Member Reviews
This book was so amazing!!! A great retailing of a classic story!!! This boo was so good I already preordered a hard copy of this book!! I cant wait for this to be released!!! I hope there is a sequel as well!!!!
Mindy McGinnis is an auto-buy author for me personally - I know whatever she's put out is going to be different and unique. The Initial Insult did not disappoint. Told during present day and flashback incidents, Tress is holding Felicity captive in the basement of a party, while questioning her on the disappearance of her parents. However, the longer Felicity doesn't answer, the more Tress places bricks to seal her into the basement. I loved the Edgar Allan Poe inspiration of this storyline, and the quirky family life of Tress. One of my favorite parts of this novel was the fact that McGinnis includes the panther's point of view as well. While this wasn't my favorite novel from McGinnis, it was memorable and fun. I can't wait for the sequel!
This ARC was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a most interesting adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's Cast of the Amontillado. I was not immediately aware of this fact, although I should have been since its set in "Amontillado,Ohio", but when I did the easter eggs appear hard and fast. It would do a reader well to brush up on a few of the classic Poes shorts such as Mask of the Red Death, the Black Cat, Tale Tale Heart, and of course the Raven. Or at least to explore them afterwards if not just to appreciate the source material. It's a thrilling game wrapped in a warped mystery and an unsettling revenge plot. Much like Poe's shorts I finished this story with an uneasy feeling, there isn't a proper happy or neat wrap up. The story lingers and you're left to speculate on how so many things could go wrong and reflect on humanities choice of vice and virtue. The synthesized audio voice does not do this story justice because it cannot properly portray the many emotional cadence and hitches this story takes. I think the most bizarre part of this story, mostly because of the temporary robotic narrator, is the cat's perspective- you could almost do entirely without it, but its is a fun tribute to have in place. Overall, this book is going to be worth reading or listening to more than once.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Children's/Katherine Tegen Books for letting me listen to and review this audiobook. This was done with a voice galley so I can't comment on the audiobook narrator at this time.
I was excited to read/listen to this because I like retellings of Edgar Allan Poe most of the time, but unfortunately, for me, this one, I didn't like as much.
This came across to me as mostly a kind of retelling of the Cask of Amontillado with other Edgar Allan Poe influences and such. I know that Edgar Allan Poe's work is dark, but I thought this was a bit darker than I was expecting it to be. So, basically, this is a story with a bit of teen angst, betrayal, and such and a troubled relationship between ex-best friends seems to be the main focus.
It's about Tress who lives a troubled life with her crazy grandpa on a farm/white trash zoo - I'm not entirely sure about the part with the animals. Her troubled life began when she lost her parents one night when she was young and they were driving her best friend home one night and her parents disappeared. Tress is shunned as the town outcast and her ex-best friend is the popular one with the seemingly great life, but her ex-best friend also has problems of her own and guilt about the night that Tress's parents disappeared. Felicity, the ex-best friend can't remember what happened the night that her best friend's parents disappeared because she's buried it deep down, but every time she looks at her ex-best friend, Tress, she feels horrible.
Then one night, Tress and Felicity are at the same party, a Halloween party at an old, abandoned house on an old farm in the outskirts of town and Tress sets things up and makes a plan to trap Felicity and get the truth out of her about what really happened to her parents on the night they vanished without a trace. This is where Tress demands her answers or else she'll put Felicity away in an old coal chute in the basement brick by brick.
I've had a hard time thinking about this to review it because it was really not what I thought and while it's a decent retelling of Edgar Allan Poe and such, it's a bit too dark for me and I also had a hard time getting through this because of the language and such - it was a bit too much for me with all the profanity along with everything else.
If you like Edgar Allan Poe, dark stories, and such, then feel free to check it out, you might like it better than I did, but unfortunately, it wasn't for me.
I’m still wavering on whether or not I really liked this book or hated it, and that’s why I’m giving it a high rating.
I believe that the best books make you feel a multitude of emotions, even if they aren’t good ones. The author made me angry, writing about two former best friends who hate and also love each other. She made me sad reading about the wild animals, the girls’ messed up lives, Felicity’s coping mechanisms. And she made me wonder, wonder how all of this was going to wrap up in a nice little bow at the end.
