I really really liked this one!

For me, the balance between flashbacks and present day wasn't confusing at all and added a lot of depth and understanding to Tress and Felicity's complicated relationship.

And that ending -- one of the most harrowing, upsetting, sobering endings I've read in a long long time.

The only thing I didn't love about this book was the POV of the cat... I just didn't feel it added much to the story, but maybe I'm missing something.

Overall, definitely recommend this one and am glad I read it!

Holy smokes! What did I just read?! This book was creepy, haunting and utterly un-put-down-able. The ending literally made my mouth drop open. I need the second book NOW.

I picked up this book mostly because of the author, less because of the Edgar Allan Poe-yness of it all. The description sounded intriguing on first glance. Two girls falling out, one with a dark secret that begs to be hidden, the other suffering with more than one painful loss. Then, I got to the part where one wants to brick another into a wall. I may have screamed. A little.

Tress Montor and Felicity Turnado are, essentially, foils of each other. Poor vs Rich, Popular vs Pariah, one has everything while the other has lost it all. Seven years ago, Tress lost her parents, and Felicity is the only one who knows what happened to them. Except, she had a seizure, and the details of the night are fuzzy in her disoriented brain. Now, Tress wants answers, and she's not going to take any that she doesn't like. She's got a plan.

As someone who's never read Poe, even I could see the very obvious nods to some of his works here. It's based off Amontillado, but there's multiple others. With the panther on the loose, there is of course a big nod to The Black Cat, ravens being the schools mascot, and the flu possibly being towards The Masque of the Red Death, with the town over being called Prospero. I'm sure there's many more for people who actually are Poe fans, but it was fun to see so many easter eggs!

As for the story. It really kept me reading. It's gripping, thrilling, and beautifully woven together. Some of my notes while reading are just questions marks as I tried to figure out what was going on. Throughout the book, the girls lives and how they became not-friends is told through changing perspectives, as each one has their own side to the story. It's all taking place at the party of the year, where Tress and Felicity are truly alone. Even though each character is telling one half of the same story, it never felt repetitive or boring. It was fascinating.

The reason why I docked a star is because of how many stories are told. Overall, I felt it dragged a little, and even though the chapters were pretty short my interest started to wander after a little bit. We focus more on the stories than the answers Tress really want, which is about her parents. However, the perspective from the cat always seemed to bring me back, and I absolutely loved those little spurts of verse.

THE ENDING! The ending was the time in this book that I actually felt fear, which is not something that happens in a book. The way Felicity leaves off is actually one of my biggest irrational fears so yeah it got under my skin a bit LOL. Just as we're starting to get answers, for things to get a little bit more clear, it ends on a gruesome cliffhanger. I can't believe I have to wait an entire other year for the second book! But totally worth it.

**Will be featured in my October 2020 Wrap up on my channel

This was a really captivating, engaging thriller that had me hooked from the first pages. I didn't necessarily connect with any of the characters, so if you are a character driven reader, this may not be the best book for you. However, the plot driven nature of this story is strong and well written.

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My mind is still spinning trying to figure out what I just read. The first in a duology, this Poe inspired novel is an amazing dramatic thriller that offers a look at so much more than just suspense. If you’ve ever read McGinnis then you know she creates amazing characters, more specifically, amazing female characters. And here she has done it again with the main character, Tress Montor. Let me begin by saying, I am a total sucker for books written in multiple POVs. In this book it gave the reader a greater insight into how often we believe someone is acting or believing and what damage misperceived notions can bring to relationships. As I said before, McGinnis does a phenomenal job with character development in her stories and that doesn’t change here. Each character is complex in their own right, and I enjoyed getting to know each of them (even the few that I wouldn’t want to be friends with).

The story as a whole started off slower than I expected, but when the story picked up I felt like I was catapulted into hyperspeed holding on for dear life. This book does a great job of shining a light on how society looks different between the haves and have-nots, and how that can be magnified when living in a small town. The book also delivered in giving the reader that “creeped out” feeling that only good suspense novels can bring. There were several times I literally said “Ohhhhh *bleep*” out loud. This is an edge of your seat, heart pounding book. Although it is the first in a series, I felt like it answered enough of my questions that I was satisfied with the ending, but also intrigued by the tease of what's to come in the next half. I can’t even imagine what new terror awaits me in part two, but I’m looking forward to finding out!

