New Girl

Dec 09, 2011 Vinaya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-galley, book-schizophrenia, could-have-been-better, hmm-that-was-interesting, i-coulda-done-it-better, mixed-vibes, surprised-me, ya-fiction

Rarely has a book has left me as confused and conflicted as New Girl. When I started the first chapter, I was very, very sure I was going to hate it, but I just couldn't. This book was like the little girl in the nursery rhyme... when it was good, it was very, very good, but when it was bad it was horrid.

Let's start with the good bits. I think New Girl might quite possibly be my favourite retelling this year. Paige Harbison got it just right - the story can stand alone as a well-plotted contempo...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Aleeeeeza rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, arc-netgalley-galleygrab, 2012-read

so i'm not a prude or anything, but the amount of gratuitous teen sex in this book is RIDICULOUS. by page 100 one of the MC's had sex about seven times or something. with two different dudes! and she's been in school for about, uh, three days, methinks. i mean, seriously, dude. holy. shit. i gave up on the book because of it, but ended up going back to it to skim it till the end to see what happens. and i was left quite disappointed. not necessarily because of how the story ended, but with the b...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ebook

New Girl tells us the story of both Becca and "New Girl" simultaneously. "New Girl" - who I only realized past the half way mark has no name yet - is living in Becca's shadow. Arriving at boarding school after Becca's disappearance makes the others feel like she's replacing their friend; their friend who came in with a bang and completely changed the school's atmosphere.

Dual POV has become a favorite of mine. I love seeing both sides of the coin, getting to know the characters at a deeper level....more New Girl tells us the story of both Becca and "New Girl" simultaneously. "New Girl" - who I only realized past the half way mark has no name yet - is living in Becca's shadow. Arriving at boarding school after Becca's disappearance makes the others feel like she's replacing their friend; their friend who came in with a bang and completely changed the school's atmosphere.

Dual POV has become a favorite of mine. I love seeing both sides of the coin, getting to know the characters at a deeper level. In this case, it also helped with the suspense factor. Becca's story is unveiled to us in small increments which makes it very intriguing. I was always looking forward to more of her chapters. Her character has a terrible personality of someone who is used to getting what she wants. She lies, she cheats, she's overall a awful person. But god darn it is she ever entertaining! No matter how much I would hate knowing a person like her, she makes a good, fun story that I was overall fascinated with. Happening after Becca disappears, New Girl's point-of-view gives us the after effects. Her hateful roommate thinks of her as a replacement. The rest of the school is not very welcoming either. This New Girl's personality couldn't be more different from Becca's. She's considerate, has self-respect (which Becca lacks greatly) and tries hard to fit in, but most of the time I just wish she'd defend herself better. Especially towards Dana -her roommate- who can be considerably cruel. I understand grief, but I couldn't comprehend why everyone was so upset at New Girl. She barely did anything except get accepted to this school. It felt kind of overly dramatic.

I hardly cared for the romance in this novel. Both love interests were just not that interesting. Max is simply hard to grasp. He lets Becca lead him like a dog on a leash. I did like Johnny though, but I didn't feel his connection with Becca. The mystery of the disappearance is what kept me glued to the book. I'm a sucker for mysteries and this one had me rushing through it. Becca's story has such an ominous vibe to it. I was hoping for a shocking ending that unfortunately left me feeling underwhelmed. It wasn't awful, I was just hoping for a bigger twist to it.

Although it failed to wow me, it was still an entertaining read that I mostly enjoyed. I would even recommend it. Especially to those who like mysteries and - surprisingly - Gossip Girl (Yes, I AM a fan! Don't judge me. One word: Chuck! Another word: Nate! Ah heck, they're all freaking awesome! (Well except for the prince *yawns*)). I also want to note that this is a retelling of the book Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, though I'm not able to make comparisons since I haven't read the original.

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Nov 22, 2011 ~Tina~ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, netgalley-e-galley, young-adult, contemporary, supernatural, read-2011, guilty-pleasure

(3.5 stars) Some Spoilers

I had such a hard time trying to figure out my feeling for this one, which is strange since I usually know before I even finish a book. I can't guarantee that I'm gonna make sense and I'm sure other reviewers will say this much better, but here it goes anywho's.

