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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I’m so confused as to what I just read. But I loved it. The ending is a trip and a half but I’m glad I read it
Incredible and terrible all in one. If you are looking for a feel good book, keep moving. This book is a journey into growing up in our world and also a look at rape culture. Alex is a murderer, she killed the man who raped and killed her sister. She protects those she loves through violence.
Here is my twitter thread of some thoughts while I read this book. Its spoiler free, but my freakouts make more sense if you've read the book, but have fun anyway! https://twitter.com/Pam1256/status/859844503611617280
I will not be forgetting Alex Craft for a long time. Or Peekay or Jack.
This story shows the difference between thoughts and acting on those thoughts. This book was incredibly addictive, I haven't read a book in 2 days like this one in a long time.
Anyway. With multiple POVs like this one, I often have a favourite that I'm more excited to read than the others. Not with this one. Mindy kept me hooked on everyone's story and so each chapter was exciting.
This book could be considered graphic, but that's not the word I was looking for last night, with tears falling down my face. REAL, is the word I desired. This books is so real. But it's the scary kind of real. That's why its 5 stars. I felt so scared of my world, the same world Alex is in. But knowing people like Alex, and hopefully people like Officer Nolan, exist in our world, made me feel safer.
This book will tear your heart open, shove the truth in there and then it will sow your heart back up and leave you in pain.
I'm not sure what else to say. But I know this: I'm shoving this book in everyone's face until they read it or get sick of me.
I will not be forgetting Alex Craft for a long time. Or Peekay or Jack.
This story shows the difference between thoughts and acting on those thoughts. This book was incredibly addictive, I haven't read a book in 2 days like this one in a long time.
Anyway. With multiple POVs like this one, I often have a favourite that I'm more excited to read than the others. Not with this one. Mindy kept me hooked on everyone's story and so each chapter was exciting.
This book could be considered graphic, but that's not the word I was looking for last night, with tears falling down my face. REAL, is the word I desired. This books is so real. But it's the scary kind of real. That's why its 5 stars. I felt so scared of my world, the same world Alex is in. But knowing people like Alex, and hopefully people like Officer Nolan, exist in our world, made me feel safer.
This book will tear your heart open, shove the truth in there and then it will sow your heart back up and leave you in pain.
I'm not sure what else to say. But I know this: I'm shoving this book in everyone's face until they read it or get sick of me.
This book is dark! It’s mainly about rape culture and slut shaming, and I believe Mindy Ginnis did a really good job addressing it.
CONTENT WARNING: Sexual assault, rape culture, and violence
In The Female of the Species, Mindy McGinnis tackles rape culture, revenge, and justice profoundly and poetically in the context of a small-town high school. The story is told through three narratives– Alex, Jack, and Peekay.
Three years before the start of the book, Alex Crafts’s sister was brutally raped and murdered. Since her killer walked free, she’s become obsessed with seeking vengeance in the same violent way her sister’s life ended. Out of control and realizing that her obsession may be dangerous for others, she isolates herself within the halls of her school and the silent home she lives in with her drunken mother.
Jack Fisher is the All-American high school dream boy. He seems perfect– he is a superstar athlete, is one of the most popular boys in school, and is about to get a full-ride to college, second-in-line for valedictorian, only behind Alex. He tends to be a womanizer and “just one of the guys” engaging in harmful locker room talk that perpetuates rape culture, but behind his facade, he longs to get out of this small town and feels horribly about how he acted in Alex’s presence the night her sister’s body was found. But in spite of all of this, Alex makes his heart beat faster in a way that none of his conquests have.
Peekay is the preacher’s kid (thus the nickname), fiercely faithful to the Lord and her family, but still looking to further her identity outside of her family’s church. She falls into an accidental friendship with Alex when they start working together at a local animal shelter, and, slowly yet surely, she begins to peel away Alex’s protective layers and Alex begins to peel back some of her own.
Everyone is excited to be taking on their senior year, filled with bonfires and wine coolers and savoring each moment together. But Alex’s violent side starts to show when the gang brings her to a party and she fights off some older boys who are on meth in order to protect Peekay.
I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, as I think it’s best to go in not knowing too much, so I will speak in broader terms about why I loved this book.
The Female of the Species the kind of thriller that you literally can’t put down. It’s easy to fly through with its short chapters and captivating plot, and leaves you wanting more in the best way. I was mesmerized by each narrator, and even the side characters– even though I didn’t agree with all of their actions on a personal level, the writing made it so I understood why everyone made the decisions they did and made me feel connected to them throughout the entire book.
The poignancy with which McGinnis writes about rape culture is phenomenal. As a survivor of sexual assault and a woman living in this world filled with rape culture, I felt heard and acknowledged. Obviously, I can only speak for myself in this, so this is just how I felt throughout the book. I haven’t seen many (or any) YA books that addressed the harmful effects of rape culture throughout their entire plots, so this was a unique and awesome thing to see within the genre. I could go on and on about rape culture in general, but that might be for another blog post.
The female friendships in this book are also a breath of fresh air. Peekay, Alex, and Sara form a strong bond, empowering one another to live life as themselves and not dig themselves into the darkness of crazy-high expectations or high school heartbreak. The young women in this book strongly defend each other and see through one another’s facades, even when it would be easier to see one another as wholly one-dimensional.
I cannot stress how much I adored this book. It was surprising just how much I loved it, considering the fact that I wasn’t the hugest fan of the first Mindy McGinnis book I read, A Madness So Discreet. But this completely changed my tune and I know I’ll be checking out more of her work soon!
5 STARS!
In The Female of the Species, Mindy McGinnis tackles rape culture, revenge, and justice profoundly and poetically in the context of a small-town high school. The story is told through three narratives– Alex, Jack, and Peekay.
