New Girl

I found this book to be very disappointing. I saw the lovely cov

I found this book to be very disappointing. I saw the lovely cover and then the description sparked my interest immediately, but then I couldn't get into the book at all. The heroine (whose name you don't learn until the end of the book) comes to this fancy school and is immediately ostracized by her fellow students because she is replacing Becca, the girl that everyone loved. And it makes everything harder when she starts to fall for the boy that everyone thinks was tragically in love with Becca. But was he really?


The mystery of the story intrigued me, but the more it unfolded the more disgusted I became. I liked 'New Girl' well enough, and mostly I pitied Max and Johnny (though I really wanted to smack them upside the head). I couldn't understand Becca at all and couldn't help but cringe whenever the story switched to her. She made such a mess of her life and the lives around her in her selfish quest for her twisted version of love. I could feel sorry for her, but I couldn't like her.


I really hated the use of sex in this book. If you ever want an argument for why teenagers should remain celibate, just read this. Sex was used as a weapon and a tool, leaving you feeling dirty and disappointed in all of the characters.


My favorite part of the book was the end. Not only did it mean that the book was over, but the resolution was very good. Everything that had needed to be explained was explained, and you are left with the possibility of happiness.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Awesome read!!

New Girl is a relative retelling of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier; I'm calling it relative because if you've read Rebecca you'll know the plots of the two novels are deceptively similar while soundly different in many aspects. I'll begin by saying some of the charm and suspense of this read comes exactly from the Rebecca reference and parallel, the similarity/difference aspect of the plots makes New Girl an even more suspenseful read, because I was constantly thinking, ok, so Max (Maxim in Rebecca) and Becca (short for Rebecca - here the connection is quite clear :D) - a retelling or a parallel universe? Everything was more intense because of it, I was completely on edge about Max from start till end. I also came into the read with a considerable negative attitude toward him, and though it didn't do the character Max any favor, it did a lot for the quality of the reading experience, it heightened my interest and emotional involvement. The New Girl storyteller female character, the MC (main character), also thanks to the Rebecca reference, gave me these conflicting feelings, and just like my feelings towards Max, they settled some only when I reached the end of the book. For a few reasons though, the female MC was more endearing then the one in Rebecca, I liked her more perhaps because of her young age and light heart, she kept giving me this suave, sunny feeling more towards the beginning of the novel, and her transition from warm climate to a dreary one both on a personal and environmental level was interesting to follow. Dana was also an interesting character, she stood out from the habitual bleah herd of look-alike fans of the popular thing; where the herd was grating on my nerves (they've always done so and will most likely always will - insert dramatic eye-roll & sigh), and her obsession for Becca gradually brought the punch to an already intriguing turn of events in the plot, her character revealing to be an incredibly conflicted and somewhat twisted one - a great delight. Her unraveling, so well portrayed and extroverted in its nature, puts the MC's inner struggles and introverted tensions in the spotlight by contrast, they make a really interesting couple of characters. The ending is an apparently happy one, I mean the novel ends on a positive note (at least there's no burning buildings, lol); is it a happy ending in a traditional sense? Hard to say, there isn't a clear ending in fact, it's quite open I'd say. Though some future events seem to be hinted, they could or could not take place and both versions might be just as likely. Will Max and the MC (not giving you her name, it's part of the charm) become a real item, or will they move on after graduating and become nothing more then a memory for each other? I personally like to think they move on, just because Max is not exactly relationship material if you ask me. He doesn't seem to really learn a lot from his experiences (he put up with Becca'c antics for waaaaaay to long if you ask me) and instead of evolving he's the sticky-type more like. But hey, to each their own right? Read it, totally worth your time!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The most exciting part of New Girl and probably what inspired me

The most exciting part of New Girl and probably what inspired me to finish the book was the fact that I wanted to know what had happened to Becca. I was never as taken with her as the students of Manderly Academy, of course as the reader we are privy to some of her inner thoughts and let's just say....she is not a very nice person, at all. That didn't stop me from wanting to know how she disappeared though.


