List Maniac #4 - On Favorite Books Read in 2009

Okay, so there are my favorite books I read during 2009 - regardless of when they were published

In random order.

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robing Brande (Review) - I was surprised at how much I loved this book and at how much it took me back to my middle school experience. But I loved Mena (I could never get her parents though), and the Connors and all the puppies!!

To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt (Review) - One of my favorite authors writing one of my favorite type of story: A take on Beauty and the Beast! Nice characters, nice plot, awesome dog!

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (Review) - There is not one book by her that I haven't liked, Melina writes realistic fiction about teens with a perfect pitch and distinct voice. She could write a groceries list, I would still read it and love it. And I was so glad to finally get my paws on this book after waiting for 2 years!

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (Review)- I'm not a paranormal fan but Darkest Powers is one of my favorite exceptions, Book 1 (The Summoning) was OK, but The Awakening blew my socks off! And I CAN'T WAIT for The Reckoning, I think is my second most coveted book for next year.
And yeah, I LOVE Derek.

Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley (Review) - Okay,s o I'm not Asian, I have only once seen snow - and I had to climb up a volcano for it, but it was worth it - yet I totally connected with Syrah and her love for snow and her family and, I was also mostly raised by an old person (my Grandma Sophie) so I loved Bau-Mu.

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot (Review) - Even though I'm a longtime fan of Meg Cabot, there was a while there when I didn't really love many of her books, they were OK, they were fun, but I knew there would be no re-reading in the future. Then I got Airhead last year and surprise! I really liked it. And when Being Nikki came out earlier this year, it was LOVE!

His Secondhand Wife by Cheryl St. John (Review) - I had never bothered to read much Americana, I never though I would like historical romances set in America, but my romance reading friends told me "You have to read Cheryl St. John, then you make up your mind", and I'm seriously glad I did read it. Noah and Katy's story just so romantic, and now I'm an avid reader of this author.

Forever Princes (Princes Diaries #10) by Meg Cabot (Review) - It was an awesome book to start the year! Usually when a series ends there is something or other that I don't quite like, but it wasn't the case with this book!! It reminded me of everything I loved about Mia and left me with warm fuzzies when it was all done.

The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler (Review) - I had read some of her books before and while I really liked some of them, others were not so awesome to my taste, but in Virginia I found an awesome heroine whom I would love to call a friend.

Story of My Life # 2 - On Evolution, Me & The Fourth Grade

Story of My Life #2 - On Evolution, Me & The Fourth Grade

There are a few things in my life that can be accountable for most of my neurotic but lovable self; and since this is Story of My Life you’ll probably get to hear most of the eventually, like right now.

Even though I wouldn’t call myself a devout Catholic, I was born and raised one and yet, for 11 years, I attended a Seventh Day Adventist school, all because said hell hole was right across the street from my grandma’s house.

When I was in the Fourth Grade we had a unit on how the world was created in Science. Now, if you have been around as many Adventists, Christians and hard core Catholics as I have, you’ll probably know some of them aren’t too keen on the idea of Evolution, in fact some of them will deny it until their last breath, and that’s just the way of things.

That day, all the way back in fourth grade, when I was expecting an explanation about Darwin and Natural Selection and such (my cousin was two grades ahead of me and in a different school, so I had some idea of what was coming, since I sometimes read her textbooks); I got a kid-friendly version of the first couple of chapters of the Genesis. When the teacher was done I raised my hand and when he finally acknowledged it – they were a bit chauvinistic at my school, mind you, girls almost always got called last – I asked “What about Evolution?”

What followed was a very long half hour of the teacher laughing at me and asking me if I really believe that I - not us, not humans in general, but I - came from monkeys. And that was the extent of the explanation I got. Oh and I got called Monkey-Girl for about two months after that.

Back then I couldn’t understand what the heck was the big deal, my parents were Catholics and people of science at the same time –they both have degrees in Chemistry- and it had never been a problem for them to believe in Evolution and in God. I never thought I would get in trouble for believing the same.

When I read the summary for Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature, a little part of me went back to the fourth grade and as I began to read Mena’s story I remembered a few things about back then, so it was very easy for me to identify with her and her struggle between believing in God and in science and her ultimate realization that even if she hadn’t figured out all the details, she believed both.

Since I left that Adventist school almost a decade ago, I transferred to a public prep school and went on to a failed attempt at studying journalism and eventually ended up studying and getting a degree in biology and even though I no longer identify myself as Catholic the way I was raised, God continues to be an important presence in my life.

The key of it - as I learned and as Mena learns in Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature- is in finding the balance. I have science to explain to me any number of things and I have my Faith to sustain me when science cannot. And, as far as I’m concerned, that’s the perfect arrangement.

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande

Mena Reece did the right thing, and now everyone she once knew hates her for it: her former friends, practically everyone from her church, her pastor and even her parents don't seem too wild about her.

Even though Mena had always thought high school would be great, her first day -with her ex-best friend Teresa and the other church kids whispering about her - isn't great at all; except for third period when she gets Ms. Shepherd for Biology and Casey Connor for lab partner.

At first Ms Shepherd seems a little weird but one thing is sure: she's passionate about science and about sharing that love for it with everyone in her class. Casey is pretty passionate about science as well, but that first day all Mena can think of is of being glad someone is talking to her (since Casey doesn't belong to the same church Mena did, he's doesn't know about the Mena Scandal).

Just when Mena begins to think she's finally learning to handle the fall out with her former friends, Ms. Shepherd starts the unit on evolution, and lets just say Mena's former pastor and ex-friends have plenty to say about it. Soon Mena finds herself swept by the controversy revolving around religion, science and freedom.

Mena is a devout Christian, but, after what her 'friends' did to a kid back in middle school, she started to see that maybe following Pastor Wells blindly wasn't a good, Christian thing to do; and now, as she learns more about evolution and finally begins to mix with people who don't share her believes 100% - like Ms Shepherd and the Connors (Casey, his sister Kayla and their Mom) - Mena begins to question some of the things she has been told.

I found this book amazing.

Mena is a likable character, she doesn't think of herself as the bravest person on earth, she just wants to be good and kind to others and you do get to feel her inner conflict about facing the consequences of doing what was right over what was easy, especially since it affected everyone in her former peer group and her parents' business - I'll let you find out what Mena did yourself. I also liked the fact that her faith didn't shake, it wasn't God she questioned but people, and that I believe is absolutely valid. Can't say I ended up liking Mena's parents but I could see where they were coming from, which I respect.

The Connors were lovable characters, from charge-ahead, aggressive Kayla, to her boyfriend Josh, Mrs. Connor and Casey. I really loved Casey... and there is a litter of black lab puppies you can't help but adore.

Grade: