Thursday, October 6, 2016

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis-- It's TOUGH, but it's worth it

Alex has been a loner most of her life.  After her sister's murder and her violent response to it, she's more certain than ever her loner status is for the good of everyone.  But Peekay and Jack wind up in her life anyhow.

Jack is the popular, star athlete-guy breezing through girls without giving too much thought to it.  Peekay is the "preacher's kid" who doesn't act like one.  Before Alex knows it both have become entangled in her life.  Whether she likes it or not, she's no longer a loner.  And for someone who is "missing something" inside, Alex suddenly has a whole lot of inconvenient feelings for these 2.















This book completely blew me away.  I've read a few other books where the narrator was supposed to be a sociopath or a serial killer or whatever, but never did I connect as much as I did with Alex.  I don't know for sure what Alex's diagnosis would have been, because she had feelings, but it was like she had a little box inside her that would open and once it did, she couldn't control it.

I loved the teenage girl killer character.  Because-- who would suspect a teenage girl??  And who would suspect the sister of a murder victim??  I also love that her violent tendencies seemed to be genetic and didn't just come about as a way to get revenge for her sister.  She was always like this, it just wasn't until what happened to her sister that she had a reason to open that box.

I don't even know how to describe this book because it's so good in so many unexplainable ways.  It's dark and disturbing, but then there's friendship and true human connections.  At times I was like "I'm completely in love with this book", but then later I would be like "This book is too disturbing and makes me feel icky and how can I completely love that?".  And I don't even know how to begin describing how those feelings translate into a book review.

What I can articulate is--- you should read this.  It's so different, I don't think there's any book out there like this.  And off topic, but-- why is this the first Mindy McGinnis book I've ever read??  The writing in this and the way it made me feel is too special for me to not have read Not a Drop to Drink or A Madness So Discreet (and I own both!!).

OVERALL: SO hard to review this book.  It's in a league of it's own and it's too special for you not to try.  It's completely unique and disturbing, it'll make you feel like your heart will burst, and then turn around and make you feel physically ill for liking the book.  Do yourself a favor and try it.

Date Published: 9/20/2016
How I got this book: Thanks to Cassi for lending me her ARC
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (Harper Collins Children's Imprint)

Add it to your To-Read List!!

This Book Contains:

  • Vigilante justice
  • Disturbing violent scenes
  • Sexual assault
  • Animal abuse and death
  • Swearing
  • Sex
  • Drinking
  • Drugs
  • Romance
  • Friendship
  • Running
  • Alternating POVs

My Rating: 5/5









Character: Peekay aka Claire
Book: Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

  • Because Kate is a preacher's kid too and has to deal with similar expectations of her... only she goes the opposite way with them.





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8 comments:

  1. Great review! I've seen some really good reviews for this one so I think I need to bite the bullet and read it. I lov ethat it dealt with such harsh issues and still blew you away. Even though it may be hard for me to read, this book seems too important to miss.

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  2. I've had this on my to-read list and seen a few reviews of it, but not until now have I seen someone warn about the animal abuse and death. I know it might seem stupid but I react really badly to things like that, so thank you so much for the heads up so I wouldn't go into it blind and get an awful shock. Content warnings are really important! I think I'll probably still pick it up at some point, but I'm glad I know to gear myself up for that.

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    1. I'm so glad you found that out through this!! If animal abuse is something that is hard for you to read, it's definitely better to KNOW beforehand that it's in there!! I hope you're able to read the book anyway because it is really really good.

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  3. Oh my goodness. I need this book asap. It sounds so fascinating. I think I will love it. It's getting bumped to the top of my to buy list! Awesome review, Michelle!

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  4. Your review is really tempting me to want to read this. The only thing I am worried about is the animal abuse part. But I may give this a try. Great review, Michelle. :)

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    1. Yeah there was I think 2 animal things?? It wasn't terribly graphic, but it was enough for me to stop and be like whyyyyy? I was able to move past it because the book is SO good and harsh and important.... everyone's different though!

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