2016 book 189

Mindy McGinnis' The Female of the Species
This book is CRAZY, y'all, and I don't know what to say about it, really. My emotions really ran the gamut while reading it.  It centers on a teenage girl whose sister was brutally murdered, and when the murderer couldn't be convicted, she killed him herself as revenge. Because she has ANGER and FEELINGS. But the local teen boy who is great at everything is falling for her, and the preacher's daughter is becoming a friend, so she's slowly being drawn into the world (those two are also POV characters). First I thought all three kids were super cliched, then I found them really compelling, and then I sort of thought they were all a cliche again (the boy is particularly unbelievable as a character, but I loved the preacher's daughter). McGinnis sort of is saying some interesting things about rape culture here, while also having several characters go through various sexual assaults that are not fun or easy to read. I think I would have liked this more if the end didn't feel like a major cop-out? But also, I like the female solidarity? How did this get so many good reviews, this book is honestly kind of insane. B.