Loved the story but not the narration. It didn’t do ,UCB to bring the character to life. I read this text and I listened to it and the ebook version was ,UCB better.

Tress's parents disappeared when Tress was a 4th grader. The last person to see them was Tress's bff Felicity, but she had a seizure at the least helpful moment, so she doesn't know what actually happened. In the ensuing years, Tress has had to move in with her grandfather Cecil, who runs the "white trash zoo" and a farms a half-acre of weed. Tress has had to do a lot of growing up, and she has been incredibly poor while Felicity seemingly has everything. So, when a party at a soon-to-be-demolished old home is planned, Tress does some planning of her. In homage to "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe, Tress decides she is going to brick Felicity into the basement with the hopes that the fear of being buried alive will get her to confess what happened when Tress's parents disappeared. But things don't go to plan, namely, a panther from Cecil's white trash zoo has escaped and makes an appearance at the party.

Two caveats to my review:
1. I listened to an audiobook that was narrated by a synthetic voice. This was my first audio ARC like this, and I won't ever download one like it again. It makes for very tedious listening and kills any suspense or really any emotion.
2. I listened to this during the week of the Texas Polar Vortex when we lost power and water. My experience wasn't nearly as bad as many other Texans', but suffice it to say it has not been an easy week. I couldn't concentrate on anything for more than 20 minutes, and obviously this hurts the attention that was paid to the story. I also feel like I missed important subtextual stuff that my autistic brain doesn't always pick up on easily. So, this whole situation didn't help in my deciphering of that.

That said, I didn't enjoy The Initial Insult. It felt like McGinnis was trying too hard to be an Important Author. Like, all the Edgar Allan Poe stuff? I usually love nods to canon literature, but this just didn't do it for me. Plus, the whole panther POV? It reminded me of The Angel Thieves by Kathi Appelt, which I didn't read, but sounded like a snooze-fest for teen readers. I'm so tired of authors writing for "merit" instead of for actual teen readers. I loved McGinnis's Heroine and Be Not Far from Me, so I really was looking forward to this newest title by her. I wish I could go back and un-order it with my February YA order. :/

Even though I haven’t really been in the mood for dark reads lately, I couldn’t resist Mindy McGinnis’ new novel, The Initial Insult. First because I’m a big fan of McGinnis’ writing, and second, because The Initial Insult is a modern day retelling of the classic Edgar Allan Poe short story, The Cask of Amontillado. I love Edgar Allan Poe and The Cask of Amontillado is a favorite of mine, so this was a must read. You don’t have to have read the classic Poe tale to understand and appreciate McGinnis’ version though so don’t let not having read the original deter you. While it somewhat mirrors Poe’s classic tale of revenge, The Initial Insult is at its core a story about a friendship that has fallen apart and all of the residual hurt feelings that still linger between the two former friends.

The Initial Insult follows Tress Montor, whose parents disappeared without a trace seven years ago. The last person to see them alive? Tress’ then best friend, Felicity Turnado. Tress’ life has pretty much fallen apart since her parents disappeared, while Felicity has become the social climbing belle of the ball, so to speak. As their lives have moved in such opposite directions, so has their friendship until they basically become more enemies than friends. It drives Tress crazy that Felicity can offer no insight into what happened to her parents, so she devises a dark and twisted plan to force Felicity to confess everything she remembers about that night because Tress is convinced she has been lying for all of these years. Tress’ plan involves bricks, mortar, manacles, and a party with lots of distractions so that no one will notice she and Felicity have gone missing. Sounds sinister, right? Because it totally is!

I don’t want to give away anything else about the story, but it’s definitely a wild ride and a dark and twisted one at that. I do have to say that I wasn’t a huge fan of either girl, although I did sympathize with them both as we learn more and more about their friendship and about some other secrets they are each hiding. They are both tragic characters in their own way, and Tress is definitely one of the more interesting and complex morally gray characters I’ve come across.

I listened to an audio gallery of this book and while it was a little odd because it was a digital voice, it was still a very good listen and I can only imagine how much better it will be with an actual person narrating.

I do want to forewarn anyone who is sensitive when it comes to animals being harmed in books, there is a pretty devastating incident involving a family pet. I hope that’s not a spoiler, but I wish I had known it was coming when I started reading so I could mentally prepare myself for it.

