Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Female of the Species

Be aware that this book has pretty much all the trigger warnings. It is a really hard read but also beautiful and haunting and will linger in my head for a long time to come.

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amber_lyn's review

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dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

Parts of this book felt like you were navigating a foggy dream. It would skip over certain events and it would jump time. I think this book did a really great job of encapsulating the intensity of teenage emotion. Of first live. I really enjoyed the female friendships in here. I will say there is a bit of ‘not like other girls’ trope on here. There is heavy commentary on sexual assault.

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emilyvelle's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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jnligdas's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

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salon3ly's review

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

tw// discussion of sexual harassment and rape culture

In a country where state and sexual violence is constantly perpetuated, justice is rare and retribution even rarer. Female vengeance against the sex offender is rarely offered, and in media there is a certain notion that female vengeance is a reactionary action towards being faced with sexual harassment, that female rage only exists on the basis of male violation. There is a lot to be said about prison abolition, justice, and vengeance, but that is not what I want to discuss.

The Female of the Species explores the aforementioned stereotype, and in some ways I'm not convinced if it broke out of it. It's usage of Alex as the protagonist of the story, mixed in with the opinions of her complicated boyfriend, and eventual friend Claire is clever, but would it be bad to say that I'm tired of

Spoiler

authors killing off their protagonists for some shock factor or misguided idea of peace. Would it have been more revolutionary for Alex to live and find love despite her wrath that wasn't societally acceptable? Then again, is The Female of the Species revolutionary? The answer for me is a resolute no.

The Female of the Species makes some great commentary on rape culture and its pervasiveness. But, I'm not sure if this is the book we need right now.

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graciejames's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

4.5

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booksofautumn's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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carolinacortez's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

okay, no me mal entiendan creo que este libro es increible, si tienes entre 16-19 años, por eso le di la cantidad de estrellas que le di. Alex es una fuerza del universo ideal para personas de esa edad, muestra lo que es una sororidad, lo que es estar de verdad para tus amigas, lo que es SER UNA AMIGA, es un libro muy oscuro y fuerte en cuanto a acoso y abuso sexual, empieza con un asesinato y a partir de ahí la violencia no disminuye, pero creo que la autora lo hiso de muy buena manera, nunca llegue a odiar o no estar de acuerdo con las acciones que tomaba Alex, de hecho creo que es una heroina, creo que lo que menos me gustó fue la relación romántica entre Alex y Jack, yo me hubiera enfocado aún más en a relación entre Claire.

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