I’m not entirely sure the author didn’t rip up the bow and leave it in tatters on the floor. Woo boy, that ending. I’m interested to see what happens in book two, but also how the heck this story straightens out (if it even can).
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy!
unfortunately, I did nooot like this. I didn't understand all the other mini plots that were going on - the escaped panther, the cousin, the seizure issue, the falling apart of the friendship. I really wish this just more-so focused on the missing parents and what happened to them. I also absolutely hate when in a series the author basically forces you to read the next book to find out what happened in the first. it really just makes me want to abandon the series all together. I won't be continuing :(
Thank you to NetGalley, Mindy McGinnis, Harper Children's, and Katherine Tegen Books for the opportunity to listen to The Initial Insult in exchange for an honest review.
This review is of an audio version done with a synthetic voice and does not reflect the final narration of the audiobook. I used the NetGalley Shelf App to listen to this book.
If you like the works of Edgar Allan Poe, this book is definitely for you. This book reflects a number of Poe vibes, including, but not limited to, "The Cask of Amontillado," "Annabel Lee," and "The Fall of the House of Usher."
Tress and Felicity are best friends. Or rather, they were, before the night Tress' parents were driving Felicity home, only to mysteriously disappear, leaving Tress to live with her kind of gross and unappealing uncle.
Tress has no idea what happened to her parents. They were never found. While assumed dead, because there were no bodies, the paper presumes some other mystery to their disappearance, though death isn't fully our of the ruling. Now Tress seeks revenge against her former best friend, because Felicity must know what happened to her parents, right?
At a Halloween party, Tress lures Felicity into her interrogation trap, chaining her to a wall and asking her questions about the night her parents went missing, all while laying bricks before Felicity to cement her into a nook, just like the Poe story. While this transpires over the course of the story, this book features a non-linear plot as the reader is taken through past events between both Felicity and Tress, to a time before this fateful Halloween night. Will Tress get the answers she seeks?
The tone was thrilling enough, and the Poe references were fun to pick out throughout reading the novel. As the first book in a duology, it's a great start with an interesting cliffhanger and I would certainly like to see what the second and final book has to offer for this strange tale.
The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What do you get when you mix an angst-ridden Appalachian teen horror with Poe's The Cask of Amontillado?
The Initial Insult.
All told, I really enjoyed this, but then, I was in the mood for extreme cattiness, thousands of miscommunications, and the devolution from love to hate. Fortunately, this YA horror/thriller definitely fits that bill.
I won't say it is the most unique thing in the world since I've personally read something like 7 books very similar to this in the last two years, but if you have an itch you have to scratch and its name is REVENGE, then you probably ought to pick this up. I can see a few of you out there tearing up (for one reason or another) by the end of the tale.
4.5
This was such an interesting mystery thriller that I really enjoyed! I really loved the complicated friend and family dynamics and I was honestly scared while reading it. I really loved the atmosphere and the subtle tension that built throughout the story. There are a lot of trigger warnings so be careful going into this but I would definitely recommend it.
TW: kidnapping, Torture, Blood, Gore, Graphic description of injuries, Alcohol and Drug use, Neglect, A character deals with seizures, slight animal abuse.
***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary audio copy of THE INITIAL INSULT by Mindy McGinnis in exchange for my honest review.***
Woah, what a lovely and deliciously dark story. It completely blew me away. Tress and Felicity are two girls with history. They were best friends in 4th grade until one night, Tress's parents go to drive Felicity home and disappear. Felicity is found bloody on the side of the road but Tress's parents are just....gone. Felicity has no explanation for what happened, no memory, and her money and privilege have left her protected. She has continued to easily sail through her life.
Tress has not had an easy life since her parents disappeared. She was left with no guardians and now lives with an alcoholic grandfather. She spends most of her days nearly neglected while she tends to the "white trash zoo" her grandfather owns - an odd assorted mix of animals from ostriches all way to deadly panthers. She has suffered injustices, prejudice and had to fight to survived since her parents disappeared. Now the girls are seniors and Tress is tired of waiting for answers, tired of Felicity sailing through her easy life without ever having to explain what happened. It's time to make her talk.