Three years before the start of the book, Alex Crafts’s sister was brutally raped and murdered. Since her killer walked free, she’s become obsessed with seeking vengeance in the same violent way her sister’s life ended. Out of control and realizing that her obsession may be dangerous for others, she isolates herself within the halls of her school and the silent home she lives in with her drunken mother.
Jack Fisher is the All-American high school dream boy. He seems perfect– he is a superstar athlete, is one of the most popular boys in school, and is about to get a full-ride to college, second-in-line for valedictorian, only behind Alex. He tends to be a womanizer and “just one of the guys” engaging in harmful locker room talk that perpetuates rape culture, but behind his facade, he longs to get out of this small town and feels horribly about how he acted in Alex’s presence the night her sister’s body was found. But in spite of all of this, Alex makes his heart beat faster in a way that none of his conquests have.
Peekay is the preacher’s kid (thus the nickname), fiercely faithful to the Lord and her family, but still looking to further her identity outside of her family’s church. She falls into an accidental friendship with Alex when they start working together at a local animal shelter, and, slowly yet surely, she begins to peel away Alex’s protective layers and Alex begins to peel back some of her own.
Everyone is excited to be taking on their senior year, filled with bonfires and wine coolers and savoring each moment together. But Alex’s violent side starts to show when the gang brings her to a party and she fights off some older boys who are on meth in order to protect Peekay.
I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, as I think it’s best to go in not knowing too much, so I will speak in broader terms about why I loved this book.
The Female of the Species the kind of thriller that you literally can’t put down. It’s easy to fly through with its short chapters and captivating plot, and leaves you wanting more in the best way. I was mesmerized by each narrator, and even the side characters– even though I didn’t agree with all of their actions on a personal level, the writing made it so I understood why everyone made the decisions they did and made me feel connected to them throughout the entire book.
The poignancy with which McGinnis writes about rape culture is phenomenal. As a survivor of sexual assault and a woman living in this world filled with rape culture, I felt heard and acknowledged. Obviously, I can only speak for myself in this, so this is just how I felt throughout the book. I haven’t seen many (or any) YA books that addressed the harmful effects of rape culture throughout their entire plots, so this was a unique and awesome thing to see within the genre. I could go on and on about rape culture in general, but that might be for another blog post.
The female friendships in this book are also a breath of fresh air. Peekay, Alex, and Sara form a strong bond, empowering one another to live life as themselves and not dig themselves into the darkness of crazy-high expectations or high school heartbreak. The young women in this book strongly defend each other and see through one another’s facades, even when it would be easier to see one another as wholly one-dimensional.
I cannot stress how much I adored this book. It was surprising just how much I loved it, considering the fact that I wasn’t the hugest fan of the first Mindy McGinnis book I read, A Madness So Discreet. But this completely changed my tune and I know I’ll be checking out more of her work soon!
5 STARS!
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
I am too upset right now to write a review. Watch this space. :’(
EDIT 5/25: Okay here we go.
Holy shit.
That's basically the jist of my review.
I did not expect to get as into this book as I did. I fell in love with every single character pretty much immediately, but I especially loved Alex because she is the person I honestly sometimes wish I could be. The character development for everyone was off the charts, even for the side characters, which as everyone knows is what makes a good book for me. I loved the female friendships and the commentary on rape culture and just the way that the plot played out. In retrospect, the ending was inevitable I guess, but I 100% did not expectAlex to fucking die !!! I had to reread that bit twice just to make sure. I felt it in my chest when that happened, and that doesn't happen to me a lot. That just shows how much I connected with her .
A lot of people seem to like this book because of the sharp social commentary, but I loved it for every character in it. They were all real people to me, and the book focused on both their flaws and strengths in a super realistic way. I wanted them all to find happiness and that clearly...wasn't exactly what happened. But the way that the ending was filled with hope and theimpact that Alex left in her community and school made up for the bit that was a huge bummer. I wish that Alex could have seen how much her efforts changed the people around her, and I think that is one of the biggest tragedies of the book.
Literally the only thing I didn't like about this book is the animal death. Not a fan of that. :'(
I thought about buying this book because I usually buy my 5 star books, but tbh, I don't know that I can read it again despite giving it 5 stars. It's just so much and it already broke my heart one time.
EDIT 5/25: Okay here we go.
Holy shit.
That's basically the jist of my review.
I did not expect to get as into this book as I did. I fell in love with every single character pretty much immediately, but I especially loved Alex because she is the person I honestly sometimes wish I could be. The character development for everyone was off the charts, even for the side characters, which as everyone knows is what makes a good book for me. I loved the female friendships and the commentary on rape culture and just the way that the plot played out. In retrospect, the ending was inevitable I guess, but I 100% did not expect
A lot of people seem to like this book because of the sharp social commentary, but I loved it for every character in it. They were all real people to me, and the book focused on both their flaws and strengths in a super realistic way. I wanted them all to find happiness and that clearly...wasn't exactly what happened. But the way that the ending was filled with hope and the
Literally the only thing I didn't like about this book is the animal death. Not a fan of that. :'(
I thought about buying this book because I usually buy my 5 star books, but tbh, I don't know that I can read it again despite giving it 5 stars. It's just so much and it already broke my heart one time.
4.5 stars
This was super dark - and I was here for it!
I really liked how this looked at the issue from multiple perspectives, I liked the romance and I thought the ending of this was perfect.
This was super dark - and I was here for it!
I really liked how this looked at the issue from multiple perspectives, I liked the romance and I thought the ending of this was perfect.
“Tonight they used words they know, words that don’t bother people anymore. They said bitch.” i had to take a pause