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October: The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
By Jenna · 7 posts · 145 views
By Jenna · 7 posts · 145 views
last updated Jan 20, 2017 08:21PM
What Members Thought
I really liked Glory O'Brien's History of the Future, but I was afraid that this new A.S. King novel would be too much like her last book, which I didn't care for. I was pretty sure I'd abandon this one after I reached my self-imposed page limit and tell my book club that I tried. It started out feeling too experimental (and Sarah's obsession with originality gets old really fast), and then suddenly, I was hooked. WHAT HAPPENED IN MEXICO???? King teases out information in the most enticing way,
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Sarah is an artist and she is searching for what's original and true. Sarah's parents have a toxic marriage. They've lived a lifetime of shrugging (Chet) and flipping off (Helen). Older brother, Bruce, has been gone from the family for six years, after a particularly disastrous family trip to Mexico. Skipping school has given Sarah a chance to wander and wonder; having an existential breakdown. She often carries an umbrella to keep bullshit from raining down. Yes, there has been a tipping point,
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I think King has a strong chance at winning the Printz with this novel. The writing is strong and the magical realism technique of the multi-aged Sarahs was effective for the plot. It did get a bit tedious at times- wished it had flowed better.
Dec 20, 2016
Barbara
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
art,
community,
elderly-characters,
friendship,
humor,
alcohol,
resilience,
violence,
facing-fears,
science
Author A. S. King always takes me to places I expect to go, but then as I am willingly going along for the ride, it turns out that I'm not really gong where I thought I was. In this case, the protagonist of her story is sixteen-year-old Sarah, a talented artist who decides to quit attending classes since there's nothing for her to learn there. As she holes up in her room and later wanders the streets, it becomes clear that she's been enduring harassment from her peers and teacher, but that somet
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Her best book yet.
Beautifully written, memorable, original.
Close to 4 1/2 stars, although some of it faded for me in a few days. Love the magical realism; all the Sarahs. Quick read. The writing of this caused the author pain and confusion. Love the use of her sister, the solid-scrubs ER nurse, as a model for the mom. My favorite A.S. King book so far. While it's fairly dark, it's not as dark as the others that I've read. Love "This is Art" and PR (pathetic rat for the dad). Also really enjoyed Philly as the setting, almost a character--SEPTA, the art m
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A S King always makes up her own magical realism rules, and this is true here, too. Sarah is a high schooler having an existential crisis, so items versions of her self come along to help her plot through it. The book had kind of a slow burn to the reveals in two different time periods. It was a little repetitive, but I liked it a lot better once she stopped saying "there are no original ideas" in every paragraph.
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Mar 01, 2016
Dan
marked it as to-read
Mar 03, 2016
Lea
marked it as books-in-the-pile
Jul 16, 2016
Kris Springer
marked it as to-read
Jul 26, 2016
Kathy
marked it as to-read
Oct 07, 2016
Kristy
marked it as to-read
Feb 01, 2017
Emily Briano
marked it as to-read
