Mindy McGinnis
(Marion)
Mindy McGinnis’ fourth novel, The Female of the Species (2017), is a vengeance thriller informed by the realities of rape culture.
“The thing about Alex Craft is you forget she’s there,” says high school star jock Jack about his love interest and book protagonist Alex. Alex is a secret vigilante living an otherwise marginal high school existence. After her sister is raped, tortured, and murdered, she chooses to speak the “language of violence” from this point forward: “This is how I kill someone,” she says. “And I don’t feel bad about it.”
The Female of the Species was a 2019/2020 Choose to Read Ohio selection for teens by the State Library of Ohio.
If you enjoyed The Female of the Species, we suggest these Ohio side trips:
- McGinnis’ The Initial Insult
- Angela Johnson’s The First Part Last
- Jacqueline Woodson’s Miracle’s Boys
- Kazim Ali’s The Citadel of Whispers