The Female of the Species

Book 8 of my 2017 Reading Challenge
read from January 21 - 23

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

Summary (via the book jacket)
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, 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 side breaks out, setting the 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.

My Opinion
Wow.  This is the kind of book that can't be dissected for review because so much of it is based on the emotional experience I had reading it.  The last few chapters came out of nowhere and I couldn't put it down at that point.

I didn't love everything about it but I felt everything.  I'm very impressed with the uniqueness of the story and will definitely read this author again.

A Few Quotes from the Book
"The thing about Alex Craft is, you forget she's there."

"Everyone thinks if you fix a male dog it will lower his aggression, but most of the biters are female. It's basic instinct to protect their own womb. You see it in all animals - the female of the species is more deadly than the male."

"I'm not fine, and I doubt I ever will be.
 The books didn't help me find a word for myself; my father refused to accept the weight of it. And so I made my own.
 I am vengeance."