Books I've Loved: The Female of the Species

This book really got to me.  It deals with some difficult subject matter and some extremely complex morality, but is never preachy.

It's the story of a young woman whose sister was brutally raped and murdered.  That act tore her world apart and she allowed herself to give in to the rage she felt.  Now, years later, she's still consumed by that rage.  To the point where she doesn't believe she has a future, not because she doesn't want one, but because she feels the world is safer if she keeps herself contained.

Then she meets Jack and Peekay and the world opens up for her.  For the first time she has friends and they show her what life could be like if she allowed herself to imagine a future.  And for a while, life for Alex is good.

But one night something happens that unleashes Alex's rage again, and once it's unleashed, it's hard for her to contain it.

This book deals very frankly with rape and the consequences and culture surrounding it.  It also delves into the murky, gray area of retaliation and revenge.  It's not always a fun book to read, but it will definitely make you think, and at times may even shock you.  You will certainly finish it knowing that the female of the species is definitely the one to be wary of….  I just couldn't put it down.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:


Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister, Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best. The language of violence.

While her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high school hallways.

But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex over the years, and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her.

So does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats they care for.

Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.