Mindy McGinnis

I met McGinnis at OLC after I read this book and she was just as amazing as I suspected. Now I own a signed copy of this book that reads:
"Jeri - Trust your Instincts!" and it has her card that reads:
"Writer Writer Pants on Fire"


Review from Good Reads, Jan 29 2017:

This book took me 2 days. With a teething one-year-old at home.

So great! What a timely novel! This should be a must-read for all teenagers - male and female. The narration is shared by 3 people, 2 very different girls and a boy. They are all seniors at the same school and are all affected by the kidnapping, rape, and murder of one of the girls' sister before the story starts.

There is graphic teenage sex and discussion thereof, but if anyone thinks that this isn't realistic they DEFINITELY need to read this book! This is a cautionary tale for females about the dangers in this world if you're a girl. It's a cautionary tale for males about the dangers in this world if you underestimate the power of females.

No means no. Lack of explicit consent means NO. "Boys will be boys" is a destructive and out-dated mentality in our culture. Girls want to have sex, too, and that's okay - it doesn't make them a "slut" (ugh I HATE that word!) Report abuse! Yours and anyone else's! It will most likely prevent the abuser from striking again.

My favorite quote: "I live in a world where not being molested as a child is considered luck." p 239

I want my precocious daughter to read this novel, but she's just turned twelve and I'm not sure I'm ready for her to read about blow-jobs and pussy yet. agh. I will remember this novel for her when she's 14 or so, though!… (more)

Part 1 of this book was absolutely terrible. If you want to read about a girl bashing literally everyone around her for pages upon pages, that is what you will find here. There was a LOT more drugs, alcohol, and s*x than I could have ever imagined. I knew going into this from the back cover that there was some drinking, but I did not expect the rest.
I did like the survival parts of the story though. The beginning and reminiscing over her relationship with her boyfriend were just too much.
I would not recommend this to younger high schoolers due to the content listed and a lot of language.

2 Stars… (more)

Content warnings for this book: substance abuse, bodily waste, pregnancy and difficulty conceiving

Having read this The Female of the Species, I can say that I like McGinnis's direct, uncompromising style. She doesn't exaggerate or dramatize, nor does she sugarcoat. If it weren't for that, I'd probably have way more trouble sitting through a book about sports and drug abuse, which are both topics outside my wheelhouse.

Another point for McGinnis - she's good at writing characters that do terrible things but remain sympathetic.… (more)