#TheInitialInsult
#MustReadYA2021
I am going to keep this simple. If you love mystery/suspense books then you must read The Initial Insult. It is thriller that will have you turning the pages faster than you can read them. I burned through this one in about two and half hours. Wait til the ending!! What??!!

The plotting was pretty bananas and I didn’t love some of the threads left hanging, but I found it super absorbing in a time of plenty distractions!

Well, I can safely say this book [REDACTED] me up in ways I haven't processed yet.

Basically, Mindy McGinnis writes the best kind of YA-- YA that doesn't feel like it speaks down to said young adults or spells everything out for them. McGinnis' books are DARK and brutal, and she knows that young adults can handle that. This also makes them easily transferrable to adult audiences. Her other work, "The Female of the Species", is one of my favorites ever.

I loved this book, stayed up late reading it a couple of nights in a row, and the ending literally made me say, "holy shit!" out loud. Few books get that reaction from me. If you're interested in horror, suspense, or just a damn good read, pick this up. I also think this would make a great film.

So upset that I have to wait however long for the sequel, but this was just fantastic and got me out of a bit of a reading rut. Time to read everything Mindy's ever written now.

(Content/trigger warnings for: animal harm/death, drug usage, torture)

This is well written, but I didn't connect with it. The author has talent and I'm disappointed I couldn't enjoy it more. I'm probably just the wrong audience for this one. Suspense fans and YA readers will probably enjoy this.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

So - just to start this off - I'm a huge fan of Mindy McGinnis. When my high school students come in to the library and are looking for a good read, I am usually handing them Female of the Species or Heroine - and now Be Not Far from Me. So I was super excited to get access to The Initial Insult.

This doesn't come out until February, so I'll be really careful with my words here - but this is another powerful story that is completely different from everything else Mindy has written. You have this underlying mystery, but the real story here (as it always is with McGinnis books) is the characters. What keeps you reading is this back and forth with Tress and Felicity...who they were, who they become, the why, and what will happen between them? Mindy is a master of slowly unraveling her story - in this one with alternating points of view as well as memories or flashbacks in time - so that we can fully understand who these two girls are. And as always - and I should be used to it by now - the ending just destroyed me. I think my jaw literally was on the floor. It wasn't what I wanted or expected - but it was still sooooooooo good.

The only problem reading an early copy? Waiting for her next new release.

Whoa! This was a wild ride! Can someone tell me what happened? I might have to reread that end! This was a suspenseful book.

I guess I will start with the usual.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The cover art is great. (And I find that to be very important as some people won’t even bother flipping a book over to find out what it’s about if they don’t like the cover)

The story was easy to get into and kept me wanting to read more.

I’d never heard of this author before this book but I now plan on reading more by them.

Damn. Damnnnnnnnn. When I finished this book, I put it down and was like whoaooooaaaaaaa.

I've really enjoyed Mindy McGinnis's other works, but I would say that of them, The Female of the Species remains my favorite. However, this one is up there, and it just goes to show yet again that McGinnis knows how to write fantastic, gritty, female-driven novels.

Here's the premise: A few years ago, Felicity was the last person to see her best friend Tress's parents before they disappeared into thin air. Now, Tress lives with her delinquent grandfather on his run-down roadside zoo and is basically a social pariah while Felicity spends whatever time she is not hanging with all of the popular kids attending expensive therapy. The girls' relationship has been reduced to Tress selling drugs to Felicity.

But now, Tress has a plan to find out what really happened on that night when her parents disappeared. And it involves using a wild party in an abandoned house as cover for what she is going to be doing in the basement. [Oh, and then there's a panther on the loose].

When I first read the Cask of Amontillado back in 8th grade, I was really confused about what was happening and thought that there were just two guys in a basement building a wall. I did not understand that one guy was walling the other one in. Ironically, I had the same moment of confusion in this book, but it was quickly cleared up.

