The Female of the Species

Edgar Award-winning author Mindy McGinnis delivers a riveting contemporary YA novel that examines rape culture through alternating perspectives. A stunning, unforgettable page-turner.

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.

2017 Tayshas List Selection YALSA Top 10 Best YA Fiction of 2017 School Libray Journal Best of 2016 Junior Library Guild Selection The Globe and Mail Best Books of 2016 Bustle's Best Young Adult Books of 2016 Mashable's 8 Best YA Books of 2016 Seventeen's 10 Best YA Books of 2016 CCBC Choices 2017 2018-2019 Louisiana Readers' Choice Award Nominee 2019 & 2020 Choose to Read Ohio Booklist

“★ "Whether a catcall, an unwelcome touch, or more, sexual aggression towards females happens daily; McGinnis explores how one teen uses violence for justice in this gripping story that should be read and discussed by teens, as well as those who work with them."”

★ "All three teens are haunted by the memory of Anna's murder, and Alex's inclination to both considering and exacting revenge with cruel efficiency leads them all inexorably to an explosive, terrible finale. An unflinching look at rape culture and its repercussions."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ "McGinnis gracefully avoids the pitfalls of creating a teenage vigilante, instead maintaining a sense of piercing realism. Alex is a pained girl in dangerous free fall, whose fierce independence is challenged by newfound friendships, even love, though neither may be enough to stave off the inevitable."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
--Booklist (starred review)
★ "Each word has been specifically chosen, each character superbly and humanly sculpted, the plot line masterfully completed. To say more would be to dilute the experience. McGinnis plays with the readers and they are at her mercy."--Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review)
★ "An astoundingly dark but beautifully written tragedy, brimming with sexual assault, violent murders, and accounts of animal abuse...but also tempered with glimpses of genuine human emotion and extremely touching displays of kindness that cross social barriers and species. Highly recommended for collections serving teenagers."--School Library Journal (starred review)

Mindy McGinnis is the author of Not a Drop to Drink and its companion, In a Handful of Dust, as well as This Darkness Mine, The Female of the Species, Given to the Sea, Heroine, and the Edgar Award-winning novel A Madness So Discreet. A graduate of Otterbein University with a BA in English literature and religion, Mindy lives in Ohio. You can

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. 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. Edgar Award-winning author Mindy McGinnis artfully crafts three alternating perspectives into a dark and riveting exploration of what it means to be the female of the species.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.