Did I like this? Yes...and no. I guess this is what I would call a guilty pleasure since to tell you the truth I wouldn't normally enjoy books like this. I am a very easily annoyed reader when it comes to characte...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Nicola rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, cover-appeal

Paige Harbison's book Here Lies Bridget was one of the best books I read in 2011 so of course I was dying to get my hands on New Girl and incredibly eager to start reading it. I can safely say that I am now a huge fan of Harbison and can't wait to see what she can give us next! New Girl completely lived up to my expectations and it was a thrilling read.

New Girl follows the life of a girl whose name we aren't give at the beginning. I thought this might make me less able to connect with the charac...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Lissa added it

Shelves: 2012

It was a little hard to get into, but by the time Becca’s narration came I was interested. Becca’s POV caught me by surprise – I wasn’t expecting it and I was completely prepared to not like it… but Becca was fascinating to read about – that level of sociopathy (did I just made up a new word) could only result in something tragic – much like the badly behaving teenagers in horror films always get killed – you know, the ones who dirnk and have sex. Teen horror flicks are morality warnings. I neve...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Sandee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cover-love, realistic-novels, stand-alone

New Girl was one of those books that you'd either love it or hate it.
I am so torn between loving and hating it.
It was sort of an old-school crime movie that would keep you guessing who killed who.
If I could rename this book I would probably name it "Deception, Lies and more Lies".
Reading it also reminded me a bit of Pretty Little Liars.

New Girl would keep you thinking up until the last few chapters of the book.
You'd wonder what really happened to the missing girl and why people were so aloof tow...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Jennifer at The Bawdy Book Blog rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-star, 2011, young-adult, 2012-src, netgalley

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 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 jus...more 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, blow jobs 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 the quote below).

**This review was updated to reflect my notes on 1/8.**(less)

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May 16, 2012 Jess rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, advanced-reviews, blog-tour-review

"Before I could talk myself out of it, his lips were on mine. My mind went blank. My body went numb. I faded into him, letting my bag fall to the floor. I didn't care if someone walked in. I didn't care if anyone saw." -New Girl

I'm not even sure on where to start with this review. This book was incredible. Although I haven't read the original Rebecca, I am familiar with the story having watched the movie a few years ago, so I'm not sure if I can make an comparisons. What I can say is that Paige...more "Before I could talk myself out of it, his lips were on mine. My mind went blank. My body went numb. I faded into him, letting my bag fall to the floor. I didn't care if someone walked in. I didn't care if anyone saw." -New Girl

I'm not even sure on where to start with this review. This book was incredible. Although I haven't read the original Rebecca, I am familiar with the story having watched the movie a few years ago, so I'm not sure if I can make an comparisons. What I can say is that Paige Harbison has managed to create a fantastically spooky story, full of mystery. Having watched the movie (I know it's not the same as the reading) I can say that Paige has done an excellent job at a retelling this story.

We meet 'New Girl' (We don't find out her name until the end of the book) who's parents have managed to get her into the prestigious Manderley Academy, it's been a dream of hers from the age of 8, but she grew out of it and didn't have the heart to tell her parents. So she went anyway, and that's when it all began. She is treated as an outsider, people are mean to her thinking she is there to replace Becca, the girl who went missing a year ago. The only people who treat her with any kind of friendship are Johnny, Blake and sometimes Max who happened to be Becca's ex-boyfriend. The last thing she needed to do was fall for Max.

New Girl is told between alternate points of view. One from New Girl and the other from Becca. This is done extremely well and helps to see how different the school year was for both girls. Becca was popular, top of the student body food chain. She was also mean, manipulative, a liar, and a cheat. She scratched her way to the top by using the people around her to get her way and get what she wanted. Towards the end of the book when she eventually had her break down, I had little, to no sympathy for her. In fact I hated her and I felt myself getting angry with Becca through out the entire book. New Girl, was different. Although she was treated badly, she stood strong, she hung in there. I would have run away back home, but she didn't she stuck it out and showed that she wasn't just going to be intimidated by Becca's memory or her friends. New Girl is probably one of the strongest female protagonists that I've read about in a long long time, and I loved her from the start. I was able to connect with her on an emotional level. Even though Paige kept New Girl's name a secret until the very last page, it didn't deter me away from the book and it didn't feel like Paige was purposefully withholding the name. In fact when her name was revlealed in the end, I was excited to finally read it! It's a pretty name too ;)

The book itself is paced well, there aren't any dull moments (in my opinion). It's always full of intrigue and mystery. It's an extremely emotional book, which had me on a rollercoaster all the way through. I picked up so many feelings when reading this book. Anger, love, sadness, pathetic-ness. It's all there on every page. It was just simply brilliant.

