Book Review: The Female of the Species

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

Alex Craft has a secret, a violent secret, one she is happy to keep. After her sister was murdered, Alex learned a truth about herself she didn't know before, a violent fact that keeps her isolated but willing to fight if she has to in order to make sure the world is one that she can live in.

When Alex starts her senior year, she has to learn to deal with new friendships. One with Jack, a popular athlete, and another with Peekay, the preacher's daughter. Both will change Alex in ways she never anticipated, and the three of them together will learn things about themselves and each other that will change the way they see the world for the rest of their lives.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My initial reaction to this book is an awe-struck, nearly slack-jawed feeling of something that words can't really suffice for right now. More thoughts soon as I figure out exactly what I want to convey about my feelings for this book because one thing for sure is that it should be discussed. And I want all the right words for when the conversation starts.

More thoughts, starting now:

It happens more often than it should. More often than anyone ever talks about it.

No one steps forward. No one makes a protest. It is never the guys fault because the girls should know better. No one knows if it is true but it's whispered about in the halls as a warning to others. Girls are wary of each other, guys make jokes like it doesn't matter, and life goes on.

It is sickening that the idea of boys will be boys is such an accepted concept in our culture. How is it possibly funny to laugh at a joke about assaulting someone? How is it possible that people look at the girls and boys that are suffering and they don’t stick up for them, ask them what is wrong, protest when the story is false or help them when others won’t?

This book delves into that and more and I admire it for going there, for ripping open wounds and forcing them to bleed in the faces of those who dare to scoff at the subject matter of this book. Nothing is neat and tidy, monsters exist even amongst children, and the fact of the matter is that more people need to talk about it.

It’s hard to say that there is something to enjoy about this book. There is the blossoming of first love, the true growth of real friendship, moments between kids that can make you smile. But that is only the sugar-coating to this book, which explores the nature of revenge, the accepted norms of high school, and the willful ignorance of people looking the other way instead of stepping in to help. It’s hard to get through some of it but it needs to be discussed. It needs to be realized across the world that this isn’t acceptable.

Despite her flaws, which she had plenty, I still adored Alex Craft. I loved her straightforward manner, her extensive vocabulary, her genuine curiosity as she learned to navigate her way through friendships and first love. I especially enjoyed her honesty, her ability to place blame where it should be and her understanding that enabled her not to pass judgment on others that didn’t deserve it. It’s not the norm and for that, I’m grateful this character exists.

And while a lot of this book has to deal with the idea of revenge and taking matters into your own hands, I think the deeper issue at stake is the fact about why someone even needs to go to those extremes to have justice served. If matters were dealt with, reported when they happened, evidence gathered, witnesses having come forward, would revenge be an issue? Or would people rest easy knowing the villain will be caught and justice will prevail?

I predict that this book will end up on some English teacher’s class reading list. If this book had been released when I was school, I would have given it to my teachers, shoved it in the hands of the kids I knew, demanded that the library keep several copies on hand for others to read. It’s that kind of book, that one that opens the discussion, that starts the conversation, because the world is brutal but so much of that is brushed under the rug, gets forgotten, is ignored.

Revenge is something many have fantasized about but never acted upon. This book shows why someone would and how they go about being an avenging figure, but I hope the discussion evolves into how to help keep that need from materializing, how to help right the wrongs the first time around so that revenge isn’t necessary, isn’t the prevailing fantasy of those that have been damaged in one way or the other from a vicious attack on them or someone they love. Then maybe, if we’re really lucky, the discussion can go towards preventing the acts of violence before they are ever committed.

We can dream, right?



Rating on my Blog Scale: 10 Stars. I hope some teacher somewhere is using this book in their classroom. It's that kind of book to me.



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