The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:

A contemporary YA novel that examines rape culture through alternating perspectives.

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

 I thought that the book was good but there wasn't much of a story involved other than seeing Alex in the wild so to speak. I would have liked to have had more of a plot to go off of but it was still a page turner that was hard to put down.

I didn't mind the different perspectives which was surprising to me because I usually have a hard time with it when there are more than two. I thought that they intertwined in such a way that you could see how the characters lives intersected and how they perceived each other. It helped the story to achieve more depth. I especially enjoyed having a male point of view because of the nature of the subject matter of the book. The character that stole the spotlight for me was Alex. I loved everything about her. The author was able to make her a complex character without having to try too hard. Alex was very intelligent but almost had a childlike way of seeing the world. She saw things as being black and white with the people who commit crimes against women being those who should be punished. It appeared that she saw herself as the force that would oversee said punishment. Alex was a very flawed character but it was her flaws that made for such a fascinating voice to listen to. I enjoyed seeing how people reacted to her or her perspective on normal everyday social interactions. I took issue with the end not necessarily because it didn't make sense or fit with the story. I just would have liked a different ending. It was unexpected in a way but predictable in others and I wanted closure that I don't feel that the author gave.