4.5 stars
Wow what a ride. This was definitely a thriller!
This book jumps around in time A LOT, so if you don't like that, this book may not be for you, but if you do like that or can wrap your head around it, read it! In present day, one of the main characters Tress has knocked out and chained her former best friend (and other main character) Felicity to the wall of a basement in an abandoned house where a party is happening upstairs to try to find out what happened to her parents years in the past. Felicity was a witness, but happened to have a seizure at the time so doesn't remember what happened. If that doesn't get your thriller senses excited, I don't know what will!
It was a little bit confusing getting into the mindset of having the book jump around in time so much. The main part is the present, where Tress has Felicity held hostage. Then we jump around from kindergarten to the recent past, reliving moments that were significant to both of them (the moment they became friends, the moment Felicity's new "friends" made fun of Tress, and Felicity didn't stand up for her). Every moment made you understand their current relationship more and more and I could totally see why Tress had Felicity chained to the wall. I spent the whole book hoping they would reconcile their friendship and have a happy ending. BUT this is a thriller, so of course it ended on a cliffhanger. I came to understand both Tress and Felicity and really enjoyed both their characters. The side characters were great too.
The one thing that just kind of baffled me was the POV of "cat." At first I thought it was a person named Kat, but it is an actual panther. I know this will probably make more sense in the second book, but especially at the end, this POV was really confusing. This may be due to the synthetic narrator, but I literally had to listen to the end 4 times and slow it down to understand what happened because at this point, the cat POV doesn't make any sense.
I'm almost upset at myself for listening to an advanced copy of this book because now I have to wait a really long time for the second one and I need to know what happens!

Wow, where do I begin? This book. When I started The Initial Insult, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it would be a thriller and that there would probably be some drama, but I wasn't ready for what I found. It did start a little slowly, but it took time to set things up for the reader, which I can respect. Once the party began, I was glued. I'm a sucker for multiple POVs thus I was happy to find that the story does bounce between the two main characters and more, truly giving you each side of the coin. I loved how this book shows how easily you can misconstrue the people around us because we assume they are like everyone else. Another aspect this story does amazingly is how it shows how much our lives can become entangled, especially in a smaller town or school. The climax to the end had me on the edge of my seat and constantly repeating the words, "no way" and " oh my god"! I know I will be counting down the days until I can get my hand on the next one.

While I did find the pacing at the beginning a little slow, throughout The Initial Insult, I found myself becoming more and more into the story to a point where I was listening to the audio any chance I got. Thus I am giving this book 5 stars and a big thank you to Harper Collins, Mindy McGinnis, and NetGalley for giving me the chance to listen to the advance audio for this great thriller mystery!

I am new to audiobooks and this one was difficult to follow with the constant shifting of narrators done in a digital voice.
Tess used to be best friends with Felicity until the night Tess’ parents disappeared. Felicity was there that night but claims not to remember what happened.
Tess is determined to get her to tell the truth and comes up with a plan to isolate Felicity at a party at an old abandoned house that is due to be torn down.
While the party rages upstairs, Tess slowly begins laying bricks to entomb Felicity unless she gets the answers she needs.
I think I would have bought the hard copy of the book if it was not for the ending. I do not care for books in which we are left with more questions than answers. I replayed the last few chapters several times thinking I must have missed something.
I look forward to discussing this book after publication to get a better understanding.
Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

Whoa! This was a wild ride! Can someone tell me what happened At the end ha ha? I probably would not have requested the audiobook if I had seen it was a synthetic voice. The whole point of an audiobook is a real narrator so I would suggest any publishers not bother using audio unless it’s the actual audiobook. I had to switch it the kindle book 5% in.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of YA, but this had a dark, sinister twist to it. Keep in mind, this is a series, so the ending isn't a conclusion. I think some of the negative reviews didn't enjoy how the ending was so open-ended, but I thought it was unique.

