The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

Pages: 341

Intended Audience: Mature teens

Genre: Real life / Social issues / Rape culture

Notes for Parents: Contains coarse language, violence, and some very mature scenes. For mature readers only.

The Back Cover

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter.

As their senior year unfolds, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction in 2016.

What’s good?

Alex is not quite an antihero, but she certainly lacks the qualities of a traditional heroic character. She is haunted, detached, and afraid to build relationships. She manages, however, to make friends with Claire, the average girl, and attracts the attention of Jack, the typical teen boy. The story is told through their alternating viewpoints. The plot is multifaceted, harnessing complex emotions and exploring the dark depths of today’s teenage experience, but with straightforward, relatable storytelling. Violence, tragedy, and rage are explored, but with an underlying message of hope, friendship, and love. This is undeniably a story that challenges rape culture so some scenes are disturbing, intense, and even insidious. However, it’s all within a context of growth and learning, changing patterns, and leading the cause.

Best Part: "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."

What isn’t good?

There was nothing I didn’t like, but I’ll say here that this isn’t a book for everyone. Drinking, drugs, sex, and violence permeate this story, all for the sake of honesty. This is an unapologetic look at rape culture – a societal attitude that trivializes sexual assault, objectification, victim shaming, misogyny, and more, as well as excuses sexual violence in the media and popular culture. Sadly, the behavior described in this story will be familiar to many of today’s teens, and perhaps shocking to many of today’s parents.

Worst part: The truth of it all.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☺☻ (4/5)

This book was completely unexpected from beginning to end. It was well-written, and both beautiful and brutal. Nothing was predictable, and everything was raw. I flinched often and felt real anger well up at the veracity of it all. But there were just as many moments that were heartfelt, poignant, exciting, and even funny. For readers who can handle it, I highly recommend this story.

McGinnis, Mindy. The Female of the Species. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2016.