(a) not everything needs to have a romance in it. Why couldn't they be friends and have that be the end of it? Mena would still have enough Issues with her parents for socializing with a Boy without being all gaga over him. 
 (b) This was written in 2007. There's a bit talking about how great someone is at web design because he used a bunch of blinking images. AAAAAHHHH 1995 called and they want their websites back. 
 It's an interesting premise but it didn't light my world on fire--the Bible-thumpers are cartoonishly one-dimensional and Team Science is all scornful of organized religion (up until the Big Reveal that wasn't all that shocking, anyway). Obviously I finished the book anyway (it reads quickly) but it didn't really light my world on fire; a year from now I'll probably have forgotten I read this.