The Female of the Species, by Mindy McGinnis

You don't always know who the truly crazy ones are. Not really. Sure, movies and media portray them as chainsaw-toting, metal finger nail-wearing, machette-wielding characters. Almost always they're physically scarred in some way. So they can easily be identified, I suppose. 

Oh yeah... These characters are always male.

Always.

But what if that portrayal isn't entirely accurate. This is the question posed by Mindy McGinnis' new novel, The Female of the Species.

So what if? What if the truly bonkers one was the Girl Next Door? The Head Cheerleader? Someone so seemingly innocent you wouldn't ever suspect them. Someone who wore her scars (yes, HER) on the inside. Somehow that thought is even more terrifying than all the Freddies and Jasons put together.

So...it all began a couple years back, when Alex Craft was just a freshman. One day her older sister Anna was taken. The authorities later found the missing girl in the nearby woods. What was left of her, anyway. And the guy who did it? He was one of the residents of the small town. Someone Alex and Anna probably saw dozens of times in passing: Driving by, in line at the grocery store, two rows back at the Cinneplex... Someone neither girl gave a second thought to. Until that fateful day. 

Anna's killer must have had a good lawyer, because he got off on a technicality. Walked free. And this was the last straw for Alex. Because something dangerous sleeping inside this seemingly sweet, quiet girl woke up. The thirst for vengence took over. And she began planning...

You don't need to know the details. Just know that Alex took matters into her own hands. Anna's killer may have escaped the law, but he didn't escape Alex. He became an urban legend. And Alex eventually faded into the background. She didn't talk to/interact with anyone. And no one talked to/interacted with her. It was better this way. For everyone.

Then Peekay and Jack enter Alex's life. They offer acceptance, friendship, love. And Alex begins to feel normal for the first time since before Anna's death. 

If only the normal could last. 

If only...

One night at a party, someone tries to hurt Peekay. But Alex sees. Alex saves her friend, but there is a price to pay. Because from there on out, it's a downward spiral that cumulates, inevitablly, in tragedy. 

Want to know the rest? Read the book!!! It's pretty awesome! Scary (really scary), but awesome!--AJB