The Initial Insult is a dark and heartbreaking read that ends on a jaw dropping note. I didn’t realize until I got to the end that it’s actually the first book in a duology, so I can’t wait to get my hands on the second book, which is apparently named The Last Laugh.

~2.5

So many mixed feelings on this one.
The set up was really intriguing and the building tension and darkness got me hooked at first. But then I started getting a little lost in all the time jumping and POV switching. It was hard to nail down what was happening to who and when, and the momentum was lost. I was interested to learn more about the complex friendship of the two main characters, but the side characters (including the panther) didn’t have compelling storylines that wove into the mystery, which was disappointing. The main plot wasn’t resolved by the end to lead into the next book, which I felt was unnecessary.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

A story told by multiple POV in a non-linear time line, this one started out hard to follow, but once I got into the meat of what was going on, I could not stop reading! I had to know what happened! Advertised as inspired by a Poe story - I was glad for all the darkness that enveloped this story - some very strong content for a YA novel. There was not a bit of light and fluffy at all and it goes deep into the flawed town and the families that inhabit it. I was satisfied enough with the end, but looking forward to the second half of this duet.

I'm a big fan of Mindy's (have read and loved most of her work). Sadly, I liked this one but I didn't love it. I liked the concept (based off Poe) but I often struggled to differentiate the switching of timelines as well as each girl's "voice". I forgot which character I was reading several times until something obvious (the zoo in Tess' case or the wealth in Felicity's case, for example). I didn't particularly like either character, which is okay but maybe it would have helped a little in keeping them straight in my mind. I also felt like a lot of the narrative was repetitive, almost like filler, which is not this author's normal style at all. Overall, a good concept and I do plan to continue the series, but not my favorite McGinnis storytelling.

A side note regarding the early copy. I reviewed this as an audio galley. I really liked this option, however the NetGalley app for it is terrible (very glitchy--I couldn't pause and continue, couldn't delete bookmarks, etc). This did not affect my review of the story or its content.

This book overall was quite confusing and hard to follow. I'm not sure if it's because I listened to the audio eARC so the voice was the same for both narrators, or if it was the writing in general.

The character development was okay, both MCs had some character development, but in my opinion, not enough. Tress wasn't redeemed in the end and neither was Felicity.

The plot was fine, but not as on-the-edge-of-your-seat as a thriller should be. Parts of the plot, especially the end make absolutely no sense at all! It's supposed to be a big plot twist before the end of the book, and that was pretty good, but the last chapter or two was just confusing and made absolutely no sense.

It was well-paced throughout most of the work, and the writing quality was good but not great. It was mostly enjoyable, until the very end.

It did make you think and was entertaining, so overall it was a 3-star book.

The voice galley was AWFUL. I really should have thought it through before accepting. This was basically listening to Siri read a very intense, dark YA for hours. In the end, being trapped behind a brick wall was starting to sound preferable to continuing the book. I really tried not to include the format when rating this because it's not actually part of the book.

Outside of the terrible reading experience, this story was phenomenal. I loved the Poe tie-ins, which conjured memories of my middle & high school years when we read those original stories in class. This was a very heavy drama with a lot of twisted scenes. Definitely not for sensitive readers because of the bad, bad stuff going on (bullying, animal cruelty, underage drug & alcohol use, domestic abuse, child neglect....) It would the perfect CW show with the most evil pretty teenagers you ever did see. My only reason for docking one star is that I couldn't really appreciate the ending. It felt so unfinished. I guess there is another book coming since this one is marked #1. Still, I needed to have a little relief from all the torture!

In a clear homage to Edgar Allan Poe, Mindy McGinnis does an amazing job of once again assembling flawed characters who are thoroughly relatable in a completely grisly story of friendship and maybe forgiveness. Returning to her research on the opioid crisis from "Heroine" and melding that with the moral complexity of "Female of the Species," McGinnis introduces three main characters that are deeply flawed and yet readers will hope for their redemption and a happy ending. Tress Montor is prepared to exact vengeance on Felicity Turnado for insults heaped upon her during their lifelong friendship and as a way to find out the truth behind the disappearance of Tress's parents on the night they were driving Feleicity home. Page by page readers come to understand why Tress is bricking Felicity into a basement of an abandoned house on the night of a raging Halloween party.

