First Line Fridays: “The Female of the Species” by Mindy McGinnis

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature hosted by Hoarding Books.

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Oh, hello there! We made it to Friday!

I’ve been going through my backlist TBR lately, wanting to prevent an impending reading slump. This Friday’s FLF feature is a book I’ve long been intrigued by. A handful of people recommended it when I finished reading Courtney Summers’ Sadie last year, telling me that I’ll love it as well. And they were right, I loved this book – loved it and hurt for the main character.

This is how I kill someone.
I learn his habits, I know his schedule. It is not difficult. His life consists of quick stops to the dollar store for the bare minimum of things required to keep this ragged cycle going, his hat pulled down over his eys so as not to be recognized.

But he is. It’s a small town.

I watch these little exchanges. They evolve in seconds, from I get paid to smile at you to the facial muscles going lax when recognition hits, the price scanner making a feeble attempt to break the silence making a beep-beep when his food goes past.

I know this pattern but watch it anyway. The bread, the cheese, the wine, and the crackers that sometimes he will crumble and put out for the birds – a tiny crack of kindness that makes him all the more hateful. Because if there’s a version of him that feeds birds as winter descends, then there is a decency that he chose to overlook when he did other things. Other things that also fed the birds. And the hawks. And the raccoons. And the coyotes. All the animals that took mouthfuls of my sister, destroying any chance of proving he killed her.

But I’m not a court, and I don’t need proof.

 

The Female of the Species was a like punch in the gut. It made me angry and sad, and all other complicated emotions. I loved how it tackled and handled rape culture within its pages. This is one important book I think all must read.

I’m not sure when I’ll get to it, but I’m going to review this in the future. I just need a longer weekend, and loads of coffee. Seriously though, you guys need to read this book! Now!

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