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matasatan's review against another edition
5.0
This was definitely one of the best YA book ever. Goddamnit, read it, absorb it and love it. And cry after you done.
This book will leave a mark.
This book will leave a mark.
kaleereads's review against another edition
3.0
not sure how i feel about this one. the overall premise was intriguing enough, and i liked alex as a character. but the pacing was weird? and the ending was random? idk. it could have been done better
jacinthep's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
haleymfischer's review against another edition
3.0
An unrealistic but often accurate, brutal f'ing ride.
Don't be fooled by the charming cover art. Mindy McGinnis takes no prisoners in The Female of the Species as she details the lives of three teenagers—a jock, a preacher's kid and a killer—as they contend with their identities, the violence and rape culture all around them, and the ways they take part in it.
McGinnis does an excellent job shedding light on the insidious ways rape culture invades everyday life without coming across too preachy. She does this through all the characters, but especially Alex. Alex's own sister, Anna, was violently raped and murdered. This sets off a dark side of Alex that had always been hiding right below the surface. Despite her obvious flaws (i.e. maiming and killing people), she is remarkably easy to root for, not only because of her meaningful commentaries and ironic gentleness, but also the sinful sense of justice she provides in a world where sexual misconduct is often swept under the rug.
I have to admit, though, that while this book is chock-full of important themes, the actual plot was so-so for me. I'm not sure if it's just because YA isn't my fav genre or because I listened to the audiobook instead of reading it or simply because the plot didn't grip me but, considering I'm the obvious outlier here, I'm guessing it's just a me thing.
Don't be fooled by the charming cover art. Mindy McGinnis takes no prisoners in The Female of the Species as she details the lives of three teenagers—a jock, a preacher's kid and a killer—as they contend with their identities, the violence and rape culture all around them, and the ways they take part in it.
McGinnis does an excellent job shedding light on the insidious ways rape culture invades everyday life without coming across too preachy. She does this through all the characters, but especially Alex. Alex's own sister, Anna, was violently raped and murdered. This sets off a dark side of Alex that had always been hiding right below the surface. Despite her obvious flaws (i.e. maiming and killing people), she is remarkably easy to root for, not only because of her meaningful commentaries and ironic gentleness, but also the sinful sense of justice she provides in a world where sexual misconduct is often swept under the rug.
I have to admit, though, that while this book is chock-full of important themes, the actual plot was so-so for me. I'm not sure if it's just because YA isn't my fav genre or because I listened to the audiobook instead of reading it or simply because the plot didn't grip me but, considering I'm the obvious outlier here, I'm guessing it's just a me thing.
mentalvoid's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lilsoliver's review against another edition
4.0
The description of this book speaks for itself. I don’t have tons to on it other than i finished it in a matter of hours. It’s is a thriller that focuses a lot on rape culture and all the different ways it can appear. I throughly enjoyed the book, but prepare for a heavy and sad read for sure.
lizeth26's review against another edition
5.0
This book is about slut shaming and rape culture and how it affects people. The book is told in 3 different POVS there’s Alex the girl who’s sister is dead, Jack the school Player and PeeKay the Preachers kid.
This book is so much better if you go into it without knowing anything. Just know that it does deal with rape.
This book made my cry, and scream in frustration. It did ruffle my feathers a bit in some situations through the book. It’s really good in my opinion. Just go into knowing that it’s a very controversial book and some people find it upsetting.
This book is so much better if you go into it without knowing anything. Just know that it does deal with rape.
This book made my cry, and scream in frustration. It did ruffle my feathers a bit in some situations through the book. It’s really good in my opinion. Just go into knowing that it’s a very controversial book and some people find it upsetting.
batkat31's review against another edition
5.0
This book was both hard to read and hard to stop reading. I was immediately drawn in by all three characters and I was both horrified and amused as hell throughout. It was (as promised) an intense commentary and critique on today's rape culture and the casualty of which topic of rape, sexual assault, slut shaming etc. are viewed. The normalization of such events is hard to fight at times but this book made it seem easy (the conversational fights rather than the physical elements). While it's obvious that Alex is not a role model in many ways (even if her extremism is tempting), her abrupt and clear understanding and criticism of rape culture is impressive and something I hope to remember the next time I'm fumbling over my words.
What I truly loved was how naturally all of these points were made. The situations in which they came up felt real and weren't forced like I was expecting them to be. The characters were very likable and you cared about the story and the well developed characters as well as the statement it was making.
A book that left me emotional and impacted me deeply, I won't forget this and I hope many people read it and feel the same way.
What I truly loved was how naturally all of these points were made. The situations in which they came up felt real and weren't forced like I was expecting them to be. The characters were very likable and you cared about the story and the well developed characters as well as the statement it was making.
A book that left me emotional and impacted me deeply, I won't forget this and I hope many people read it and feel the same way.
nikolinaza's review
3.0
It is one of my most anticipated read, because the blurb promised me everything I need in a book about tackling rape culture. And well, it kind of... served. The main character, a female, is absolutely deadly and brutal and extremely calculated, and she went wild against this patriarchal-ass world. I love her, I love her thoughts, and I love her actions. I trusted her so much with the whole story because she's the one literally taking it forward.
But the execution... it was lame from the middle towards the end. Everything was so rushed and only explained in some surface-level type of narratives so nothing hits real hard. The character wanted to go against the familiar rape culture in their small town, but how they did it, none of us truly know. The other character literally did almost nothing to fight this nasty culture. And the ending? Does that really necessary?
And it was, quel dommage... this book has a lot of potential.
But the execution... it was lame from the middle towards the end. Everything was so rushed and only explained in some surface-level type of narratives so nothing hits real hard. The character wanted to go against the familiar rape culture in their small town, but how they did it, none of us truly know. The other character literally did almost nothing to fight this nasty culture. And the ending? Does that really necessary?
And it was, quel dommage... this book has a lot of potential.