I was completely wrapped up in Tress's outrage and anger and need for revenge. Her plan is beautiful, wonderfully orchestrated and aided. The writing is alluring, seamlessly weaving between past and present, bringing us to the ultimate conclusion. Once started, be ready to give up the next few hours - you won't want to put it down until you find out what happens.
I will be anxiously awaiting a pre-order of book 2! I can't wait to see how this all ends.
God, I love Mindy McGinnis! Any time I pick something up from her I never know what I'm going to get. YA Poe retelling of The Cask of Amontillado with 3 narrators.. .one being a big cat from a back yard "Hillbilly Zoo".
How can you NOT want to read this?
I'm not sure how Mindy is going to pull off a sequel but I can't wait to find out what she does!
Thanks to NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books for this advanced audio.
This was a rollercoaster! I really enjoyed reading this book. All the characters, especially Tress and Felicity, are very much flawed but it adds to the overall plot. Mindy is great at creating flawed, troubled characters. You want to root for them but you get frustrated with the choices the characters make then you want to keep reading to see what happens. Tress really stood out. She was definitely a very dimensional main character. Felicity was also well written. The ending was absolutely wild and I can’t wait for the next book.
Mindy McGinnis is one of my favourite authors and I was thrilled to receive an eARC of her newest release. I went into this not realizing that it was a duology, so keep that in mind when you pick it up. I believe that the next book, The Last Laugh, comes out in 2022 and I cannot wait- I need answers!
What I like about her books is just how dark they are, and from the ones that I have read I think that The Initial Insult is the darkest. It makes me want to read the Poe story that it was inspired by, because I think that I would appreciate it even more.
The flashbacks were something confusing and there was a lot going on, but I liked that we got more background into Tress and Felicity's friendship and how it fell apart. There is a third perspective that was intriguing as well!
If you are looking to read more YA thrillers/horror novels, this is a good one, as are all of her books.
The ending was a little bit confusing but I am hopeful that the sequel will clear a lot of things up for me!
I have only listened to one audiobook before this one, but the narrator chosen didn’t fit well with the story. I know it’s a computer generated voice, but this one was so quiet and monotone that I (1) forgot I had the audiobook playing and (2) found myself bored. I do think that a dark a atmospheric read like this one would be very enjoyable via audio, but perhaps with a different voice.
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I gave this audio a second chance, and I am halfway in, a point where we should know all the players and what the main goal of the game is, and I don’t know what the point is. I get that there’s some bad blood between our main girls, and that the one knows something the other wants to know (supposedly) but like...I’m just waiting for the beat to drop on a song and it keeps looping.
Thank you so much to HarperTeen for granting me this advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review!
This was a surprise offer to read and review The Initial Insult prior to publication, not by visually reading it, but by listening to an early synthetic voice release of the eARC. The voice was difficult at times to follow, causing me to go back to be certain that I heard something correctly. I think this was also due to this wild story!
There are multiple POVs and one of them is an actual cat. Crazy right? But essentially, without spoiling those who like to go into a mysterious or thriller read with zero knowledge of what to expect, this is a story about teenage girls who are on opposite ends of socioeconomic standing in their small town. It is based on a classic Poe story and has the atmosphere for it, if somewhat fluffier. Set in the small town of Amontillado, OH, the story centers on Tress who has lost her parents with no explanation as a small child and is living with her crazy grandfather who can't sufficiently care for her and Felicity, who is from the wealthy side of town, and who was being taken home by Tress's parents when they disappeared. Tress wants to know what Felicity knows and will try many ways to pry the truth from her.
The story takes off as the kids are having a costume party and ends on a cliff-hanger.
It was a fun read and hasn't changed my opinion of the author. I enjoy her work and will anticipate the conclusion to this duology.
#HarperChildrens #KatherineTegenBooks #TheInitialInsult #NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio for the opportunity to listen to this advanced audiobook. Another great quick read from Mindy McGinnis.
The small town atmosphere and the teenagers dealing with issues bigger than themselves reminds me of "The Female of the Species".
When former best friends grow up in a town where your last name holds more value than money how far will you go to protect your secrets and shame. When your best friend was the last to see your parents alive how far would you go to discover the truth.
The only thing I want more from this is answers. The ending was more a hint of what happened then actual description of events, but I still found this a very enjoyable read.
