Content warnings for this book: rape/sexual assault, physical assault, brief but graphic violence, references to child abuse, animal cruelty, substance abuse

The Female of the Species is marketed as a book about rape culture, but that trendy phrase barely scratches the surface. It's a book about rape and the social pressures that enable rapists to walk free; it's about guilt; it's about violence begetting violence; it's about not wanting to report a sexual assault to the police because you'd have to admit that you were out drinking with your underage friends; it's about not reporting a sexual assault because your friend was the rapist.

McGinnis suggests that sexual violence is a complicated issue that cannot be bubbled down to statistics about one sex's tendencies versus another's. In this book, people of all genders and ways of life contribute to an ongoing culture of violence and rape. Male characters like Jack and Park inappropriately touch others without consent and hesitate to take responsibility when things go too far. Female characters like Claire and Branley use sexual manipulation and slut-shame each other on bathroom walls. These characters are sympathetic and complex, and the reader is invited to understand where they're coming from while also condemning their actions.

Almost no one in this town knows how to handle rape culture; teachers look the other way when students mime out exaggerated sex acts, and policemen make rape jokes in the middle of presentations on date rape. In the middle of the cluelessness and willful ignorance stands Alex, our protagonist. She is the voice of reason, the one who calls others out for being unfair or misjudging... And she's also a cold-blooded murderer. Do with that what you will, 'cause I sure don't know how to handle it.

Alex, and the moral questions her character raises, were my favorite parts of this read. Something is definitely "wrong" with Alex. Most days she is rational and deeply empathetic, but she also occasionally is compelled to violently kill bad people. Alex's "condition" does not fit an easy psychological definition (she's clearly not a sociopath). Without a diagnosis to explain her wild actions, I found this book tipping over into like magical realism, like maybe Alex was actually a vigilante ghost-angel. That's not to say that Alex is flat; I identified so strongly with her self-doubt and self-hatred and adored her for trying so hard to be good. But identifying with her did not lessen the uncanny sense that Alex may never have even existed.

I'm kind of worried that some people read this and happily endorse Alex's most violent acts - i.e. "all rapists should burn, it's just that simple." Alex herself doesn't think this; she lives in constant guilt over the people she's killed. This is meant to be a moral quandary of a book, not an example of the perfect solution.

In essence, The Female of the Species asserts that, yes, men are more likely to commit violent acts than women, but they also engage in a thousand smaller behaviors that lead up to the ultimate violent act; and women contribute, too; and, as Alex proves, women can also be incredibly violent. ( )

Female of the Species follows Alex, Jack, and Peekay throughout their senior year of high school following the rape and murder of Alex's sister. While it does follow the lives of these three protagonists, it focuses on society's acceptance of rape culture and how it affects people. Specifically, it examines the fear people have of reporting sexual assault, as well as how people deal with sexual assault after it happens, both in healthy and unhealthy ways.

It calls into question why we respond the way we do and challenges stereotypes on female and teenage sexuality and challenges traditional slut shaming. It also shows the differences between a community working individually to remove a problem vs a community coming together to enact change.

While it is an incredibly tough topic to read on, it is a very well-written book and holds a lot of importance. I thought the way it was discussed in this book was constructive and can help build to a better society through the discussions and actions this book can bring up. It was well-written, with multiple characters growing and not just the protagonists.

The reason I gave it 4.5 star instead of 5 stars is because the story can blend together at times, making it difficult to decipher how much time is actually occurring throughout. If you go into it knowing that this all occurs over the whole school year and not just a few weeks, and that the healing journey is not completed at the end, it could very easily be a 5 star book. ( )

If I hadn't read the last 30 or so pages, this would have gotten a 5 star rating. ( )

If I hadn't read the last 30 or so pages, this would have gotten a 5 star rating. ( )

I couldn't stop reading this book and I kind of wanted to because the content is TOUGH, but I just had to keep reading. I don't think I've ever read a book so dark and raw and not caring about being polite. I don't know if I can say I loved this book, because to be honest it's kind of sick. But it's so different and disturbing that I can't not rate it 5 stars.

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.

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