YA Fiction not only unafraid of the darker side of life, but that goes after it staring into its depths unflinching and writing down what it sees.
I’ve officially caught up on (almost) all things Mindy McGinnis, finally reading her entire backlist except things like short stories and co-writing projects done for other authors. But McGinnis’ solo stuff? I’m all caught up and what a wild ride. The first book of hers that I read was The Female of the Species and from that moment I was hooked (it’s still my favorite though I wish they hadn’t changed the cover recently. The original cover shown in this post looks like it’s a book with something to say while the new cover just looks like creepy semi-abstract art imo). I read Heroine, Be Not Far From Me, The Initial Insult duology…then it was time to partner with my library’s resources to find everything else I’d missed. My conclusion? She’s still one of my top favorite authors who can tackle any genre that comes to her mind and one day I hope to meet her.
In this post I’ve included brief reviews for all of her books (except sequels though most of her books are stand-alones anyway) and if I’d written a longer review (you know how I like to ramble haha) then I’ve included the link. So scroll through and see if anything catches your fancy. She really is a talented author and at the very least her books will make you think twice before settling in Ohio lol.
YA Dystopian Fiction (2013)
A survival story through and through sparing not a moment on wistful daydreams too entrenched on brutal reality. The world is harsh, the story unapologetic, and as the main character’s mother would say, “It is what it is.”
Companion novel/book 2 of 2 of the Not a Drop to Drink series: In a Handful of Dust
YA Historical Horror Mystery (2015)
I’ve only before read McGinnis’ contemporary fiction but even when writing historical she stays true to a story wrapped up in the darker side of humans and exploring society’s structures for better or worse. Really if you can push past the dark terrible beginning then it evolves into a quick-paced murder mystery and a story that becomes not only intriguing but at times even fun and dare I say precariously close to losing its balance and dipping its toe into almost warm-hearted. Wouldn’t want that though now would we? Lol
YA Contemporary Fiction (2016)
The Female of the Species will gently remove your rose-colored glasses right before grinding them coldly beneath its heel. It isn’t a blood-thirsty war cry so much as a dark yet heart-wrenching plea to look, to see, to understand, to change, and by the final page you will want to raise your fist and scream through the tears staining your cheeks for this book may use fictional names but the story is very real and likely in some way yours. A book that ought to be on every shelf with its binding worn and broken from having been read and shared so often because to shelf it pristine would be a betrayal to Alex and the sharp reality she refuses to ignore.
YA Fantasy (2017)
A surprisingly dark and complex fantasy considering its page count, but this is McGinnis so I’m not surprised she couldn’t just write something lighter and simpler or that she didn’t try to drag out the plot with infinite details or whimsical prose as so many fantasy books do. Her writing tends to be gritty, unapologetic, and to the point and despite writing a fantasy this time this was no exception. Complex romantic threads, a fantasy setting with a dark tradition it does not shy away from, and four alternating POVs that spin together a story of war, doom, and resignation lined with only the faintest of hopes. McGinnis, as always, writes defiant adult books masquerading as YA. She knows teens can handle it, but be warned that fluff is not in her vocabulary.
Book 2 of 2 in the Given Duet: Given to the Earth
YA Psychological Thriller (2017)
I am utterly, horrifyingly speechless. McGinnis always has a talent for writing stories that aren’t afraid of the darker side of life and you won’t always totally like the main character either, but this book??? This Darkness Mine is a disturbing unravelling that begins with a high school student thriving in a pressure chamber and bleeds into a heartless psychopath. Despite my general dislike of the creepy and twisted, this story was done well because I couldn’t put it down despite the amount of sweat building from the fear and morbid curiosity of what Sasha freaking Stone might do next.
YA Contemporary Fiction (2019)
Heroine is a gritty glimpse into the slide from athlete to addict made perhaps even more frightening by its simple honesty. Sensationalism and scare tactics are left out and instead it faces its readers down with raw emotion and a vividness that will leave your mouth dry. Despite its opening line revealing what is to come, the story is a gentle glide that will draw attachment to the characters, to the success of the team, to the risk of the high, and by its end the only thing one can do is cry and grasp onto the last defiant tendril of hope. Dedicatingly researched, expertly written, and choosing to profess blunt truth over an overt cautionary tale, this book is one that will remain with its readers for years to come and will hopefully open their eyes to the opioid epidemic currently sweeping the nation.
YA Contemporary Survival Fiction (2020)
Be Not Far From Me is dark, it’s rough and ragged, it’s wild, and it is so so good. It starts with a comfortingly familiar scene of eye-rolling teen drama but quickly stumbles, tumbles, and claws its way through the sudden dark with an instinct buried yet violently determined. I really love the title tie-in (you’ll know once you get to it), and the character development that evolved despite there only being one character for most of the book. McGinnis has a true talent for storytelling and I applaud her once more. I love hiking and spending time in the woods, it always feels so right, but I know full well I am not equipped to survive out there and books like this remind me why lol.
YA Contemporary Horror Fiction (2021)
A creepy, thrilling, can’t-put-it-down, Edgar Allan Poe-inspired mystery that will lure you in and hold you captive brick by brick and I can’t wait to read part two of this wild tale. The way she strategically progresses the story through flashbacks and alternating POVs, repeating the same scenes, the same moments, but from one girl’s POV and then the other girl’s point of view is just brilliant and works so so well with this story. The ending in particular HIT me like if there was ever a time for those two ex-BFF’s to be on the same page it was then and just omg. O.M.G.
Book 2 of 2 of The Initial Insult duology: The Last Laugh
YA Mystery (2023)
A Long Stretch of Bad Days has it all – mystery, murder podcast, unlikely friendships, small town drama, adorable animal companion – and it’s unravelled with McGinnis’ trademark frank no nonsense yet tinged with dry humor voice. The characters wear their clichés with a freshness much needed in the genre making them genuinely interesting and likable and kept the plot alive as it rolled from one episode to the next. This was fun, intriguing, gritty, and utterly binge-able. I look forward to what McGinnis publishes next.
COMING SOON
(Expected Publication Date: 01/01/2024)
YA Mystery Thriller (2024)
Blurb: “Neely’s monsters don’t always follow her rules, so when the little girl under her bed, the man in her closet, and the disembodied voice that shadows her every move become louder, she knows she’s in trouble. […] Neely takes a job as a tour guide in the one place her monsters can’t follow—the caverns. […] Award-winning author Mindy McGinnis delivers a powerful psychological thriller, deftly exploring the dark places in the earth and the human mind, where what is real and imaginary isn’t so easily distinguishable.”
Meet Mindy McGinnis!
Mindy McGinnis is an Edgar Award-winning novelist who writes across multiple genres, including post-apocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery, and fantasy.
While her settings may change, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us.
pooled ink 