The story is delightfully creepy, and the audiobook amplifies that. Narrators Lisa Flanagan and Brittany Pressley bring Tress and Felicity to life in believable voice and reverie. Tim Campbell takes on the voice of Cat. My first instinct was to recoil. His is a voice that is much more adult by comparison, but as he inserts the Cat's perspective into the story, his low, growling voice is perfect to the task.

This is a strong purchase in both print and audio format for libraries serving young adults with a taste for the macabre.

This is DARK.

Obviously, being a re-telling of the Cask of Amontillado it will be dark but JEESH.

The writing is disorganised and there are time jumps to gradually open the friendship and fallout between Tress and Felicity and it frequently made my stomach sink.

It's spooky and kind of quiet, very self-contained, and unfortunately the first in a duology, meaning I can't get the rest for quite a while.

I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

I wasn't able to get the audiobook version to work for me. I asked for the ebook copy but was declined. So I was unable to access this. :(

'The Initial Insult' is a modern tale about revenge, losing ones parents and so much more.
I was super excited to get started on this book. It promised to be dark, adventurous and super interesting. The moment I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read it. However, my expectations were not completely met.
The main plot was super interesting but there were so many other things going on that just made it a bit confusing to me. Almost anything that could happen, did happen and it made an otherwise great story about revenge (and grief) seem just a bit too busy and hectic.
The Characters were expertly written and the history and dynamics between them were interesting and complex.
Overall compelling (although at times absurd) story about revenge.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you Harper Children's for the ARC.

3.5

This rating may change when I read book 2 that will come out in 2022 because the book did end upruptly. Even though it did, I would be OK if it was a standalone because I felt satisfied by the ending.

When the book started, it took me awhile to get used to the jumping between timelines, but I got mostly used to it about 10-15% into the book. This book was very interesting and it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion and being amazed by how the metal bends and the glass shatters. The pieces and parts of the two main character's lives intermingle built nicely. Also, I like the themes and how they were seamlessly tied in with the plot. It was chef's kiss.

However, remember that jumping between timelines? Even though I got mostly used to it, I felt like it jumped too much. The author did her best to make it clear what time period you were jumping to, but it felt jarring and sometimes I lost track of what time period I was in.

My biggest critque I have is the seizure rep in here. I liked that it was there. I liked the examination of it and how someone who deals with seizures can feel like they are defective and broken because of it. That was excellent. However, I have a family member who has seizures and after they have one, they are not up and about ready to talk with friends and stay at a party and think about a boy. They are pretty much wiped for hours, if not the rest of the day. That bothered me in the story that Felicity had a seizure and then 20 mintues later, she was going on with her life. From what I've seen, it does not happen that way.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and all the faulted characters. I am interested to see what is going to happen next.

The Initial Insult ~ Mindy McGinnis
This YA suspense is a reimagined mash-up of some of the greatest Edgar Allan Poe stories. A modern retelling of a friendship gone wrong. When Tress Montor's parents go missing she is sent to live with her one-eyed, drunk, freak show of a grandfather, who runs the white trash zoo. After the town shuns Tress she decides to get answers on her own from the last person to see her parents alive... her best friend Felicity. It's a treasure trove of literary easter eggs with Poe's influence on the frontlines. This is part one of a duology, so don't expect a tidy ending, but do expect to be highly engaged in this pager turner.
#NetGalley #TheInitialInsult

I snagged a review copy of this audiobook for two reasons: 1) I’ve always been a Poe fan and wanted to check out a retelling of one of my favorite Poe pieces (“The Cask of Amontillado”) and 2) While I haven’t read Mindy McGinnis before, I have heard that I should check her work out.

And I found myself with mixed feelings. I did like her spin on the story, resetting the tale in high school with mean girls and peer pressure abounding. And I liked how McGinnis built up her characters’ motivations, giving relatively clear reasons for why they behaved so badly.

My problem really came because I guess I’m an old-fashioned kind of girl, and the crudeness of the characters’ behavior just didn’t appeal to me. The foul language and the drug use and everything else kind of wore on me. I know that teenagers are not angels, but I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to any of my friends, let alone to their kids, simply because I prefer kids to be kids for longer than this type of story would allow them to be. I feel like encouraging kids to read books where the characters behave so poorly only perpetuates the problems we see in society. Okay, I’ll step off my soapbox.