Overall the ending was satisfying. Things seemed to wrap up nicely, but I felt it could have been a little more to it. It felt a little rushed but that didn't make me give it any less than 5 stars.

This was the first book that I've read of Paige Harbisons and I intend to read a lot more. She's wonderful story teller and brilliant writer being able to bring all of these characters to life. Being able to keep you in suspense right to the end. I will be reading from Paige Harbison most definitely, And if you haven't picked up New Girl yet, then I suggest you do so. It's absolutely thrilling and I wish there was more!

Note: This book is for mature adults due to use of coarse language, drugs, underage drinking, and teenage sex. I recommend this for 16+ ages.

Thank you to MIRA Ink for letting me review this.(less)

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Jan 24, 2012 ExLibris_Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

New Girl is a retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, set in a stodgy New Hampshire boarding school. The New Girl, whose name you won't find out until the very end ala Rebecca, is given a surprise by her parents and sent to school for her Senior year. Although that part of the plot was a bit far fetched, you just have to go with it. Used to the warmth of the Florida coast, New Hampshire is the rude awakening you would expect, but when the New Girl meets her roommate things start to get creepy....more

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Jun 29, 2012 Katrina Passick Lumsden rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A modern retelling of Rebecca (one of my all-time favorites) about a bunch of whiny, privileged teenagers with apparently too much time on their hands? Yes, please!

OK, so this book was melodramatic. I'm talkin' insanely melodramatic. Where Rebecca worked, however, New Girl falls short. While Maxim de Winter was charming, yet mysterious, Max Holloway is just a dick. Who can occasionally be sweet. An occasionally sweet dick, but a dick nonetheless. Rebecca's protagonist, while young, also has a c...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Catriona (LittleBookOwl) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, netgalley, reviewed

Original review from Little Book Owl

New Girl is a dark, chilling read that drags you in to the story and keeps you guessing the entire way through. What happened to Becca?

I thought it was really interesting how the point of view changed every few chapters between the 'New Girl', where she told her story of moving to Manderley in first person, and then Rebecca, whose story was told in third person, but from the year prior. It created a greater contrast between the two characters and their person...more Original review from Little Book Owl

New Girl is a dark, chilling read that drags you in to the story and keeps you guessing the entire way through. What happened to Becca?

I thought it was really interesting how the point of view changed every few chapters between the 'New Girl', where she told her story of moving to Manderley in first person, and then Rebecca, whose story was told in third person, but from the year prior. It created a greater contrast between the two characters and their personalities.

The 'New Girl' is a much more likeable character than Rebecca (Becca), who was overly confident, manipulative and a chronic liar. Even still, both of the girls characterisations were done very well. The new girl was a strong character, who continued to stand up for herself throughout her year at Manderley, even with the constant harassment for her peers. And just a side note, it took me a little while until I realised that the 'New Girl's name had not been given. I thought this was quite interesting, actually.

I wasn't a fan of the love interests. I really didn't like Max. At all. And I thought it was a shame that both Becca and 'New Girl' were involved with him. By the end, he had sort of redeemed himself. Sort of

The pacing was perfect. It didn't drag and yet it wasn't overflowing with action. It moved along nicely and kept me wanting to see what was going on. The writing kept me hooked the entire way through, anticipating the mystery of Rebecca's disappearance to finally be unveiled. I was left constantly guessing - Did she leave? Was she killed? Was she alive? Was she dead? You don't really known until the very end.

I was a little disappointed with both the beginning and end of the story. Firstly, it started out with an unrealistic premise - her love for Harry Potter in the 8th grade resulted in wanting to go off to boarding school. However, this dream did not continue throughout the four years since, yet her parents fail to realise this. I was a little frustrated with the last 20 or so pages. It could have ended closer to the climax. Don't get me wrong, I loved the execution of the climax, when you finally find out what happened to Becca. It is the pages that followed that left me a little bored. 'New Girl' goes on a bit of a rant which I thought was a little unnecessary.

