a book that makes you think. Like really think. It also makes an impression. Well at least it did on me. This is a story about a girl who grew up and church and is shunned for doing something that she believed was right. She wanted to help someone who she thought her friends had wrong. Not knowing that things would be blown out of proportion. Then the same people who shun her start a stupid protest against evolution. She slowly develops a relationship with her lab partner w...more
Bethany
Is Robin awesome? Yes, Robin is awesome.
CuriousLibrarian
This is a strong book for the younger YA set, grades 7-9 or so. It tackles some very contemporary issues of religion and the evolution debate, while also hitting on timeless issues of fitting in, love, when or if to challenge authority, and learning to come into your own. And it still manages to be funny!

I liked that Mena has a healthy respect for religion in general, and the pieces that are meaningful for her, while coming to recognize that her old church is too predatory, smothering and contro...more
Diana Welsch
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Schuyler
Oct 06, 2008 Schuyler rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who hates the black and white false dilemmas in combining religion with science.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Catherine Page
An unpredictable novel about a teen's faith, the perils (and joys) of high school, evolution being taught in schools, and those who would bring "scientific creationism" into schools.

It's the first day of high school, and Mina is now hated and ostracized by all her old friends, friends from her church's youth group. Her church and its members are being sued, on the basis of her comments in a letter of apology to one of her classmates. Even her parents' insurance business is faltering due to the l...more
Kate
Sep 28, 2008 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Kate by: Teen Book Club selection
I chose this book based on the description, which made it sound like a good discussion book, from YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults list. The main character's life reminded me of a young person I know who has strict Christian parents who seem to want to shield him from the reality of the world. There is a whole subplot about the girl not having watched or read Lord of the Rings because it depicts sorcery--I find this argument against classics like LotR and books like Harry Potter so silly, bec...more
Nancy
After the taunting, teasing, and heartfelt, but misguided attempts of Mena's church group friends to convert a gay student to heterosexuality lead to his attempted suicide, Mena realizes how wrong they all were. While not a participant, Mena feels guilty that she did nothing to stop the situation, and she writes a note of apology to the boy in question. When he and his parents find out who the perpetrators were, they sue the families in question. In turn, Mena is excommunicated from her church,...more
Barbara
Apr 10, 2008 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teens
Mena Reece is just starting her freshman year in high school, she has been cast out of her church, her church friends are alternately bullying her and ignoring her, and her parents are not speaking to her. The reason for all of this is not made clear until almost half way through the book. Her science teacher places her with cute science geek, Casey Connor, as her lab partner. Through her science teacher, Ms. Shepherd, and Casey and his family, Mena sees another way of life different from the st...more
Christina
Very interesting teen novel about the usual stuff--being an outcast at school because your friends have decided to snub you for something you did, meeting a cute new guy whom you start to have a crush on, dealing with a new school year's classes--but also a novel about a very big issue in contemporary society: teaching evolution and "intelligent design"/creationism in public schools. Ninth grader Deanna has been kicked out of her church and is hated by her former youth group friends, because of...more
Deana
Oct 06, 2007 Deana rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: ya
The protagonist- Mena begins the book completely ostracized. She’s committed a crime egregious enough to get her kicked out of her church youth group and even her own parents won’t talk to her. Soon Mena finds a sanctuary of sorts in her new science class, taught by Ms. Shepherd they’re tackling evolution and once again Mena finds herself pitted against her church which attempts to denounce evolution as a mere theory and agitate for intelligent design instruction. Throw a delicately developed lo...more
Kricket
The curtain opens on our fair heroine, Mena, as she begins her first day at a public high school. She once had many a chum at her church’s youth group, but she has been ousted due to an un-foreclosed scandal, and now they slam her into the wall as they pass merrily by, filled with the love of Christ. (I went to a parochial high school so I’m allowed to say things like that.) The only bright spot in Mena’s day is biology class, where Ms. Shepherd reigns with scientific brilliance and her lab part...more
Jennifer
Evolution, Freaks & Me is your typical mean girls story in a totally unique situation. The mean girls (and guys) are all from the same church and they have ostracized the protagonist because she did something that is getting them sued. Basically, she stood up for her morals but went against some church dogma to do so. Add into this an excellent science teacher they are protesting because of evolution, some other well drawn characters and you have a great story. I think it is the best thing...more
Adriana
I really enjoyed this book. The main character, Mena, is forced to deal with having her entire church, classmates, former friends, and even her parents turn their backs on her when she stands up for another member of her group when he is being unfairly persecuted and targeted. Although she speaks up in the form of a letter, circumstances arise that balloon into lawsuits for her church and the potential of financial devastation for her family's business. She manages to overcome bullying that incl...more
Debbie
This is a lovely book! It's about a girl, her religion, science and how they can all come together. Mena has been kicked out of her church for doing what she knew was right, and now her former church friends push her around at school, and even her parents aren't really speaking to her. School starts looking up, though, when she becomes interested in her Biology class, thanks to her dedicated, somewhat eccentric teacher and her enthusiastic (and cute) lab partner. When the class begins a unit on...more
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A true believer in multi-tasking, Robin Brande is or has been various combinations of the following: writer, black belt, trial attorney, entrepreneur, Girl Scout leader, community college instructor, yoga instructor, outdoor adventurer, Wilderness First Responder, and state spelling bee finals judge. She also writes romance and contemporary adult fiction as Elizabeth Ruston.

Robin's novels:

*EVOLUTI...more
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“Maybe if I had to boil it down to one easy sentence, it would be this: I believe in evolution, and I believe in God. I just haven't worked out the details yet.” 23 people liked it
“I'm proud to be a freak of nature.” 18 people liked it
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