It sets in motion a series of gut-wrenching events that will pull you through the story by the heartstrings. She violently assaults the attacker, scarring him for life. So when a party leads to a friend almost being raped, Alex snaps. If it wasn’t for the secret living inside of her, it all might be easy.

Soon Alex finds herself in the surprising situation of having both a best friend, and a nearly perfect boyfriend. Something about her is so appealing, dark. And now she’s coming out of her shell, and Jack can’t look away. Jack Fisher, local football hero and soon-to-be Valedictorian, has always been aware of Alex. And between rescuing abandoned puppies and cleaning kittens, Alex begins to find herself opening up to a real friendship between her and Peekay. Peekay comes for her school credit, but takes to the sometimes nasty, sometimes heartbreaking job quickly. Alex is a regular volunteer, hoping that each animal life she saves will erase the marks on her soul. Two years later, Alex and Peekay, the preacher’s kid, are thrown together at the animal shelter.

Deep down, Alex speaks the language of violence, and repays that debt in kind. Her older sister was raped, butchered and spread in the forest for animals to eat. In this stunning novel, Mindy McGinnis takes readers on a harsh but compelling journey into the heart of our society’s rape culture and violence against women.Īlex isn’t your average small-town girl. The Children’s Book Review | May 21, 2016 The Female of the Species

Female of the species mindy mcginnis