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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
This book was brutal and real and amazing. I hated it and I loved it.
This is such an important book for anyone and everyone to read, male and female.
Please read it.
Bravo Mindy, you brave, beautiful woman.
This is such an important book for anyone and everyone to read, male and female.
Please read it.
Bravo Mindy, you brave, beautiful woman.
... a cautionary fairy tale, a warning to all the Little Red Riding Hoods that there are wolves in the forest.There are books you fall in love with and want to read again and again... then there are books that you know you'll never go back to, but has shaken you to your very core and has changed you.
[b:The Female of the Species|25812109|The Female of the Species|Mindy McGinnis|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1455917180s/25812109.jpg|45668311] falls on the latter category, affecting me in how I view and deal with issues plaguing girls and women everywhere. I know I most likely wouldn't read this book again, much like I can't bear to read [b:Written in the Stars|22521951|Written in the Stars|Aisha Saeed|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1403128059s/22521951.jpg|41046113] by [a:Aisha Saeed|8106586|Aisha Saeed|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1396461507p2/8106586.jpg] after that first time, but both books have left impressions that will definitely last for a long time.
The story is told through three POVs: from Alex, who is barely living after the murder of her older sister and travels a dark, dark path; from Claire, aka Peekay, the preacher's daughter who befriends Alex and who is trying to figure out her self post-breakup; and from Jack, the popular jock who wants to leave town as soon as he can but is haunted by the events of the night Alex's sister was found.
To say that this is a dark tale might be an understatement. There is no moral to this story, only unflinching facts about misogyny, double standards, sexual abuse, slut-shaming, and rape all disguised as fiction.
"... they used words they know, words that don't bother people anymore. They said bitch. They told another girl they would put their dicks in her mouth. No one protested because this is our language now."
"But boys will be boys, our favorite phrase that excuses so many things, while the only thing we have for the opposite gender is women, said with disdain and punctuated with an eye roll."While the story is brutal, the way it was told was beautifully done. [a:Mindy McGinnis|5351825|Mindy McGinnis|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1379437958p2/5351825.jpg] writes in such detail that the words reaches out to you beyond the pages and evokes the exact emotion needed to emphatize with her characters.
"It's a different kind of pain than the constant, the weight that hangs from my heart. It swings from twine embedded so deeply that my aorta has grown around it. Blood pulses past rope in the chambers of my heart, dragging away tiny fibers until my whole body is suffused and pain is all I am and ever can be."
"... the better half of me explodes into a thousand pieces of light, hope spreading through me to touch places that can't recall the feeling."This book is blunt, it is raw, and it leaves you with somewhat of a lingering melancholy. It is a love story, a best friend story, a coming-of-age story, a last year in high school story -- with a bite. Trigger warnings in every bend. The Female of the Species should be required reading.
"Everyone thinks if you fix a male dog it will lower his aggression, but most of the biters are female. It's basic instinct to protect their own womb. You see it in all animals -- the female of the species is more deadly than the male."
Except humans."
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Not my cup of tea. Wish it was a college setting
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Overall rating: 2.5/5 stars.
This book was kinda weird. I didn't hate it, it was just kinda... "well okay then." I do not think any of the characters are truly believable or could pass as real people. They uphold a stereotypical small town attitude that is frustrating and narrow-minded. As a book that claims to examine rape culture in a contemporary way, there sure is a lot of unabashed slut-shaming and careless interactions. Is that the point? I don't know, but if it is, then it is not doing its job. These characters had some poor morals.
The main character, Alex, is... weird. The way she sees her violent personality as if she can't control it at all, thinks she can't be around society because she's dangerous, and how she frequently considers herself a caged animal being let loose is weird. Girl you need HELP??? You're out here literally murdering people out of revenge and claim you don't know if you can stop it?? Get a grip and get help.
The plot was disappointing, too. Throughout the whole thing I wasn't sure what the actual plot was. There were plenty of subplots, but I wasn't sure if this was a mystery, a romance, coming-of-age, or what. There was an explosive ending that once again just made me go "...well okay then."
