Disclaimer: I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Initial Insult
Author: Mindy McGinnis
Book Series: The Initial Insult Book 1
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Character with epilepsy
Recommended For…: ya readers, mystery lovers, thriller seekers
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
Genre: YA Mystery
Recommended Age: 16+ (animal death and violence, epileptic episodes, drugs and alcohol usage, language, slight sexual content, gore)
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 384
Synopsis: 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.
Review: For the most part I thought that this was an okay book. The world building was very well detailed and the character development for the two main characters was very well done. Also felt like well this is a little bit of a mystery, that the point of their friendship was pretty good.
However, there were some things in the book that I did not like. I feel like the pacing was very slow and the book want was a little non-existent. I also really hated the use of animal violence in this book. I felt like the author you said to create a creepy atmosphere, but all it did was make me very sick at my stomach. I also felt like she used the animal violence and animal death as a shock Factor rather than a plot point.
Verdict: It was good, just slightly disappointing.
PopTheButterfly Reads 