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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
I have to be honest and say that this one didn't really work for me the way that I was hoping it would. Mindy McGinnis (one of my all-time favorite authors) mixed with The Cask of Amontillado (my favorite Poe story) should have been absolutely everything to me, but the writing style of this one felt really... weird? to me and kept pulling me out of the story instead of immersing me further and I am SO bummed about it. I will most likely carry on and finish the duology because I love Mindy's work and I'm curious to see where she's going to take this strange story, but this first installment wasn't quite what I was hoping for.
Tress needs answers and she will do what ever it takes to get them. Even if it means ending her former best friends life. The Initial Insult shines light on the darkness everyone carries but tried to hide. The book is broken into three narratives, Tress, Felicity, and an animal. Tress lost everything when her parents disappeared and now she is at the end of her rope. Tress is a complex and dark character, who was made by the circumstances of her life. Her perspective is dark and her memories give foundation to why she acts this way. The desperation Tress experiences is masterfully done, the reader will feel the weight of this emotion with every word they read. On the other side of the coin is Felicity, the one girl who could explain everything if only she could just remember. Felicity is perfect on the surface but right below she is fracturing with every minute. McGinnis unveils the expectation family and society have on an individual. Pain is seared through every word Felicity speaks. The third narrative is a panther, spoken in verse. For the life of me I don not know why this narrative is involved. It broke the rhythm of the other two narratives and didn't add much to the fast paced plot. The book is dark, intense, and heavy with past emotional baggage. It was interesting to see two points of views to the same experiences but the character development was on the slower side. It seemed the character development was exchanged for displaying how horrible humans can be to one another, which maybe what McGinnis was aiming for.
An ARC was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
An ARC was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I actually really enjoyed reading this--just a few things didn't align with what I wanted out of a book (but maybe you're more into it!). I was recommended this by a coworker (I LOVE English teachers--such great recommendations), and was looking forward to a "Cask of Amontillado" revenge-story retelling. I love dual narratives, so this was right up my alley in the beginning, but the basic rich/poor dynamic fueling the conflict felt forced. It started as just a revenge narrative, but I feel like the plot got lost along the way. The ending though, whew!
If you like an easy read, you may enjoy it more than I did.
If you like an easy read, you may enjoy it more than I did.
I'm giving 3 because I don't know how to feel about it. Was a bit out of my comfort zone.
Was it bad? No
But again other than the panther than can see thru time and space this wasn't a book I would normally pick up because I love me some fantasy.
But as I follow along with Tress trying to find out what happened to her parents the night they disappeared and her ex best friend was the only one there, Felicity, I started to get invested..... Brick by brick.
And we get to see how Felicity is dealing with what she may or may not know about their disappearance.
And honestly how the book went I would have probably just be like eh alright not read the next one but if that's not the biggest cliff hanger I've EVER read.
Was it bad? No
But again other than the panther than can see thru time and space this wasn't a book I would normally pick up because I love me some fantasy.
But as I follow along with Tress trying to find out what happened to her parents the night they disappeared and her ex best friend was the only one there, Felicity, I started to get invested..... Brick by brick.
And we get to see how Felicity is dealing with what she may or may not know about their disappearance.
And honestly how the book went I would have probably just be like eh alright not read the next one but if that's not the biggest cliff hanger I've EVER read.
You can always count on Mindy McGinnis to write a story that makes you feel just a little bit uncomfortable. The Initial Insult is no exception to the rule.
Tress and Felicity used to be best friends- but that might as well be ancient history. Now they couldn't be more different. Tress lives with her grandfather on the property where he runs a wild animal attraction and where he keeps plenty of secrets. She spends most days just trying to get by. Felicity spends her days trying to hold onto her rung near the top of the social ladder and trying to forget that she was with Tress's parents when they went missing seven years ago. Occasionally she reaches out with small gestures to help Tress out, but those are always quickly batted away.
Tress is determined to finally get some answers from Felicity about what happened that night, even if it means sealing her former friend into the coal chute of an abandoned house- laying bricks one layer after the next as she demands answers.
I listened to the audiobook ARC of this- which was a little lacking because it was a computer generated voice- but even still was on edge as I waited to find out what would happen next. There were a few moments that I felt didn't quite add up- but maybe I just missed how the panther gets to his location at the end!
