The Female of the Species - Book Review

 

The Female of the Species

by Mindy McGinnis

What is it about:

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.

What did I think of it:

This is overall a really good story, but the ending did leave me unsatisfied, maybe even a bit angry.

it is told from three different viewpoints: Alex, Jack, and Peekay. I really liked both Peekay and Alex, as troubled as she might be. Jack was kind of uninteresting at best and a jerk at his worst. 

But I was totally engrossed in the story. Would Alex open up to Peekay, would Peekay get over getting dumped by her boyfriend, and would Alex find closure.

As I said: overall the story is really good and touches on some serious issues in a suspenseful way. I was eager to find out where things would lead to. And that's where I was disappointed. I can't tell why as it would be a big spoiler, but I just wanted things to turn out differently. Still I had a great time with this book and might read more by this author in the future.

Why should you read it:

It's a suspenseful YA read

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A Madness So Discreet - Book Review

A Madness So Discreet
by Mindy McGinnis

What is it about:
Grace Mae knows madness.

She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.

When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

In this beautifully twisted historical thriller, Mindy McGinnis, acclaimed author of Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust, explores the fine line between sanity and insanity, good and evil—and the madness that exists in all of us.

What did I think of it:
This blurb sounded a lot like what I heard about Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood: a girl named Grace in an Asylum, a doctor who shows interest. Further examination showed that it stops there though, and that the stories are hugely different otherwise.

That being said: I picked the book up because I enjoyed Not a Drop to Drink. This book is very different and even better than Not a Drop to Drink. I was hooked from the start. Grace is an intriguing character and so are the people who surround her. She might be unlucky with how she ended up in the asylum, but from there on out she meets people who make her life better.

I liked how McGinnis shows how the line between sane and insane is a small one. Some of the inmates seem more sane and more put together than those on the outside.

Next to the work Grace and the doctor do together, the story focuses on how Grace handles the Asylum and her past. Near the end there is a twist I didn't see coming and which brought new suspense to the story. All in all a gripping and emotional read. I will get my trotters on other books by McGinnis for sure.

Why should you read it:
It's a suspenseful and emotional read.


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Not a Drop to Drink - Book Review

Not a Drop to Drink (Not a Drop to Drink #1)
by Mindy McGinnis

What is it about:
Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.

Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.

But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it...

What did I think of it:
I will confess I was a bit unsure about this book at first.

The story starts out with Lynn and her mother guarding their pond, and to be honest: they sounded like a couple of loons. Lynn's mother was acting like a paranoid drill sergeant one moment, but totally letting her under aged (and unworldly) daughter calling the shots a moment later. And don't get me started on the world building. I couldn't make sense of it.

But then Lynn is suddenly on her own, gets confronted with other people, and the story got interesting.

The world building still didn't make much sense to me, but I liked the unfolding events enough that I didn't care about that anymore. There's suspense, danger, Lynn trying to learn how to deal with strangers, and making choices based on her own judgement.

I liked the changes Lynn underwent in this story. She starts out as a character I just couldn't care for, but at the end of the book I was rooting for her. There were some really cool other characters she meets as well.

All in all this is an enjoyable read once you ignore your questions about the world building and I might pick up the next book if I happen to find it.

Why should you read it:
It's an entertaining Dystopian read.