This book is another hit for author Mindy Mcginnis. The author takes you in with the first page and the wild ride continues throughout. The use of changing narrators including one from an animal is well done. As usual with a McGinnis book the ride is dark, but well thought out. For me I wish the ending was a little more conclusive, but I also enjoy the thrill of not having everything neatly tied up in a bow.
I received this and as an audio galley to listen to for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Children's for giving me access.
The audio was read with a synthetic voice and my affect this review heavily. I will note that I will give this book a second try when it is published.
I'm not sure if it was the voice or the story, but I didn't enjoy this story one bit. We jump from multiple POV and on is a cat? I don't know. I am confusion.
It was hard to follow between the POVs and the time jumps throughout the story. Maybe this is a book I need a physical copy so I can keep track of everything better.
**Disclaimer: I received a free advanced readers copy of The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.
The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis is a young adult contemporary mystery novel. However, it is also a retelling of one of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic stories. It revolves around two girls, Felicity and Tress. Felicity was with Tress’ parents when they went missing seven years ago, and Tress has plans to figure out what happened to them. The Initial Insult is set to be published on February 23rd. I rated it four stars on GoodReads.
Here is the summary from GoodReads:
Welcome to Amontillado, Ohio, where your last name is worth more than money, and secrets can be kept… for a price.
Tress Montor knows that her family used to mean something—until she didn’t have a family anymore. When her parents disappeared seven years ago while driving her best friend home, Tress lost everything. She might still be a Montor, but the entire town shuns her now that she lives with her drunken, one-eyed grandfather at what locals refer to as the “White Trash Zoo,” – a wild animal attraction featuring a zebra, a chimpanzee, and a panther, among other things.
Felicity Turnado has it all – looks, money, and a secret that she’s kept hidden. She knows that one misstep could send her tumbling from the top of the social ladder, and she’s worked hard to make everyone forget that she was with the Montors the night they disappeared. Felicity has buried what she knows so deeply that she can’t even remember what it is… only that she can’t look at Tress without having a panic attack.
But she’ll have to.
Tress has a plan. A Halloween costume party at an abandoned house provides the ideal situation for Tress to pry the truth from Felicity – brick by brick – as she slowly seals her former best friend into a coal chute. With a drunken party above them, and a loose panther on the prowl, Tress will have her answers – or settle for revenge.
In the first book of this duology, award-winning author Mindy McGinnis draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe and masterfully delivers a dark, propulsive mystery in alternating points of view that unravels a friendship . . . forevermore.
I was really excited when I heard about this book coming out. I really like Mindy McGinnis as a writer, and she’s definitely up there on my list of people I want to read books from. Additionally, I was especially excited when I heard about The Initial Insult because I also love Edgar Allan Poe and the idea of a whole novel retelling one of his stories is really interesting to me. I ended up requesting it as a voice galley because I couldn’t get the eARC, but that worked out really well, even if the synthesized voice is a little bit weird.
Overall, this was a really interesting story. I really liked the different points of view we got as both Tress and Felicity had a really interesting perspectives and were really different characters. I also enjoyed the point of view of the panther. It was a unique little twist to the story.
I also liked the structure of this story where we got the modern timeline, and how McGinnis layered in flashbacks to tell the story of what pulled these two apart and also some of the answers that Tress is looking for. I liked that we also would get the point of both girls when it came to those flashbacks so we would get to see both sides of things. Honestly, the story was really well constructed, and things that were mentioned briefly before, were always picked up later on in the story.
I really appreciated the retelling aspect. I don't have all of Edgar Allan Poe's stories memorized, but I liked the subtle and not so subtle references to them. This was a really good retelling.
I will admit that the cliffhanger at the end of the story killed me a little bit. I really need to know what happens next and I don't know when the next book is coming out.
Overall, I definitely recommend this story. You should check it out when it publishes on February 23rd!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was excited about this book, but I didn't end up enjoying it much, and I ended up DNFing about halfway through. The povs of this book, like the pov from the cat, weren't as intriguing as I hoped they would have been. I get how other people might enjoy this book, but it just didn't do it for me. I also think that maybe the author should put up some trigger warnings in the beginning because some people will need them.