Thank you NetGalley and Harper Children’s for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. This book is strange. It follows Tress Montor who lives in a small town where your last name is worth more than money. When her parents disappeared seven years ago while taking her best friend, Felicity, home-she lost everything. The entire town shuns her now because she had to go live with her one-eyed drunken grandfather who owns and runs a trashy wild animal attraction. Now a high school senior, Tress decides to do whatever it takes to find out what really happened to her parents.

Felicity has buried the truth so deep she doesn’t remember what happened that night, but why can’t she look at Tress without having a panic attack? Tress’ plan consists of sealing her former best friend into a coal chute to get the truth from her.

Ok. This book was....so weird. It is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s work so if I had read more of his work perhaps I would’ve liked it more. I honestly really wanted to love it and I think I could’ve had it stayed a little more focused on the main story. It seemed to have to much going on. Just so many strings of thought and events that were introduced kind of confusingly. There was so so much drug and alcohol abuse happening for a young adult book...didn’t appreciate that.
I’m ok with not liking characters in a book (and believe me, you won’t in this one), but it just felt kind of pretentious and purposefully confusing? It is the first novel in a duology so I may pick up the second to see if it will clear things up. I don’t know.

Maybe it just wasn’t for me?

Tress has come up with a plan to find out what happened the night her parents disappeared and her life fell apart. The first step is to lure her ex best friend down stairs during a Halloween party, that's happening at an abandoned house, and slowly brick her into a coal chute until she finally breaks and tells her what happened that night. But what if Felicity doesn't remember what happened even if she had wanted to?

The initial insult is told in an interesting way. You have three different points of view of the past and the present. Before Tress and Felicitys friendship fell apart, the months after and the now. And the point of view of the panther from Tress' grandfather's zoo, who just happens to escape the same night as the party. I really like how that added to the story.
The story itself is weird, mysterious and a little bit creepy at times. This really pulls it all together well though and really helps the atmosphere of the story.
This is also part one of a duology but it doesn't have a large cliffhanger ending but doesn't wrap everything up as much as a stand alone. This story just makes it work perfectly.

Well hello to the Tiger King YA mystery I didn't know I needed.

Thanks to Netgalley, Mindy, and Katherin Tegen Books for the audio ARC of The Initial Insult.
I will totally be giving this one a re-listen once a real narrator(s) are involved, because I feel like it will make a great story even better. The synthetic voice is very jarring and bland.

Tress and Felicity were best friends until the night Tress's parents disappeared while taking Felicity home. The result of this caused Tress to be an outcast, living on her uncle's weird animal 'sanctuary', known to the locals as "white trash zoo"; Felicity has gone on to work hard to hide the past and be popular. Tress has had enough and needs answers, so she devises a plan to get them.

I love a good revenge story, I love morally grey, I love frenemies, I love secrets, I love multi-POV and alternating timelines, and I love creative settings.

This book is dark, make no bones about it. There are several tough topics covered, mainly a variety of abuse topics.

I actually didn't realize that this was a Poe re-imagining/retelling until reading through some reviews, but it makes total sense now. If you don't know that, it won't make or break the story for you, this totally stands on its own.

This was my first Mindy McGinnis, but won't be my last.

This book was absolutely incredible!!! Mindy McGinnis really knows how to keep you on edge all the way through the book. I couldn’t believe what happened at the end and I was completely shocked! It was definitely a major plot twist. Also, a major thank you to the author for properly depicting a character with epilepsy as I myself suffer from epilepsy. It means the world to me to finally have a book where the way I feel during a seizure and not just falling in the floor and jerking around is depicted within books. I definitely recommend anything that Mindy has written but, this was definitely phenomenal.

Grades 9-12

Tress will do whatever it takes to find out what happened to her parents years ago. When she holds her childhoodfriend captive, everything starts to go wrong. This title paints a realistic picture of teenage life, and the setting is especially relatable for Ohio readers. The varying perspectives, especially the non-human perspective, will keep readers on the edge of their seats. This is a must-read for mystery/thriller fans.

Tress and Felicity used to be best friends, until one night when Tress's parents were driving Felicity home from a slumber party they disappear. The police have no leads and Felicity, the only witness, has no recollection of what happened. Years later as the fracture in their relationship drives deeper, Tress decides to finally get some answers from Felicity on what really happened that night. Her plan: during a Halloween party at the abandoned Allen house, strap Felicity to a chair and pry the truth out her while she builds up a brick wall sealing Felicity into the old coal chute.