I highly recommend this book!
Tress and Felicity used to be best friends- but that might as well be ancient history. Now they couldn't be more different. Tress lives with her grandfather on the property where he runs a wild animal attraction and where he keeps plenty of secrets. She spends most days just trying to get by. Felicity spends her days trying to hold onto her rung near the top of the social ladder and trying to forget that she was with Tress's parents when they went missing seven years ago. Occasionally she reaches out with small gestures to help Tress out, but those are always quickly batted away.
Tress is determined to finally get some answers from Felicity about what happened that night, even if it means sealing her former friend into the coal chute of an abandoned house- laying bricks one layer after the next as she demands answers.
I listened to the audiobook ARC of this- which was a little lacking because it was a computer generated voice- but even still was on edge as I waited to find out what would happen next. There were a few moments that I felt didn't quite add up- but maybe I just missed how the panther gets to his location at the end!
I highly recommend this book!
This book is crazy. I think I really liked it, but it will probably depend on how book 2 finishes the story. The two main characters, Tress and Felicity, are both fascinating and flawed, and there's also narration from a panther in free verse, because...why not? I love how weird this was.
Tress Montor had status in Amontillado, Ohio until her prominent parents vanished without a trace while driving her then best friend, Felicity Turnado, home one night seven years ago. After being orphaned Tress went to live with her grandfather at his wildlife attraction, aka, the White Trash Zoo. Tress's fall from grace was swift and her friendship with Felicity was over. Tress could not accept Felicity's claim that she had no memory of that fateful night. So Tress does what she needs to get by and she stews and plots until she has the perfect plan to get Felicity to talk. At a Halloween party in an abandoned house Tress lures Felicity to the basement, where she begins to bury Felicity alive behind a brick wall that she lays a row at time. Meanwhile, upstairs, the town's teens suspect nothing. They are falling victim to the flu that is spreading like through Amontillado. Also, a panther is on the loose.
Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado, this is another dark and mesmerizing offering from Mindy McGinnis. The second book in the duology can't come soon enough.
Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado, this is another dark and mesmerizing offering from Mindy McGinnis. The second book in the duology can't come soon enough.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Proper representation of me through out this book
First off once again I was shocked to find out this is a series or well it is a duology, so I am consistent in not being aware of starting a series.
There are tons of Edgar Allan Poe references, which I will not get into because I do not know enough about it to do it justice, but mean girl bitches, that I can extrapolate on.
This is the story of Triss and Felicity, once best friends and now social opposites. Triss's parents disappeared when she was 10, they were driving felicity home from a sleepover and never were seen again. Triss's life is ripped apart and she is throttled into poverty all the while best friend Felicity is near the top of the social food chain.
Triss's story is sad and Felicity's story is frustrating, most in part by the fact that Felicity is delusional and thinks that they are still friends.
Felicity is part of the cool girls in school, she stands up for no one, allows horrible people to do horrible things and then takes none of the blame.
Every time Felicity remembers a story, Triss has to give her a serious reality check.
I hated all the people in this book but Triss. I say people because there are animals and some of them are delightful.
First off once again I was shocked to find out this is a series or well it is a duology, so I am consistent in not being aware of starting a series.
There are tons of Edgar Allan Poe references, which I will not get into because I do not know enough about it to do it justice, but mean girl bitches, that I can extrapolate on.
This is the story of Triss and Felicity, once best friends and now social opposites. Triss's parents disappeared when she was 10, they were driving felicity home from a sleepover and never were seen again. Triss's life is ripped apart and she is throttled into poverty all the while best friend Felicity is near the top of the social food chain.
Triss's story is sad and Felicity's story is frustrating, most in part by the fact that Felicity is delusional and thinks that they are still friends.
Felicity is part of the cool girls in school, she stands up for no one, allows horrible people to do horrible things and then takes none of the blame.
Every time Felicity remembers a story, Triss has to give her a serious reality check.
I hated all the people in this book but Triss. I say people because there are animals and some of them are delightful.
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. it was definitely an interesting idea, like a rewrite of the cask of amontillado?? it delivered on exactly that but I just wasn't really into it, for some reason. the ending was pretty crazy though, and I liked that it was mostly a pretty easy and quick read.