Review copy provided by publisher vie Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
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Mar 18, 2012 Danny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Posted first at Bewitched Bookworms

I was first and foremost intrigued by the cover, I love the color and the water theme – it was mysterious yet inviting! This was my first book by Paige Harbison and now, I want to read more of her!

Compelling Storytelling
This is the story of New Girl, who always dreamed of attending a boarding school ever since she read Harry Potter. I found this reference adorable by the way. However, she never expected it to be … that hard! She got the place at Manderly Acade...more Posted first at Bewitched Bookworms

I was first and foremost intrigued by the cover, I love the color and the water theme – it was mysterious yet inviting! This was my first book by Paige Harbison and now, I want to read more of her!

Compelling Storytelling
This is the story of New Girl, who always dreamed of attending a boarding school ever since she read Harry Potter. I found this reference adorable by the way. However, she never expected it to be … that hard! She got the place at Manderly Academy simply because the New Girl from last year, Becca disappeared by the end of the year. But… no ones knows where she is and what happened. We follow both girls during one school year in alternating POV’s, but of course, Becca’s POV tells the story a year before. Do I make sense? I loved getting to know both girls and I love the building suspense the closer we got to the point where Becca dissapered.

Deeply and multi layered characters
Becca was nothing what you’d expect from the outside. When we first hear about Becca we have a picture of her, but the more the story envolves the deeper we get into her head. New Girl on the other side has it really hard being forced by the other kids to fill the loss of Becca, which makes her kind of invisible. No one really cares about her, which is really sad and cruel. But, kids can be cruel!

Emotional Ride..
It was most definitely an emotional ride for both Becca and New Girl. Both had to find their place among the kids, maybe even finding a place in the world. While Becca was always in the middle of everything, New Girl was mostly forced in a place where she didn’t really wanted to be and I felt so sad for her the whole time… The mystery behind Becca’s disappearance kept me on edge the whole time and we were slowly approaching the climax. When talking about emotions, I should mention the romance part, which was nice and sometimes there was a lot of sexual tension. However, Max the love interest was not always such a nice boy and often I simply didn’t like him.

Bottom Line
This was a phenomenal book about growing up, finding your place in the world and about figuring out who you want to be. The storytelling where we could follow both girls during one school year just one year apart was compelling and added to great level of suspense. Seriously, the book was fantastic! (less)

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Mar 30, 2012 Monaliz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-netgalley, ebook, read-2011

My rating: 4/5 stars
Check my review here too!

The first ebook I actually managed to read! I started reading this yesterday and was still sitting on computer after 6 hours. Now I have aching back, but it was worth it!

This story follows the "New Girl", who moves to boarding school. I was halfway through the book, when I realized, that I still don't know the new girls name. She's just the second new girl, since Becca was the first new girl. And now everyone's comparing them and idolizing Becca.

Obvio...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Bella (Cheezyfeet Books) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-releases, kindle, netgalley

I'll start by saying I'm kind of breaking my policy just this once, for this review. I HAVE NOT READ ALL OF THIS BOOK. I got to half way and I had to give up. I don't normally review books I have not finished, as I feel it is unfair as they may miraculously become awesome towards the end, but I feel like there are things I would like to say about this, and this is the best way for me to say it without sounding like I'm having a bitchy rant on Twitter, which is not what I want to happen, because...more I'll start by saying I'm kind of breaking my policy just this once, for this review. I HAVE NOT READ ALL OF THIS BOOK. I got to half way and I had to give up. I don't normally review books I have not finished, as I feel it is unfair as they may miraculously become awesome towards the end, but I feel like there are things I would like to say about this, and this is the best way for me to say it without sounding like I'm having a bitchy rant on Twitter, which is not what I want to happen, because I'm not.