I wasn't a fan of this book. It pains me to say since it pays homage to one of Edgar Allan Poe's most interesting short stories, and the book description grabbed me from the get go, but I really feel like the execution here, fell flat. This book suffers from having too much going on. You have Tress's parents disappearance , you have the riff between Tress and Felicity who used to be best friends, you have the extremely toxic activity happening at the Halloween party, you have a weird Tiger King like animal park, you have drug deals, a giant Panther on the loose, a flu that's going around the town, and then oh yeah the actual main action of Tress torturing Felicity in the basement. It was just too much happening, that the one thing that actually drew me to this book (to figure out what happened to Tress's parents) fell to the wayside and is barely even discussed.

I also didn't like a single character in this book. They are extremely terrible people. which made it hard for me to care about them.

Structurally, I also felt like this book had some issues. The alternative POV between Tress, Felicity and the panther (why the Panther!? It made no sense!) with each chapter was a bit too much. Some chapters dragged on, while others were just one sentence. Having to read certain situations from each characters POV was extremely repetitive. I also thought the dialogue and Tress and Felicity's inner monologues were repetitive as well. Just repeating the same information over and over again in slightly different ways.

I want to thank Harper Collins and Net Galley for giving me access to an advance copy of the audiobook.

Taking large inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe The Initial Insult follows two former friends and the unraveling story how one's parents disappeared. Tess Montour used to be from a well off family until the night her parents mysteriously disappeared while driving then friend Felicity Turnado home. After the disappearance the town washed their hands of Tess as she moved in with her grandfather the proprietor of the town zoo. Felicity can't remember what happened that night but she does feel incredibly guilty about the events she can't remember and the secret behind why she can't.

Maybe it was the mechanical robot voice narrating the audio arc that made me not connect with this book or perhaps the way the timeline jumped all over the place. I understand the rational was to show how both girls got to where they did and to make the reader feel for each girl in a different way since they're both victims of their circumstances but it was hard to feel bad for either of them. Tess suffers greatly after the loss of her family, social standing, and the living arrangement she lost but that's not really a valid reason to kidnap someone and brick them into a wall. The flip of the dysfunctional coin is Felicity could say to hell with the town and be honest about what happened and actually be there for someone she claimed was her best friend. Instead of letting people be terrible to Tess when she had the means of making her life a little easier.

This book just wasn't for me but I appreciate the opportunity for early access to it.

*Audio arc provided by Netgalley and the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was described as “inspired by Edgar Allen Poe”, and it definitely did not disappoint! There was an underlying creepiness throughout the book while learning about the two main characters and how their relationship fell apart. I loved how character driven the plot was; switching to and from the present and past. The Initial Insult will stick with you for days after you’ve finished!

While i have heard great things about Mindy McGinnis writings and the fact it was a re telling of the sorts of Poe. I was very happy to be able to get an ARC.

I was taken back by what I had read. I felt the book was all over the place. To try and seem adventurous or keep readers on the edge of their seat. I found the characters behavior to be high problematic. Especially since the problematic topics are really never touched on to resolve.

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for allowing me to have an arc.
***I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***.

This book wasn’t it for me and I love Mindy’s books. It wasn’t just that it’s a retelling “yawn” but that it was directionless. It felt so meandering. We got no answers, a strange animal POV and where at other times she featured gritty topics for a purpose this time she featured them as exploitive.

There was unquestioned crappy treatment of a biracial character, love streaming of a nude under aged boy too drunk to consent to anything and hazed in dangerous and horrific ways by peers, and rampant drug and alcohol use. It was-a miss!

I appreciate Netgalley and the publishers allowing me to listen to an advanced audiobook of The Initial Insult, however, I will sadly not be finishing this one. Unfortunately it’s just not for me. It’s not getting my attention and I listened to an advanced audiobook for another book that I loved, but this one is super cringey with the robot voice which is NOT the book’s fault. It’s just hard to pay attention when I’m thinking wait...was that a sentence? No, they’re not finished speaking yet...? I don’t know. It was much choppier than the other advanced audiobook I listened to even though both were that robotic voice. Again, not judging it based on that, just pointing it out.

