59. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

listened to on Audible
2016, Katherine Tegen Books
344 pgs.
YA CRF (older YA)
Finished 11/1/16
Goodreads rating:  4/27 - 1470 ratings
My rating:  4 (As brilliant as it is, somehow I can't quite give it a 5. Not sure why...)

My comments:  To be quite truthful, I'm not exactly sure what to think of this book or how to rate it.  I knew from the beginning it would not have a "good" ending.  It's a book about rape and abuse and discusses sex and sexuality unsparingly.  The story is told in three very distinct, reliable voices.  It's a heartbreaking book.
         These are the words of Emily May, a Goodreads reviewer who I really enjoy (although we don't always agree).  This is exactly what I was thinking, so why put it in my own words?

     BRUTAL. That's how I would describe this book. It sits there all unassuming with its cute yellow cover and pictures of animals, but underneath it has some serious fangs. Rather like the female of the species, I suppose.
     Quick warning: this book may not be suitable to those sensitive to rape and/or animal cruelty. Make no mistake, it's a nasty book. At times it's absolutely disgustingly awful. But it's a very sharp and effective look at sexual assault and rape culture too. And somehow so fucking funny. Well, maybe if you have a sadistic sense of humour, which it turns out I do.
     I don't even know how to adequately explain it. The Female of the Species is told from the perspective of three different characters - Alex, whose sister was raped and murdered; Jack, the popular guy who desperately wants to get to know Alex; and Peekay, the preacher's kid whose ex-boyfriend ditched her for the beautiful Branley, and who now works at the animal shelter with Alex.

Goodreads synopsis:  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 over the years, 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 nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

6. None of the Above - I. W. Gregorio

I read an ARC of this
2015 (due out in April) Balzer + Bray/ Harper Collins

328 pgs.

YA CRF

Finished 1/15/2015

Goodreads rating: 4.31

My rating:   4.5/ Super Excellent book

Acquired from my YALSA group

Setting:  contemporary Utica, NY

1st sentence/s:  "Dawn is my favorite time of day.  There's something sacred about being awake when the rest of the world is sleeping, when the sky is just turning toward the light, and you can still have the sounds of night before the engines and conversations of the day drown them."

My comments:  4.5 This was an excellent, informative read.  I love when you find a book that teaches AND has a good story.  Usually it's historical fiction, but this one covered a lot of information about intersex/AIS/hermaphrodite women.  There were a few things that were sort of just "thrown in," a little off-putting because I felt it might have been missing other things too (a quick mention about an Adam's apple, as one example, sort of out-of-the-blue), but overall I ingested it in two sittings. (One comment about the cover:  yuck!)

Goodreads book summary:  A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she's intersex . . . and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.
          What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?
           When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.
           But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned--something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."
           Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

2. - Fifty Shades of Grey - E. L. James

Fifty Shades #1

2011, Vintage Books

510 pgs.

X-rated Adult Erotica

Finished 1/6/2015

Goodreads rating: 3.70

My rating:   (3) Liked it  

Setting:  contemporary Washington State (including Seattle)

1st sentence/s:  "I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror.  Damn my hair -- it just won't behave, and damn Katherine Kavanaugh for being ill and subjecting me to this ordeal."

My comments:  There have been many negative reviews by people that consider this book horrible because of all the erotica and sexual content.  Well....the genre is erotica, so if you don't like erotica and read it anyway, of course you're not going to like it.  Me?  I liked it.  The characters were interesting, thought-provoking (I might even read the second in the series to see if more is revealed about Christian's hangups) and ..... fun.  Neither were entirely believable, but that's okay in this story, for me.  Ana's innocence and inexperience, at 21--- not believable.  Oh well.  The humor that appears in the many emails that go back and forth between them is clesver.  My biggest complaint?  Ms. James used the word "clamber" dozens and dozens of times. THAT'S what drove ME crazy! (The movie is coming out next month, the trailer enticed me to read the book before seeing the movie - and yes, I'm going to see it!)

Goodreads book summary:  When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
           Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
          Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.
          This book is intended for mature audiences.