Is this story really all that realistic? There is a white-trash zoo, a small town where your name means everything, and a panther on the loose. So... no. BUT the feelings that are portrayed through each of these somewhat outrageous moments ring true and hit to the core. Poe's story frameworks are used as a way to progress character development rather than the other way around.

And this is what McGinnis does so well. Her grit and gore do not feel intrusive or gratuitous-- it is just a reflection of human nature. And all of the things that are going on in the background of the core plot feel well-developed and authentic, from the live streaming of terrible teenage decisions to the casual racism that one of Felicity's friends faces. None of it is in your face or feels preachy; it just feels like a part of reality that we have to deal with.

And the pacing-- it just flies. I felt on edge as I reached the end of this book, like I was a part of the action.

So if you're looking for a solid and creepy book, this is a great choice.

I'll say this for Mindy McGinnis: she never writes the same thing twice. The Initial Insult is so different from anything else she's written. It's not my favorite of her books, but this also isn't my favorite genre. She clearly set out to write something dark, disturbing, and twisted, and in that she succeeded.

The Initial Insult is told in alternating chapters between former best friends Tress, whose parents disappeared (presumed dead) when she was young, and Felicity, who was there when they disappeared and may be the only one who knows what really happened - although she claims she doesn't remember. There are also occasional chapters from Cat, a panther who escapes from Tress's grandfather's roadside zoo. The main action of the story takes place at a party where Tress has Felicity locked in the basement, threatening to bury her alive if she doesn't explain what happened to Tress's parents; there are also many flashbacks explaining Felicity and Tress's history.

The flashbacks were where I sometimes lost interest in the story, but they all informed what was happening between the two main characters. I can't pick out any that could have been removed, even if some weren't as intriguing.

McGinnis has a way of getting the reader to relate to and understand both girls - while also recognizing that they've both done some pretty disturbing things, particularly Tress locking Felicity up and torturing her. Meanwhile, there's a side plot of Tress's cousin being treated terribly by their classmates at the party, which was one of the most disturbing parts for me. The content was hard to stomach, but I couldn't stop reading. I'm fascinated by the fact that there will be a sequel to this. Very curious to see where the story will go.

This book was dark, quick, young adult psychological thriller. It centers on Tress and Felicity, former best friends who became estranged when Tress's parents disappeared 7 years earlier while driving Felicity home from a sleepover. Tress has fallen into poverty, living with her grandfather in what is dubbed the "white trash zoo", and Felicity remains at the top of the social structure, though keeping a secret that she thinks will ruin her life. Felicity maintains that she cannot remember what happened the night of Tress's parents' disappearance, and Tress takes the opportunity of a Halloween party at an abandoned house to force Felicity to tell her what she knows.

The chapters alternate primarily between Tress and Felicity, and refer to flashbacks through their childhood as well as present time. Both Tress and Felicity are believable and flawed characters, with whom I alternately empathized and was frustrated. There were some chapters thrown in through the perspective of the panther that lives at Tress's zoo, and I felt like those chapters were unnecessary, though felt very "Poe-ish" in a book that was a clear reference to Poe's works.

It was a dark story and I felt sad about the way it all turned out, but it also left a ton of unanswered questions. I have read that this might be the start of a series, which would make sense based on the fact that there was a lack of resolution to some of the mysteries within the book. Overall, I'd recommend it- it's a good story and I couldn't make myself stop reading because I wanted to know what happened.

Note- this was an ARC but there were some places where it said Tress when it meant Felicity, which was confusing, and a couple areas where the tense of words was wrong. Assuming that these will be fixed before the final version. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I love Mindy McGinnis, and was very excited when I read the description of The Initial Insult. Mysteriously missing parents? Nasty feuds between has-been BFFs? A wild animal attraction ala Tiger King? A riff on Poe? Count me in!