This book was kinda weird. I didn't hate it, it was just kinda... "well okay then." I do not think any of the characters are truly believable or could pass as real people. They uphold a stereotypical small town attitude that is frustrating and narrow-minded. As a book that claims to examine rape culture in a contemporary way, there sure is a lot of unabashed slut-shaming and careless interactions. Is that the point? I don't know, but if it is, then it is not doing its job. These characters had some poor morals.
The main character, Alex, is... weird. The way she sees her violent personality as if she can't control it at all, thinks she can't be around society because she's dangerous, and how she frequently considers herself a caged animal being let loose is weird. Girl you need HELP??? You're out here literally murdering people out of revenge and claim you don't know if you can stop it?? Get a grip and get help.
The plot was disappointing, too. Throughout the whole thing I wasn't sure what the actual plot was. There were plenty of subplots, but I wasn't sure if this was a mystery, a romance, coming-of-age, or what. There was an explosive ending that once again just made me go "...well okay then."
"Everyone thinks if you fix a male dog it will lower his aggression, but most of the biters are female. It’s basic instinct to protect their womb. You see it in all animals - the female of the species is more deadly than the male."
TFOTS is such an incredibly important read! It's brutal, violent and morally chellanging. There's teen sex and alcohol and drugs. It doesn't flinch from any of these topics. This book was about rape culture and the willingness of society to look the other way, to be numb to the little things many girls have to get through just for being... well, girls. It's feministic and anti slutshaming.
It was not only about rape and sexual assault, but also animal cruelty and other important themes that should be discussed.
"You shouldn't be that way about her," Alex says. "I hear what people say and I bet half of it isn't even true. And even if it is - fine. She's no different from you and me; she wants to have sex. So let her…She likes boys, and she can get them. You were hurt by that, but it wasn't Branley who hurt you. It was Adam."
You know Alex is doing a wrong thing, but at the same time: Violence breeds violence, as was said in this book. And she's the only one who wanted to do something about it, insted of looking the other way or just blindly accepting, even though what she was actually doing was not right, and she knew it.
"There are parts of yourself that you hate; parts that you know other people wouldn’t understand. And he knew his own worst elements had been passed on to me, this unwieldy wrath that burns through my brain, turning reason to ash. So I can’t be angry with him for leaving when I understand too well the reason."
The story is told from 3 very different perspectives. Alex: I was fascinated by her, the main protagonist whose sister was raped and killed. Despite what she did, I came to understand and feel for her.
Peekay (PK) 'The Preecher's Kid': I liked Peekay and her friendship with Alex. I also thought that both girls did undergone considerable character development.
“Why me, then?” I ask. “Why not Branley? She’s way hotter and was just as drunk as I was.”
Alex shakes her head as she sits back down. “Physical attractiveness has nothing to do with it. You were alone, isolated, and weak. The three of them had been watching girls all night, waiting for someone to separate from a group. It happened to be you, but it could’ve been anyone else. Opportunity is what matters, nothing else.
I’m telling you, Claire. It doesn’t matter. What you were wearing. What you look like. Nothing. Watch the nature channel. Predators go for the easy prey.”
The last character was Jack, the school star (alias: the only con of this story): I HATED HIM. So fucking much. Was completely disguested and annoyed with his entire POV and wished it wasn't there, nor the romance, at all. His thought process was completely iffy to me, stupid, selfish, self interested, disgusting. Like Jack said himself: he drank too much and though with his dick instead of his brain. I didn't like the ending of his chapter all that much either and there wasn't enough of character development for that idiot for me to start liking him. I wished his character wasn't there at all. He never really learned from anything in the end anyway so what was the point of him. None.
There's a little bit of romance here, but it's fortunatly not the focus of the story. Thank god for that. I didn't like it, at all. And wished there was more of a focuse on the friendship between Alex and Peekay and no romance at all. I also felt like he was enamoured with Alex because she was 'new' but there was never any love in the first place anyway.
"But boys will be boys, our favourite phrase that excuses so many things, while the only thing we have for the opposite gender is women said with disdain and punctuated with an eye roll."