I think the reason I can’t get into this book is I don’t like or care for the characters and I just feel very confused, not in a good way like I need to find out what happens. I unfortunately don’t want to continue listening.

I requested this because I read a book by McGinnis before and enjoyed it and heard it was based on a Poe short story. Sad to say it didn’t interest me as soon as I got like 15 mins through. DNF at 28%.

All I know is there’s two best friends that are now enemies and the one had her parents disappear after an accident. Seems to be a good beginning, but I honestly think the character’s personalities just make me not really care anymore. Sorry!! Still would tell people to try it if you like Poe and McGinnis!!

This book was nothing like I’ve ever read which made it super hard to stop listening to! I am new to the audiobook world and I can’t believe it took me so long to join! Mindy McGinnis is the queen of keeping you on the edge of your seat! Tress and Felicity’s push and pull relationship made your feelings for them change constantly. To listen to their lives unfold through flashbacks, was genius. Also, animals are a big part of this book, and while I AM mad at Mindy for certain parts, haha, the view from the one animal in particular was creatively creepy. I cannot wait for the next book to come out!

The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis is the first in a duology. A dark tale of revenge and secrets and broken friendships.
***
Tress Montor lost her parents years ago, the night they took her best friend, Felicity Turnado, home from a sleepover. Her best friend’s body was found by the water’s edge unable to recall what happened, but of her parent’s no trace has been found. Taken in by her half blind grandfather who runs what is known as the “white trash zoo” Tress went from happy family and well off to scrounging for everything she has and at the bottom of the social ladder in their small town of Amantillado where certain families rule due to name alone and everything means something. Tress is sick of being that girl whose parents went missing and she wants answers. There was one person who was there the last night she saw her parents and she doesn’t believe that she doesn’t know anything. She will get her answers, even if she has to kill her to do it, and she just might.
Felicity has a secret she’s been trying to hide for awhile now, unfortunately for Tress it’s not what she’s looking for.
***
This is a dark, dark story. Heavily inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s works you might be able to see where this story is going, maybe you won’t. I think you’ll enjoy it all the same.
It’s the story of a strong friendship that was broken by secrets, and shame, and the lengths one is willing to go to to get answers. It’s a story of anger, fear, and pain.
***
I was on the edge of my seat the entire read. I had suspicions, I had guesses. I wanted to know what happened to Tress’ parents so bad but also really wanted to root for the friendship Tress and Felicity had.
The ending had me screaming, and I can’t believe I have to wait for the second book so long, but I will because I need more after that ending.

This wasn't what I was expecting but I enjoyed it. I loved the Poe inspiration and the modern YA spin McGinnis adds to it.

There's a lot of drama and teen angst within the story. The characters aren't particularly likable and that really worked with the darker story. I thought the Cat POV was really interesting.

It has a good ending that leaves me anticipating the second book while not feeling like the story was abruptly cut off ( like I find some duologies do).

I really liked this book and I think it's very interesting the characters were so original and the attention grabbed my attention from the start

This was dark and extremely clever. While I am sure it helps if you've read Poe's works, I don't think you need much familiarity to enjoy this one. I've never been a huge Poe fan, but knowledge of his stories is so embedded in our culture that you're unlikely to miss the important references. The new setting and interweaving of different Poe plots works perfectly here and I cannot wait to find out what happens next!

This is an unnecessary rewrite of Poe. Supposedly, for the enjoyment of young readers. The source work is already that. This was Ok. I didn't see the point.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this, this kept my pulse up and I was constantly wanting to know what happened next. I would highly recommend to anyone wanting a thriller that'll send tingles down their spine!

This book was nothing I expected! I enjoyed the character development as well as the environment the writing created. Some parts for me were hard to stomach as YA but important to get important issues at the forefront of our minds. Overall, I would recommend this book and will read more by this author. Mindy McGinnis has a wonderful style of writing and I really enjoyed.

I really enjoyed this book. At first, I didn't like the time line structure: present to past to present, etc. But it really worked for the story once I gave it time to breathe. I really enjoyed the Poe allegories and homages give present-day a different kind of creepy. This is a duology but the author beautifully finishes one story while leaving room for the second book something most authors fail at. I can't wait for the sequel.