Brande, Robin - Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature

Mena is hated by everyone in her church, including her best friends and her parents, for doing something she thought was right. Unfortunately, the result was getting her church sued. Her first day of high school is downright miserable, except for biology, she's assigned to a geeky lab partner, Casey, who seems to really love the teacher and the subject.

Soon, the school, Mena, Casey, their biology teacher, and Mena's old friends are embroiled in a debate about evolution and its place in the curriculum. Mena finds herself even more confused as she lies to her parents, falls for Casey, and starts to think out her own religious beliefs.

I liked this, though I didn't love it, and I found the handling of evolution and religion to be fairly good, with the caveat that I'm an atheist. I don't know... I think I wanted a less extreme church. I do like that the author doesn't back away from how Mena's faith informs her life, but I'm not sure I was entirely convinced by her eventual reconciliation with her parents. And I'm not sure her relationship with Casey will work out in light of aforementioned religious and parental conflicts.

Links:
- buymeaclue's review

Winston, Sherri - The Kayla Chronicles

Kayla Dean and her best friend Rosalie have been ardent feminists for a while now, thanks to the influence of Rosalie's mom (Dr. X) and Kayla's now-deceased Grandma JoJo. Now, Rosalie wants Kayla to try out for the school's dance/cheerleader team, the Lady Lions, and write an expose on how the Lions discriminate against girls with "itty-bitty titties."

This is a very small book, and I had to be in the right mood to feel up to Kayla's voice, which is snappy and slangy and very fun. I was a little irritated that the main plot is mostly "Oh, I can be feminist and wear heels too!" as I felt the nuances of social expectations and gender roles and etc. weren't fully explored, and that the book took the easy way out with Rosalie's hardcore, "you're not a feminist unless you're like me" line.

I suspect a lot of this is just that I'm at the wrong age and place for the message and the book; I may have enjoyed it much more when I was reading tons of fantasy books featuring tomboys with swords as good and embroidering girly girls as simpering, evil, and cruel.

Still, it's a very fun book, and I laughed my way through it. It takes on romance, dance, family, and friendship, and while I think it could have taken more time with some of the issues, it's also possible that too many pages would have weighed it down as well. Also, I'm really enjoying this trend of YA novels for girls that star girls of color and make race an aspect of their lives, but not the main issue.

I'll be really interested to see what Winston writes next.

Links:
- buymeaclue's review