This story was so quick and engaging. What a wild ride. Highly recommend if you enjoy "weirder" stories with unexpected twists and perspectives!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Well this was a wild ride, interested to see where it goes in the next book, will reread before i read the second one too lol

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of “The Initial Insult” by Mindy McGinnis. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book felt like a perfect story to pick up for Halloween for mystery/thriller fans. Told from three POVs- two former best friends Tress and Felicity and the third POV comes from a panther escaped from the roadside zoo where Tress works. The panther POV chapters sounded very poetic so I would be interested to see how they are laid out on the page.

I’ll admit the synthetic voice for the audiobook was lacking the skills a real narrator will hopefully bring to the table. There were a lot of emotional parts to the story that needed more finesse as well as sometimes dialogue exchanges got confusing and ran together without dialogue tags. But even with the hindrance of the synthetic voice I still couldn’t put this book down. I can only imagine how good it would to be read physically or with a proper audiobook narrator.

The main story is broken up with flashbacks from Tress and Felicity’s past leading up to their falling out. I didn’t mind the flashbacks as they felt purposeful and heightened the suspense of the story. The book’s description emphasizes the Poe influences in the story but it’s been awhile since I read Poe so all that really pinged for me were the names and some of the plot points. I bet a more avid Poe reader would have a lot of fun identifying all of the influences in this story.

I also liked how the dual perspective of the former friends showed the hardships in their lives that neither knew about. There wasn’t a clear victim and villain as these roles changed throughout the story as more information was revealed. There are also discussions of poverty and privilege and small town politics.

Definite trigger warnings in this book for blood and gore, drug and alcohol use, vomiting, and if you’re bothered by pet deaths there are two dogs that die so be aware of that.

There’s also the mystery of what happens to Tress’ parents. It isn’t solved in this book so the wait for the next book is going to be awhile. If cliffhangers annoy you then you might want to pick this one up closer to the release of the second book. I can’t wait to read what happens as well as buy a physical copy so I can see how the story looks on the page.

5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for an early audio copy of this book! This is a solid ya thriller with a quick pace! It’s not personally a favorite of me but it’s still a solid read. I would recommend if you are interested but it’s not a favorite for me.

Thank you net galley for my copy of this book to review.

So this book was so good, I couldn't stop! Mindy McGinnis has written a story that quite reminds me of gossip Girl. There are characters that you love even though you shouldn't. Their station in life and upbringing has given them the feeling they are untouchable. The writing style really pulled me in and I know that this book is wonderful for people who don't normally enjoy YA just by the way this reads. I cannot wait for the 2nd book so I can secretly root for the people who I shouldn't.

I received this book as an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for a review. I could not stop listening! My heart was breaking for these characters. McGinnis accurately portrays teens, some swear, talk about drugs, sex, alcohol, friends. Definitely complex relationship. The chapters alternate between 2 girls and a panther, who adds an interesting viewpoint. Several times I was like omg no! Definitely an edge of your seat book. I can't wait for the second book. The synthetic voice wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's funny hearing it say swear words.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Children's and Katherine Tegan Books for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

I went into the audiobook with some fairly high expectations, I've enjoyed this author several times and the previous reviews had me intrigued. The audiobook was computerized, but actually did not take away from the story.

My rating is 3 stars. A bit generous because this book was a bit of a hot mess. The order of the story , flashing back and forth between times and characters was a bit confusing, disorganized and just a bit unnecessary. I found myself trying to reorient myself to time and characters more than to the plot of the story. The plot of the story wasn't apparent for way too long, and by the end of the book I wasn't really that sure of it either. Was this story about the girls or the missing parents. Neither, I felt was really that well developed. I'm not a fan of long drawn out books ,but this one needed more meat.
So on the positive side of things, the story of Tress was interesting. A girl left abandoned with her uncaring grandfather in an illegal wild zoo. Yep, that had my interest. But I felt like it wasn't clear enough and left me wanting more details. It was an intriguing story of a girl who was like any other girl, thrown into a life of filth, animals and anger.

I didn't feel what should have been strong emotions of the girls. I didn't feel that Tress wanting the truth about the night her parents went missing would warrant her smacking a friend (ex) in the head with a brick , just couldn't fathom that her bricking her in to kill her was the only choice Tress had. It seemed a bit extreme for the development of the story that we had. Both girls seemed to still want to care about each other, and that alone left me feeling like it couldn't come down to this.