Other than that I wasn't overly impressed with this book. I had a hard time connecting with pretty much all of these characters because I just didn't "get" them. They were mean and snotty and not at all like the teens I knew in high school or the ones that I now know. I couldn't figure out what their motives were for their actions. My favorite character was "new girl" as she was the most real character in the whole book. I didn't notice until the last page that we never got "new girls" name until then, I still don't know how that escaped my attention while I was reading. The only other character that made any kind of impression on me was the principal and he is only in one scene but he was pretty darn awesome! The rest of the characters were shallow and really just for the most part awful people. I didn't even really enjoy the love interests because I thought "new girl" deserved better than both of the boys that seemed interested in her. This was definitely just an OK book for me. I have a feeling it will be one of those that I forget about pretty quickly.


Just so you know: This book talks a lot about "hooking up" and contains a lot of scenes with underage drinking.


If you know me at all you know I hate writing reviews that don't favor a book. However, when I agree to review a book I always state that I will give my honest opinion.

Must Read

This book was very intersting. It kept me reading for hours! Great for a teenager who wants a romance,mystery, and just a very entertaining read!

The book had an intriguing synopsis, but did not live up my expe

The book had an intriguing synopsis, but did not live up my expectations. This is a re-telling of the book Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, but I have not read it so I can't make any comparisons. Unfortunately, this was the first book in a long time that I was not able to finish. I liked the premise and characters well enough, but the plot and pacing of book killed it for me. The plot revolves around teen parties and love interests ...that's as far as it expanded to. It felt like a back and forth battle between these to incidents and it got old really quick. This may appeal to some readers, but it just wasn't a good fit for me at all.

I can’t think of a single reason to like this book and I&r

I can’t think of a single reason to like this book and I’m surprised I finished it. The characters were flat and vapid; I found myself loathing every single one of them. The most interesting character, Dana, was so incredibly unstable, she was annoying and whiny. The new girl, whose name we don’t learn until the very end of the book, felt so inconsequential that I actually don’t remember her name now. I like strong characters, or at least characters who grow through a novel, but the new girl just complained a lot that people at Manderley didn’t like her. Grow some backbone! The other interesting character, besides Dana, was Becca, whom the new girl replaced because she had gone missing. But she was only interesting because of her circumstance and the horrifying way she conducted herself around others (we do get to find out why later).
There is a love triangle in this, so if you hate them, don’t read it. Personally, I don’t mind them at all, but in New Girl, I felt that it was weak, and when there was conflict, it was put there to keep things interesting.
The plot point for Rebecca would have been alright, except that it dragged out and if you’ve ever read the book that New Girl is retelling, incidentally titled Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, then you can kind of guess how New Girl is going to end. Ergo, no surprises here, folks. Bummer.
No author can really avoid pop-culture references in their books, and I love them when they are done right because it helps the reader identify with the book. But the one big one in New Girl that really stood out to me was “Paint me like one of your French girls” from the movie, Titanic. The line should be “I want you to draw me like one of your French girls.” Yes, it’s a nit-picky detail, but part of a book’s value is in the details, right? In Titanic, Jack was too poor to have any paints, therefore he used charcoal and paper. So this really bothered me.
I also had a really big problem with the filler in this story: teens were drinking and carrying on all the time on school property. I mean, ALL. THE. TIME. There was tons of language about sex, BJs and getting drunk. I felt like it glorified this lifestyle. Hey, I’m no prude, but come on now. If you are going to include something like this in your story, at least trump it with a message for the kids reading your book. That didn’t happen here. I get it, this isn’t the bible and for god’s sake, it’s just a book, right? But what was the take-away from all that? I couldn’t figure it out.
I think if the author had spent time fleshing out the characters and staying true to her genre (this is a young adult, after all), it could have gone a lot differently. I really liked the synopsis, which is why I asked to review the book. But overall, I didn’t like it and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I did, however, love Harbison's writing style - it's very fluid and beautiful. So while I didn't like this story, it doesn't mean I won't look for other work she does. She's obviously very talented.
I received this copy for review from the publisher.

A Great Teen Mystery

So, our New Girl comes to Manderly Academy for her senior year. Because space is limited, she takes a spot that recently opened up due to the mysterious disappearance of a student named Becca. The New Girl has all of the elements of your basic fish-out-of-water story: she feels awkward and not sure what to do, people are snotty to her and the hottest two boys in school are sending smoldering glances her way (natch).