I couldn't stop reading this story right from the beginning: it was thrilling and dark and important read, but it's not a perfect book either, it took me some time to truly connect to the characters. I think the endning was a bit too rushed and some events (or rather, one event at the end) came as slightly eh, improbable. Though all in all, the ending still packs a hard puch. And just. I don't care if you're a girl or a guy. What are you waiting for? Go. Read. This. Fucking. Book.
"I am a wolf that my sister kept in a cage, until her hand was removed."
TFOTS is such an incredibly important read! It's brutal, violent and morally chellanging. There's teen sex and alcohol and drugs. It doesn't flinch from any of these topics. This book was about rape culture and the willingness of society to look the other way, to be numb to the little things many girls have to get through just for being... well, girls. It's feministic and anti slutshaming.
It was not only about rape and sexual assault, but also animal cruelty and other important themes that should be discussed.
"You shouldn't be that way about her," Alex says. "I hear what people say and I bet half of it isn't even true. And even if it is - fine. She's no different from you and me; she wants to have sex. So let her…She likes boys, and she can get them. You were hurt by that, but it wasn't Branley who hurt you. It was Adam."
You know Alex is doing a wrong thing, but at the same time: Violence breeds violence, as was said in this book. And she's the only one who wanted to do something about it, insted of looking the other way or just blindly accepting, even though what she was actually doing was not right, and she knew it.
"There are parts of yourself that you hate; parts that you know other people wouldn’t understand. And he knew his own worst elements had been passed on to me, this unwieldy wrath that burns through my brain, turning reason to ash. So I can’t be angry with him for leaving when I understand too well the reason."
The story is told from 3 very different perspectives. Alex: I was fascinated by her, the main protagonist whose sister was raped and killed. Despite what she did, I came to understand and feel for her.
Peekay (PK) 'The Preecher's Kid': I liked Peekay and her friendship with Alex. I also thought that both girls did undergone considerable character development.
Spoiler
I thought the story would end differently on Alex's part. And the very ending left us with some loose ends like: Did the one who killed Alex and before that participated in almost raping other girl/s ended up in jail??“Why me, then?” I ask. “Why not Branley? She’s way hotter and was just as drunk as I was.”
Alex shakes her head as she sits back down. “Physical attractiveness has nothing to do with it. You were alone, isolated, and weak. The three of them had been watching girls all night, waiting for someone to separate from a group. It happened to be you, but it could’ve been anyone else. Opportunity is what matters, nothing else.
I’m telling you, Claire. It doesn’t matter. What you were wearing. What you look like. Nothing. Watch the nature channel. Predators go for the easy prey.”
The last character was Jack, the school star (alias: the only con of this story): I HATED HIM. So fucking much. Was completely disguested and annoyed with his entire POV and wished it wasn't there, nor the romance, at all. His thought process was completely iffy to me, stupid, selfish, self interested, disgusting. Like Jack said himself: he drank too much and though with his dick instead of his brain. I didn't like the ending of his chapter all that much either and there wasn't enough of character development for that idiot for me to start liking him. I wished his character wasn't there at all. He never really learned from anything in the end anyway so what was the point of him. None.
There's a little bit of romance here, but it's fortunatly not the focus of the story. Thank god for that. I didn't like it, at all. And wished there was more of a focuse on the friendship between Alex and Peekay and no romance at all. I also felt like he was enamoured with Alex because she was 'new'
Spoiler
and would've gotten tired of the relationship soon enough anyway, given the chance. He was never someone Alex could count on"But boys will be boys, our favourite phrase that excuses so many things, while the only thing we have for the opposite gender is women said with disdain and punctuated with an eye roll."
I couldn't stop reading this story right from the beginning: it was thrilling and dark and important read, but it's not a perfect book either, it took me some time to truly connect to the characters. I think the endning was a bit too rushed and some events (or rather, one event at the end) came as slightly eh, improbable. Though all in all, the ending still packs a hard puch. And just. I don't care if you're a girl or a guy. What are you waiting for? Go. Read. This. Fucking. Book.
"I am a wolf that my sister kept in a cage, until her hand was removed."
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This made me cry a bit. I loved the friendship between Alex and Claire!