The other characters in the story were just fillers, Huge and Ribbit, Gretchen and Brynn. Remove them and for the most part the story is the same. The ending was too unclear for me and I felt like we needed more answers.

I wanted to love this book, so many good reviews out there... but it just fell short for me. It ended and I thought "good, time for a different book".

Tress Montor’s 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. 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.”

I enjoyed this twisty YA novel.
It was so full of greatness I couldn't put it away.
The writing was so good. Mindy knows how to catch your attention and keep it.
I never felt a dull moment reading this one.

Thanks NetGalley, Publisher and Author for this copy..

I am so glad there is a second book to this story! I was absolutely hooked, and when I hit the ending....I wasn't ready to be done!

Tress Montor and Felicity Turnado used to be friends. Two girls with similar lives, and then Tress losses her parents, and the world shifts. Her parents disappear, and Felicity was there when it happened, but she doesn't remember. The story jumps back and forth between Tress and Felicity's POVs, and sometimes the "cat" that has gotten loose from the zoo run by Tress's grandfather. I liked seeing both sides of the story, and honestly, my heart broke for these two girls. Watching their friendship unravel, then try to be repaired, then unravel again was sad.

The story is told in flashbacks and memories, and jumps between the girls' memories and the real-time situation, which is pretty awful! Tress has locked Felicity in a basement wall and is bricking her in to make her tell Tress what happened to her parents. I really liked how their mental state is reflected in the writing. When they are drunk, or sick, or some other peril, their thoughts are different. They don't flow in the same stream of consciousness as when they are sober, fully awake, and healthy. It was an excellent addition to the story that really made me understand what was happening with the character.

I listened to the early-made audio of this book, which does not reflect what the final version will be, however, that version was perfect for this story, so I expect that the final audio will be wonderful!

I highly recommend this for anyone that enjoys YA fiction with a focus on friendships, relationships, and some revenge.

i was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This was a 2.5 for me, but rounded up for a great premise and awesome nods to Poe.

It is a bit hard to review this book because, as mentioned above, I really enjoyed the premise of this book, and I thought that the nods to Poe were fantastic. I think my favorite was the couple Annabelle and Lee 🙂 Unfortunately, because it was very Poe themed, some of the story fell apart because of it. There is a cat narrator/perspective at times throughout, and I absolutely did not like it. It took me out of the story completely, and it seemed that the only purpose was for a reference to The Black Cat. Without giving away too much, I also thought a number of things happened that seemed to come up out of nowhere or didn’t connect to anything other than a reference to Poe’s works. Those things were all things that could have happened in the story, but they just seemed to kind of happen without the reader being able to go from point A to point B in the thought process with the character. I found myself returning to the previous chapter multiple times because I thought I had missed something.

I really enjoyed The Female of the Species by McGinnis because of some really strong character development, and the feeling that I had a great understanding of the motivations of all of the characters. In this book, I felt like I learned a lot about Felicity, but not a lot about Tress other than the fact that she was unhappy about how her life had turned out (understandably so) and not much more.

Will I read the sequel? I want to know what happened to Tress’ parents, so, probably.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Mindy McGinnis for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm such a fan of this author.  I've lost count of how many times I've had to pull my chin off the floor after finishing one of her books.  She's a master at shocking surprises.

At the heart of it, this story is about friendship - the sparkly highs, ugly lows, misunderstandings, backstabbing moments and all.  Your initial beliefs about what transpired between Tress and Felicity to get them to this point will be destroyed and reformed by the end.  Their alternating POVs and the varying timelines are perfect and crucial to the story.  It's mentioned the author drew inspiration for this novel from Poe, and it's creatively interwoven with a certain darkness.

McGinnish does an incredible job at portraying realistic teens.  The topics of drugs, sex, drinking, and downsides of social media are prevalent throughout the story and dealt with authentically.  Characterization is exceptional.    