Her roommate is a psycho who worshipped Becca (no bonding anytime soon here...) Also, apparently Becca's parents couldn't be bothered to clean out her side of the room and New Girl sleeps under a wall of smiling Beccas beaming down upon her. Her peers and love-interests are constantly comparing her to Becca. Putting New Girl (her name isn't revealed until the end of the story as a nod to the source material) in the position of having to always prove that she is not Becca. How annoying for her...

The New Girl has elements of teen sex and partying and I wouldn't recommend to to people who are sensitive to reading about such things. These elements did make me wonder what kind of crazy prep school this was because the kids went out every night and barely had to hide it. Which is fine, but your typical high schooler doesn't usually have the liberty the throw down every night of the week. Now college...that's a different story.

This story comes with a twist, though. Becca was a notorious party girl and her disappearance is a mystery that consumes the entire school. I loved trying figure out who-done-it and trying to discern the truth from rumours.

Harbison has crafted a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller (based on Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier) that was a pleasure to devour.

Perfect for those who like to be kept in suspense

What is with the growing popularity of books that go bump in the night? new girl follows this dark vein as we follow New Girl into a new school where the queen bee Becca rules with an iron fist despite the fact that she has vanished into thin air. Paige Harbison expertly builds the tension slowly but surely as it dances around the question of Becca’s current whereabouts – not to mention, New Girl’s actual name. If I had to describe new girl using other books, I would probably say it is a chimera of here lies bridget, choker, and all those “new girl at boarding school and rooms with the weird girl” stories. All the jealousies, heartaches, and spine tinglies will help to suck readers into new girl as the story behind Becca’s disappearance resurfaces and threatens to pull New Girl into dangerous waters.

Just okay...

I went back and forth on this one. At times it was very good--an engrossing, suspenseful read. At other times it got a bit confusing and disjointed--I actually had to go back more than once to make sure I hadn't skipped a page or two because with what was going on I seemed to have missed a step (I hadn't, not any of the times). Ultimately it was a fairly entertaining read, but definitely not one I'll be revisiting.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did realize ahead of time that it was a remake of Rebecca--that's a big part of why I read it. I'd read the original a loooong time before (mostly because of the name--though no one thought to tell me ahead of time that the character who the book was named after was 1) dead and 2) a controlling, manipulative, not-nice person--thanks, mom! ;-)) so I had a vague idea prior to reading it what was probably going to happen. According to my (admittedly not perfect) recall, it did follow the story fairly well, and the modern changes for the most part made sense. There were times during the reading of it when I couldn't put it down and thought perhaps it would earn a four-star rating at least. In the end, though, there were some specific things about this book that put it firmly in the three-star category for me.

First, I couldn't get past the fact that New Girl's parents (that part was pretty clever, the fact that readers don't know her name for most of the book, and it's so well done that you don't even notice for quite a bit of it!) would be so totally and utterly clueless as to think that a girl who years before wanted to go to a private boarding school a la Harry Potter would honestly be thrilled about leaving her current school and friends her senior year to do so--especially one who is popular and well liked. Seriously, who could possibly be that uninformed as to the mind of a teenager?

Secondly, although I adjusted to the back-and-forth POV of New Girl in the present and Becca in the past (though that was a bit of an adjustment, especially at first) it feels at times like overkill--can't we discover what kind of a person she is through others, as in the du Maurier version? Then, towards the end, the author suddenly pinballs wildly between many POVs, not just the two that we heard from in the rest of the book. Readers are left feeling that surely there could have been a better way to present the information, one more in keeping with the rest of the novel. There's also a paranormal-ish twist to the novel that just ended falling a bit flat and feeling out of place.

On the positive side, the creepy roommate was a nice update of Mrs. Danvers in the original, and seeing things from Becca's viewpoint did succeed in making us understand her a bit better in the end, and make readers more sympathetic and understanding of her than for her literary predecessor. New Girl too, for the most part is a stronger person than the second Mrs. de Winters, which was nice to see.

Max, though, comes off as a shallower person, and their love story is much less convincing than in the original. Overall, I wasn't sorry I read this book, but it didn't quite meet my expectations.

Intriguing Storyline!

I have to say I was definitely intrigued by the storyline for this book. I had heard that it was a re-write of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, a book that I have wanted to read for a while now, so I was looking forward to checking this out.

