THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES By Mindy McGinnis

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on 9/20/16
Genres: Contemporary, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 348
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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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. Not anyone.

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.

Short and Sweet Review

Alex Craft is known as the girl who has a dead older sister. Alex’s sister Anna was murdered and the killer walk free and that’s when Alex learned how to kill somebody and she doesn’t feel bad about knowing this. Alex’s crime has gone unpunished but she knows she can’t be trusted around other people, but eventually she becomes friends with Jack the star athlete and Peekay the preachers kid. Over time more of Alex’s violent nature comes out and it sets these three teens down a road they never thought they’d be on.

When I first started reading this book I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I liked each of these characters. We get to read from the POVs of Alex, Jack, and Peekay. Alex is different from a lot of characters I’ve read before, she’s smart and she hasn’t had a lot of human interaction so she’s a bit awkward but in an endearing way. Alex’s violent nature is one that could be compared to an animal in the wild, if she feels threatened or if she feels that her friends are in danger she’ll attack. Peekay is the preachers kid and she meets Alex at the animal shelter and they become friends, Peekay is caring and she is good but sometimes she wants to be bad, and that’s where Alex usually brings her back to Earth. Jack likes Alex but he’s a typical teenage boy and he sometimes thinks with other extremities instead of his head.

We see Alex act on her violent nature a few times and it throws people off about how casual she is about it, on one hand people are for it and the other people are concerned about what else she could do. There’s a lot of tough topics discussed in this book and a lot of stereotypes that are tackled. I enjoyed this book and the ending is one that is bittersweet but I get it.

This book was powerful and one I’ll think about for a long time, its just so fascinating and a book I recommend!