Hazel's Theory of Evolution

By: Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney

Winner of the Lambda Literary Award!

The Thing About Jellyfish meets Raymie Nightingale in this tender middle grade novel from Lisa Jenn Bigelow, acclaimed author of Drum Roll, Please.

Hazel knows a lot about the world. That’s because when she’s not hanging with her best friend, taking care of her dog, or helping care for the goats on her family's farm, she loves reading through dusty encyclopedias.

But even Hazel doesn’t have answers for the questions awaiting her as she enters eighth grade. What if no one at her new school gets her, and she doesn't make any friends? What’s going to happen to one of her moms, who’s pregnant again after having two miscarriages? Why does everything have to change when life was already perfectly fine?

As Hazel struggles to cope, she’ll come to realize that sometimes you have to look within yourself—instead of the pages of a book—to find the answer to life’s most important questions.

I have been gutted in the best way possible

Absolutely adored every character in this book. the performance was astoundingly perfect. This book is for everyone to read, not just young'uns. you won't regret it.

How I could relate

I liked that being in middle school, one can relate to the main character and even some other characters. It has a great story line, in my opinion, but there were some parts I did not like much. While I respect LGBTQ+, I do not support it because of my Christian beliefs and it made me slightly uncomfortable reading the book. Overall I would rate it as a very good book and I would recommend to most matured middle school readers.