I LOVE boarding school stories. Emotions and dramas are often exaggerated and heightened due to friends and frenemies living together 24/7, and if they are well written, they are AWESOME. So understandably, I had high hopes for this one, and I was left extremely disappointed rather quickly. The beginning was OK - it kept me reading for the first quarter, at least, and I was intrigued as to who Becca was and what happened to her and why she suddenly left so quickly at the end of the year. But, unfortunately, the further I got through the book, the more frustrated and quite frankly disgusted at Becca I got.

Everyone at Manderly thinks that Becca is perfect. She's blonde, sexy, and has a way with people that just makes everyone fall in love with her. She truly is one of those people that they describe as, 'all the boys are in love with her, and all the girls want to be her'. Well, sort of. Everyone in the book thinks that. I certainly do not. If I'm being completely honest, I thought she was a slut. She had sex three times with two different guys within the first 30% of the book, even though she wasn't in a relationship with either guy. She then goes on to say how she doesn't want people to think she's a slut and she cares about more than just sex, but really, what else am I meant to think?

And then there's the fact that she's EXTREMELY manipulative and cocky and just generally really annoying. She's stuck up and thinks she's amazing - and she believes she can get other people to do absolutely anything for her. And to an extent, she's right (everyone else in the book is a pushover) and it just really annoyed me that she could get away with everything. It made no sense! I think it was totally unrealistic.

And then there was the new girl (who narrates the story, yet we do not find out her name until the last page, apparently (so I don't know what it is because I haven't read all the book)) so I'm just calling her NG, for New Girl. She was a bit pathetic, if I'm honest. I get that she was new to the school and I understand that she found it hard to make friends, but she just didn't really do anything. However, I did enjoy her point of view a lot more than Becca's (it's alternating dual narrative), I have to say... ;)

And it wasn't just the two main characters who I didn't like. The rest of the characters in the school were also completely unrealistic - I understand that everyone's sad because they're all missing Becca and are worried about her, but they wouldn't have such a huge hatred for a girl who was given Becca's place in a school that she'd been wanting to go to for years and years... Maybe I'm being ignorant but I just can't see that happening in real life...But then again I've never been to boarding school so I don't really know.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend New Girl. I think it had a lot of potential from the premise, and I think it *could* have been good. However, it's badly let down by poor characters and it's laden with cringe-worthy scenes that I won't go into detail of here. Maybe if you're a huge fan of YA contemporary dramas then this would be your thing, but it most definitely wasn't mine. I've linked some reviews of this book below from people who've enjoyed it more than I did, so you can decide for yourself whether or not to read this book.

*Thanks to netGalley and HarlequinTEEN for allowing me access to this galley in exchange for an honest review. In no way has this affected my opinion of the book. (less)

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Nov 30, 2011 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-january-release, young-adult, netgalley

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

New Girl was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for HarlequinTeen.

NOTE: This book is adapted and a tribute to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier in which the main character's name was never revealed. Although we do find out New Girl's name toward the end of the book, I will be leaving it out of my review for spoiler purposes

New Girl was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for HarlequinTeen.

'New Girl' has been accepted into Manderley Academy, a private boarding school in New...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Galleane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ce livre repose sur un scénario assez simple mais dont l'écriture résolument bien menée, fait toute la différence, le rendant addictif. On avance avec aisance pris dans les retors de l'intrigue voulant connaître le fin mot de tout ça. L'efficacité de la narration double est hallucinante, les traces que Becca a laissées en partant marquent énormément le récit. On se retrouve avec des personnages torturés, aveuglés qui vont en faire voir de toutes les couleurs à notre pauvre héroïne, qui elle, a b...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Shawn Whitten rated it 5 of 5 stars

I recently read Here Lies Bridget, and decided to pick up New Girl. Here Lies Bridget was good, I liked it a lot. It was well written and a light, compelling read. So I read New Girl. I loved Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, so I had high hopes. It could have gone one of two or ways. It could have not measured up and been a disappointment. But it did not disappoint.

I won't summarize it here because other people will. I'll just say that it was a completely enthralling plot. The characters were not...more

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Jun 09, 2013 Julie-anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Know what bugs me about YA books? The blurb never really tells you all that much about the story. This one's not too bad but I've picked some up in the shop before that have had, like, one sentence as the blurb. Like I said, this one's not as bad as that but it still follows that YA rule of thumb where you don't give too much away.