The girls' fading friendship is gradually revealed layer by layer, but there's also the big question - what happened to Tress's parents?  I listened to NetGalley's audiobook version of the novel, but feel like I might have missed some clues.  If I'd had a book ARC, I definitely would have been going back and double-checking things.  While in a state of shock over the ending, I forgot this was a duology, then was so relieved I'd be able to see what becomes of these characters.  

This book is tragic, dark, compelling, and such a well done thriller.  Some chapters are very short and may have just a sentence - but that one sentence is powerful and conveys so much.  Just another reason why McGinnis is an auto-buy author for me.  

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What a ride!!!

Tress’s parents disappeared 7 years ago when they drove to take her best friend, Felicity, home in the middle of the night. Tress not only lost her parents that night, but her best friend as well. During their senior year, Tress coerces Felicity into the basement of an abandoned house and over the course of the evening slowly bricks her behind a wall, enclosing her into an old coal chute. Told in split perspectives, the tale of what went wrong that night as well as what went wrong with their lives unfolds.

McGinnis has a way of reeling a reader in and getting them fully invested in her dark and twisty tales. You want to keep reading to see what happens next. She perfectly captures the intimate flaws of her characters and blurs the line between right and wrong. Left on a cliff hanger, this roller coaster of a read leaves the reader hanging at the climax of the arch just before barreling down the hill.

I was awarded an audio arc of this book by NetGalley. It was read by AI and was NOT great. Not sure the thought process of sending this out into the public as bad as it is. If I were to give a separate rating for the audio book, it would be a 1.5. Hopefully and actual human with inflection and differing tone will read the final audio book. If not, DON’T listen to it. Read the book instead.

🦧The Initial Insult 🦧
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Background: Tress and Felicity used to be best friends. But in a town where your money and last name mean more than anything when circumstances change so do friendships. 10 years ago Tress’ parents go missing and Felicity is the only one who potentially knows what happened. Now, it Halloween and Tress has a plan to finally uncover the truth.
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Why I disliked this novel: This was such a let down for me. From the description it gave me PLL and Riversdale vibes which I was excited for. What I got was gore, cliche writing, and a difficult novel to follow. The novel jumps between 3 characters, Felicity, Tress and a Cat. Plus, it also jumps time. It was way to confusing trying to jump between the now and the past. I’m also still not sure what the role of the cats POV was 🤷🏼‍♀️. This was going to be a DNF for me but I wanted to know the secret. It was so anticlimactic I should have stopped while I was ahead.
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For my audiobook lovers: I listened to this via Netgalley. Since the book hasn’t been released it’s read by syndication which wasn’t bad!
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Available February 23, 2021!
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Thank you to @harperaudio and @netgalley for a copy of this ARC in an exchange for an honest review.
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Rating: 1/5⭐️

This is the first I have heard of this author but I’m so glad I have. I just loved this. I was hooked from beginning until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children for an audio ARC. MC Tress Montor and Felicity Turnado were once best friends until one terrible tragedy changed their lives. The night in question, Tress’ parents disappeared while driving Felicity home. Tress’s social status changed as she went to live with her drunken grandfather who happens to operate a wild animal attraction. I kept seeing Tiger King in my head! Felicity has tried to rekindle their friendship to no avail. At a Halloween party, Tress chains Felicity up in the basement of an abandoned house while there’s a panther loose on the streets. Tress wants to know happen to her parents and if she fails, Tress is ready to brick her in. My rating is based on - it being a slow buildup with two POVs, the synthetic voice narrator made following the POVs difficult, and we’re still wondering what happened that night.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen and review this audiobook.
With it being not actually narrated by someone at times it made.it hard to keep up with who was who.
Other than that, this book was pretty amazing. I'm not one for huge murder mystery stories but I think this one knocked it out of the park for me.
Felicity and Tress are two girls who had been friends forever but one night Tress ends up with no mom or dad and the last person to see them was Felicity after they took her home. It takes 10 years for them to ever talk again.
Tress is living with her uncle I think it is and they have wild animals they take care of.
Tress and Hugh are two characters that I enjoyed hearing about and wish there was more to them.
If you want to read a book that has a whole lot of plot twists and seeing a friendship break and unfold all over again then I implore you to check this book out.
It would be a very could October read for people who love horror mystery books.