The story starts off with the main character, the New Girl, starting off in a new private school; Manderly Academy. Miles away from her family and friends, but looking forward to a fresh start, the New Girl goes to the school not knowing that she’s falling in the previous New Girl, Becca Normandy’s shadow. Becca’s disappearance is the only reason the New Girl even has a spot at the school, but New Girl is not Becca, and everyone is quick to let her know this.

I found most of the characters of the book to be pretty unlikeable, and I wonder if this is how the author wanted us to feel for them. I really disliked the way they all treated the New Girl. I do like that the New Girl was pretty headstrong, for the most part, and in the end just didn’t care what people thought about her. I always find that admirable in a female character. I found Becca to be just a horrible person all around; I didn’t care for her at all. The love interest in the story, Max, was a bit wishy-washy for me, although I did grow towards him a little more towards the end of the book.

The thing that stood out the most about this book was the mystery that surrounded the storyline. This definitely kept me hooked while reading the book, because I just wanted to know what happened with the mysterious Becca. It was also a little disconcerting to go throughout the whole book not knowing what the main characters name was. We do finally find out at the end of the book what it is, and it’s such a pretty name, that I wish it had been used more in the book. However, I enjoyed the suspense of waiting to see if the name would ever be revealed.
This book also has a lot of sexual related content. Some of it was very disturbing, and some of it I was a bit surprised to see in a YA novel. There were also mentions of drug and alcohol use. I found this to be very realistic, and it’s definitely something I could see happening in a private boarding school. Due to these mentions, I wouldn’t recommend this for the younger YA crowd.

Overall, this was a really different read for me, full of teenage drama and turmoil. Although most of the characters were unlikeable, I liked the main character, and the mysterious storyline kept me intrigued. This book also really makes me want to pick up Rebecca by du Maurier right away!

Happy Reading!

Wonderful

I absolutely loved it. Anyone who has ever felt like they were trapped under someones shadow can relate. A great followup from her first novel. I highly reccomend this book.

For Lovers of Suspense and Romance

The first thing about New Girl that captured my attention was the beautiful, yet eery cover. The girl appears to be floating just beneath the surface of the water, patiently waiting for something...to be saved, maybe? I don't really know, but I fell in love. Then I read the synopsis and knew I had to get my greedy paws on this book...immediately. I'm so glad I did.

I wasn't aware that this novel was a retelling of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, obviously meaning, I haven't read Rebecca. I have now added it to my TBR list and look forward to reading it soon.

The book starts with "New Girl" getting accepted to a boarding school her senior year. She had originally applied to Manderley several years before wasn't accepted. Her parents continued to submit applications every year and kept it a secret until one day when they received an acceptance letter. Even though it's her senior year and she's perfectly happy with her home and school life, "New Girl" decides to move from the warm Florida coast to chilly New Hampshire. She's determined to make the best at the school of her dreams...or nightmares as the case maybe.

What she doesn't know is she's taking the spot that once belonged to Becca, a girl who went missing at the end of the previous school year. Rumors and mystery surround Becca's disappearance and somehow "New Girl" is taking the brunt of them and can't seem to escape Becca's shadow--from the guys she crushes on to her roommate.

The story consistently built upon itself, each page bringing with it a deeper deception, heart-ache, and finally complete understanding. I enjoyed getting to see the story unfold from both Becca's and "New Girl's (NG)" eyes. As the reader, I became frustrated with the situation wanting to grab NG and tell her all the dirty little secrets. I also wanted to grab Dana, the roommate, and tell her to open her eyes, not everything is as it should be...but then everyone has their secrets...right?

I'd read half the book before I realized I didn't know the main characters name. I know this bothered some people, but it only added to the mystery and intrigue for me. My only problem with New Girl was the flipping between "New Girl's" point of view and Becca's point of view. Alternating POV's don't usually bother me but the fact that it was also a past/present POV shift made everything a little harder to understand.

When I finally read the line in which I find out NG's name...my heart wept with joy.

I highly recommend New Girl to lover's of suspense and romance.

*Thanks to NetGalley and HarlequinTeen for the chance to preview this uncorrected e-proof.