The Initial Insult mostly delivers, although the alternating perspectives combined with the alternating timelines made it a little bit difficult to follow at points. Some of the threads reached more of a resolution than others by the end. However, I highly recommend this book if you like YA thrillers with a new and interesting twist. In particular, I loved the dark tone and feel of the book. It's the first book in a series, and the books leaves on a cliffhanger that has me anxiously awaiting the next one, while also feeling contained enough to feel satisfied when I was done. I'm hoping that the next one answers all of my questions!

My favorite aspect of Mindy McGinnis's writing is her complex, unlikable, but somehow enthralling, characters. Both human narrators fell into this category. The plot itself is complex and, at times, convoluted (panther, illness, murder plot, conspiracy...) I was disappointed that many of these plot points were still open by the book's conclusion but am eager for the sequel (although I saw no announcement for a sequel, this book begs for one). This novel also has a plethora of Edgar Allan Poe allusions in varying levels of subtlety but never overdone. Like all of McGinnis's work, this book is not for people looking for a happy story or those who opt to avoid depictions of violence.

I wanted to read this book because I was forced to read "The Cask of Amontillado" my freshman year of high school and I'd always wondered if it would be possible for the events of that story to happen now (surely, Fortunato could have just texted someone, right?) I read the description and saw that the narrators' names were obviously based on the characters in that story. I haven't read that many Edgar Allan Poe stories that I can name, but I recognized a lot of the references- Tress's parents being named Annabelle and Lee, the flu spreading, the school mascot being the Ravens, the town actually being named Amontillado etc.) But even if you're not familiar with them, if you like YA thrillers, you should definitely pick this up.
Tress Montor had a comfortable upper-middle-class life until fourth grade, when her parents went missing while driving her best friend home. Ever since that day, she's lived in a trailer with her grandfather, Cecil, who manages Amontillado Animal Attractions, which is nicknamed "White Trash Zoo" by her rich classmates. With barely any income, she sells Oxy and weed to her classmates, including Felicity.
Felicity Turnado gives off the impression of being wealthy, but she hasn't always been. It was only a few years ago when workers started drilling for gas on her land. She and Tress are no longer friends, but she has her new best friend, Brynn, and a new party scene. Still, very few people know that she suffers from seizures and memory loss, even though it is common knowledge that she was with Tress's parents when they disappeared.
At a class halloween party in one of the town's oldest homes, Tress decides that she knows exactly how she's going to get the answers about her parents from Felicity. So while everyone is distracted, she leads her into the house's basement and chains her to the floor, gradually building four brick walls around her until she's completely sealed in and only discovered when the house is torn down. Will Felicity die? Will someone catch Tress? Will she escape, or will it end completely unexpectedly?
A lot of the book is also told in flashbacks, as far back as fourth grade, but there are some chapters where the narrators have flashbacks mixed in to the present time and it can get confusing.
I'm just going to say that if you don't like when books don't wrap everything up or have epilogues, that part of this book will not work for you. It's not exactly clear, and some of the chapters are only one line of dialogue. I mean, you DO know what happens with the cellar, but you just don't know anything about what happens after.

This book was a thrill ride! I could not put it down. Both of the main girls have me both simultaneously liking and hating them! (I didn't know that was possible.) Also, I love Hugh so much. And I grew attached to all the animals (minus alligator) and I hope them the best. (Also, the off road zoo had a bit of a Joe Exotic theme to it. Yay Tiger King!) Plus, it was set in Ohio, where I have lived since birth.

I did knock off a star because there were SO MANY EDGAR ALLAN POE REFERENCES. I know this story is mainly based on "The Cask of Amontillado." And I love that there are so many allusions to Poe's works. (And fyi, I love Poe! If we have a boy, we are naming him Edgar after Poe!) But at some point, I started to wonder if Mindy made a bet with someone to see just how many she could throw in. I think I counted 17, but I'm sure I missed some. (I don't think a teen would pick up on all of these, though.)

I will 1,000 percent recommend this to my teens when released. I really think the gore and curse words will be a selling point, too. Seriously!

This book was amazing. Fast paced and had me up till the wee hours reading to see what happens next. An incredible take on one of Poe’s classics.