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A review by pastelwriter
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This. Fucking. Book.
I feel like I’ve been torn open.
When I picked this up, it was because I went to a book festival, and by chance heard the author talk at a panel. I fell absolutely in love with her vibe (despite originally going to the panel for an entirely different author). She’s chaotic and funny and real, and I had a pretty good sense all of that would come across in her writing. And it did.
I started with this book because the premise seemed to hold the most interest to me. It’s been years since this was published, and years since I went back and forth on whether or not I should pick it up. And I’m glad I did. Even if I don’t like anything else by this author, I won’t regret picking this up after hearing her talk about writing thrillers and horror and characters.
This book was intense. From the beginning, it grips you. It makes it hard to let go or look away. I didn’t exactly read this quickly, between having friends visiting and the subject matter being too heavy for me to read before bed, but that wasn’t a bad choice either. It’s good to sit with this story and what the characters go through.
I didn’t know this book would be split between three perspectives, and all three felt vital to it. Having all three made the ending all the more painful, all the more raw. It’s significant, too, that all three characters are flawed in their own way. This is something important because despite the characters being so flawed, they were also incredibly lovable. Alex, Claire, and Jack are all incredibly dear to me. They felt real. They made me feel real emotions.
This book paints an accurate portrait, still accurate, of rape culture. It shows how communities both enable heinous things happening while trying to protect their loved ones from them. It shows the complicated mess that is teens making jokes while also knowing that this they joke about is very real. It shows, as well, how women and girls can come together to protect each other. It’s a lot.
I don’t know what else to say without spoiling it all. Just know that I loved this. I cried at the end. I cried at what felt like injustice and cried knowing so much of it is real. The characters may not be real, but much of what they go through is. I was overwhelmed by all this novel made me feel.
I feel like I’ve been torn open.
When I picked this up, it was because I went to a book festival, and by chance heard the author talk at a panel. I fell absolutely in love with her vibe (despite originally going to the panel for an entirely different author). She’s chaotic and funny and real, and I had a pretty good sense all of that would come across in her writing. And it did.
I started with this book because the premise seemed to hold the most interest to me. It’s been years since this was published, and years since I went back and forth on whether or not I should pick it up. And I’m glad I did. Even if I don’t like anything else by this author, I won’t regret picking this up after hearing her talk about writing thrillers and horror and characters.
This book was intense. From the beginning, it grips you. It makes it hard to let go or look away. I didn’t exactly read this quickly, between having friends visiting and the subject matter being too heavy for me to read before bed, but that wasn’t a bad choice either. It’s good to sit with this story and what the characters go through.
I didn’t know this book would be split between three perspectives, and all three felt vital to it. Having all three made the ending all the more painful, all the more raw. It’s significant, too, that all three characters are flawed in their own way. This is something important because despite the characters being so flawed, they were also incredibly lovable. Alex, Claire, and Jack are all incredibly dear to me. They felt real. They made me feel real emotions.
This book paints an accurate portrait, still accurate, of rape culture. It shows how communities both enable heinous things happening while trying to protect their loved ones from them. It shows the complicated mess that is teens making jokes while also knowing that this they joke about is very real. It shows, as well, how women and girls can come together to protect each other. It’s a lot.
I don’t know what else to say without spoiling it all. Just know that I loved this. I cried at the end. I cried at what felt like injustice and cried knowing so much of it is real. The characters may not be real, but much of what they go through is. I was overwhelmed by all this novel made me feel.