Highly recommended for lovers of mystery and boarding school dramas

Teens have a hard enough time trying to figure out who they are as they go through their years between 12 and 17 or 18. But imagine being called "New Girl" all through the school year, because that's who you are and no one tries to get to know you. They're too busy trying to tell you who you'll never be. You'll never be the effervescent Becca, the other new girl, last year's new girl who is missing. She is assured time and time again that she will never live up to Becca's image, personality, nor will she ever be allowed or gain the interest of Max nor Johnny because they both were in love with Becca and are just waiting for her return to rekindle their romance. Everyone believes she's coming back, or so she's led to believe. The beauty of this novel is that we never get a name for the New Girl. She just goes with New Girl and allows people to call her that and treat her like the New Girl. She futilely tries to stand up for herself and we are inside her head knowing that she is not some spineless creature, she's just never been in this position, friendless, outcast, social pariah. She's always been friendly outgoing, social. It's new territory, for the New Girl. And trying to deny she's wanting Becca's life is pointless because in some ways she does. Who doesn't want to be beautiful and loved by everyone and she kind of does like Max and she feels bad about all of it. But this is the year that things change for the New Girl. I didn't think she should have put up with the treatment she got from Max. I wouldn't have. She deserved better than that. Max was sweet with her sometimes, but he blew so hot and cold, she couldn't count on him. The New Girl learned to rely on herself and that she could make it by herself in a place of isolation. She grew up. Found out what the real world was like and tested the waters for the coming years. Her plans had always been to go to FSU (boo hiss) with all her friends from high school, but this year away, taught her that maybe, she should challenge herself. Maybe step out of her comfort zone. In her isolation, she learns who she really is and isn't. The chapters are told in alternating points of view, though it might be told three chapters Me as in the new girl and two chapters Becca which was the year before. We can tell she, Becca, is a troubled girl, certainly narcissistic , but also more impressed with appearance than her own happiness. Max plus Becca equals most beautiful couple on campus, and Becca most envied. But is she happiest with him? It doesn't seem to matter. She does seem to have a heart and we see bits and pieces of it leak through her plans. This novel was filled with tension from the time the "New Girl" set foot on the campus of Manderly until she graduated. I kept waiting for Becca to return, or for her roommate to try to kill her. And I'm not saying attempts were not made on her life. Her roommate was extremely abusive. The climax is unexpected and the accusations that fly are extremely revealing. I loved this book. The tension, the "New Girl" finding herself and refusing to givein to the constant pressure of being something she wasn't, the mystery behind Becca's disappearance, it all lead to a great story. I've never read Rebecca so I don't know how it did as a retelling, but as a novel for today, I thought it was excellent!

Fantastic Intruding Mystery!!!

New Girl is an intriguing, fantastic mystery that grabbed me from the first page. I couldn’t put this novel down. I had to uncover all the secrets surrounding Becca Normandy at Manderley Academy. Paige Harbison’s writing is a breath of fresh air. By that I mean, she gives you the real teens of today. Harbison took me into the real teenagers’ world with their language, lifestyle, and romance—how teens are today. I love when an author does this. Paige Harbison delivers an awesome storyline in New Girl, with it done in two POV’s. One being told in the new girl’s present tense who starts Manderley Academy, and in the past-tense of Becca Normandy, who started Manderley Academy the year before.

When New Girl's parents surprise her in her senior year with an acceptance into New Hampshire boarding school, Manderley Academy, it’s no surprise that New Girl, who lives in St.Augstine Florida, doesn’t want to leave her home or her friends to be the New Girl at school, but she can't break her parents heart after getting her into this elite boarding school. When she gets to Manderley, New Girl finds out that the only reason she was accepted into Manderley, is because the new girl from last year, Becca Normandy, has been missing since the end of school last year. New Girl resembles Becca , and New Girl is now living in the shadow of Becca, which turns into a living torment for New Girl as she’s not seen for who she is, but for who Becca was. And when New Girl falls for Becca’s ex-boyfriend, that will be the biggest mistake she makes, and New Girl will live her senior year learning what the phrase, "what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger" truly means. New Girl can't believe why, of all the guys she could have fallen for, why did it have to be Max Holloway?

New Girl is an intruding, eerie mystery, about one girl who lives for her own selfish needs and pleasures, that inflicts pain and hurt in the lives of others, and another girl who finds her true self, believing in whom she is. I highly recommend New Girl as a must read.

No text was provided for this review.