Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature

" 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." (from Goodreads)

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature manages to address faith, bullying, ostracism, and the beauty of science all at once. Oh, and there is romance and puppies, too.

If you like books about making tough decisions, you might also enjoy Blackwater by Eve Bunting, A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, or Burning Up by Caroline B. Cooney.

Brande, Robin. Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature. 2007. 272 pages.

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

From musical hauntings to music therapy, Musicophilia passionately explores the mysterious power of music through stories of patients with neurological disorders or recent brain trauma, musicians and everyday people.

Appeals: Sacks writes about science that in a way that is both accessible and not dumbed-down; compelling characters; good footnotes and references that will guide an interested reader to many other great books and movies.

If you enjoy science writing, you might also enjoy I Have Landed: The End of a Beginning in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould or Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach.

Sacks, Oliver. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. 2007. 381 pages.