So, to sum up: plot=okay; character motivations=understandable; character behavior=fairly deplorable. For that, I have to give this book three out of five stars. The writing wasn’t bad, but it’s not what I would consider -age-appropriate.

⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Thanks to HarperTeen/Harper Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC of this novel for review purposes. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my very own! 🙂

Mindy McGinnis is one of my favorite authors so I was very excited to get a chance to read an early copy of The Initial Insult. Spoiler alert: I can't wait for book two!

Fans of Mindy's books will know that she writes tough female characters and dark plots and this one definitely lives up to that. We get to know two teenage girls who were close friends when they were younger. The writing goes back and forth between when they were kids to current time, so we get to see what their relationship was like before. There is a mystery that brings the two characters back together in current day. It's dark, mysterious, and a dramatic ending that will leave you hanging!

Mindy McGinnis does it again! She gave us a dark YA Thriller. I love that she just goes for it with the darkness she puts in her books and this was no exception. There's even chapters from a Panther's point of view if that doesn't peak your interest.

This story is a bit reminiscent of a real life true crime story where a boy killed his parents and then put a party on at his house while their dead bodies were in another room. It may not be Tress's parents but she's sure going to give her old best friend a scare when she decides to seal her into the wall of an abandoned house while a party goes on upstairs.

Tress wants to know what happened to her parents all those years ago and she knows that her childhood best friend knows the answers she's looking for. Tress is a very interesting character. She's been forced to live with her crazy grandfather at his "zoo" and let's just say he isn't the loving type. With everything Tress has gone through it is no surprise she'll go to any lengths to find out the truth. I think she misses her friendship with Felicity but can't get past the fact that she was the last person to see her parents and won't tell her what happened to them.

Felicity doesn't remember what happened the night Tress's parents disappeared. She isn't sure if the events of what happened were so traumatic that her subconscious suppressed them or if the blackout from the seizure she had caused her to lose her memory but all she knows is she doesn't remember. When Tress traps her in the coal shoot and starts layer brick by brick Felicity feels she deserves it. She can't tell Tress what happened because she doesn't remember but also feels guilty she didn't try harder to mend their friendship.

This story is told in two different POV's and flips back between the past and present. I liked that it did this because it really showed the journey Tress and Felicity's friendship went through and what caused all the little breaks along the way.

I have so many unanswered questions which makes sense given we'll be getting another one! I can't wait because I need all the answers!! If you've enjoyed Mindy's other books or are looking for a darker YA thriller than you're used to reading than I definitely recommend this one.

First let me thank Netgalley for the early review copy! I really enjoyed this Poe retelling. The story follow Tress, a young girl that one day her mom and dad came up missing and she went from a good life to living with her grandfather, a one eye drunk that runs a grimy zoo that houses a few odd animals. The story also follows Felicity, a well to do and popular young girl that was Tress's best friend until the night of the slumber party that she had to go home early which was the night Tress's family went missing. Tress needs to find out what happened to her family so she plans to chain up Felicity and make her talk as she scares her by bricking her up into the wall of an old house due to be demolished. No spoilers but OMG this will keep you on the edge of your seat! I definitely recommend it.

I listened to "The Initial Insult" by Mindy McGinnis as an audiobook from NetGalley. I was instantly drawn into the relationship between Tress & Felicity. They had a great friendship as children until the night Tress' parents disappear and Felicity can't remember what happened. Their friendship soured after that. The story takes place in the present, with each girl having flashbacks regarding their relationship. There is mystery and suspense throughout the story and every few chapters you even get the thoughts of a panther, who ends up being part of the story. I really enjoyed this book and was thrilled to realize it the first of two books in the series.

This was a really hard book for me to decide on a star rating. The mystery of what happened to Tress's parents after their disappearance 7 years earlier, and the suspense created through the story, was interesting and had me compelled to keep reading. On the other hand, I was not enjoying some of the content of the book (way too much vomit and bullying for my taste). Also, I found there were some big holes in the plot that made it difficult to be fully invested in the outcome. I will say there was enough intrigue for me to want to read the second book when it comes out because I have to know what happens after the way this one ends.