So as far as I can now remember, we don't actually find out who "I" is until the very end of the book. I can't remember reading her name until either the last or 2nd t...more

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May 26, 2013 Blake rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have been in a bookish funk for about a month, and New Girl just happened to be the book I was reading at the time. I don't blame this book for my lack of reading motivation, and I wish I had been able to finish it sooner.

I loved the old, creepy, mansion-like qualities of Manderly Academy. I've always enjoyed books that take place at a boarding school, and New Girl didn't disappoint in that area. The setting was at the school for most of the book, but it never became dull and repetitive becaus...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Pinkie Pie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley-edelweiss

Go. Buy. This. Book. Well, in a couple weeks, anyway. Just reading the description of New Girl, I just knew something wasn't quite... right. Something was off and weird about the story, and that's just the kind of story I love. Paige Harbison, one of my favorite authors, managed to revisit the classic Rebecca in a new and modern and fresh way. I devoured this book in one night, and I'm telling you: go buy this!

New Girl is very much a character driven story. The only reason the new girl got into...more Go. Buy. This. Book. Well, in a couple weeks, anyway. Just reading the description of New Girl, I just knew something wasn't quite... right. Something was off and weird about the story, and that's just the kind of story I love. Paige Harbison, one of my favorite authors, managed to revisit the classic Rebecca in a new and modern and fresh way. I devoured this book in one night, and I'm telling you: go buy this!

New Girl is very much a character driven story. The only reason the new girl got into Manderly, a prestigious New England boarding school, was because a spot opened up for her in the wake of a student's disappearance. In comes Rebecca 'Becca' Normandy. Told in alternating POV between the new girl and Becca, we experience two wholly separate, yet interconnected lives.

I loved Becca. She was obviously a very disturbed girl, and thus unreliable and completely unstable. She used and disposed of people left and right, and honestly didn't give a damn. But I could see that underneath she was very complex, and something must have happened to make her that way. We never do find out the cause of Becca's hurting, but because of it, I grew to sympathize with her. When we finally figure out what's behind her disappearance, my heart was pounding and breaking all at once for Becca.

But if I loved Becca, I was over the moon for the new girl. (I won't spoil her name for you as you don't actually find it out until the last page.) The new girl was brave and smart and she showed respect to her parents (extra extra bonus points.) Harbison did a wonderful job at effectively isolating the new girl, even from her friends and family back at home in Florida. All of the new girl's classmates hated her, accusing her of trying to steal Becca's place. I really felt for her; even her roommate was beside herself with fury at the new girl's mere presence. But she was never afraid to stand up for herself, to separate herself from Becca and show everyone that she was someone worth knowing, worth liking. I absolutely commend Harbison for creating a female main character with that kind of self confidence.

The relationship between the new girl and Max was weird at first. But by getting to know Max through Becca's eyes, I learned to love him, and really root for his and the new girl's relationship. It may seem weird that Max put up with all of Becca's antics -- the cheating, the lying, the manipulation -- especially if he doesn't really care about her all that much. To me, though, that just shows that he's a truly nice guy and he doesn't want to hurt anyone. It was obvious to him that Becca was having some kind of crisis, and instead of ignoring her, he did what he could.

The ending for me was spot on. Becca's ending, and the new girl's ending. Harbison wrapped up everything, and answered the questions that I had, all the while leaving much up to the readers' interpretation. There was a complete balance to it that's hard to achieve. On Becca's side, I felt complete, and that I had the closure I needed to deal with her story. But on the new girl's end, everything was in front of her, and she had so much to look forward to.

I don't really think I can praise this book enough. It had me sucked in from the beginning and I just could NOT put it down. There was a perfect balance between mystery, romance, and the typical boarding school atmosphere. I also recommend Paige Harbison's Here Lies Bridget. I loved that book a LOT too, and I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve next.(less)

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Apr 19, 2013 Ivy Read rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Le livre se découpe en deux points de vue bien distincts, celui de la narratrice et celui de Becca. On suit donc chacune d’entre elles et l’on découvre alternativement ce qui arrive à l’héroïne et ce qui est arrivé à Becca un an auparavant. Les chapitres ont généralement une parallèle avec ce qui est arrivé à la jeune fille précédente. Les deux premiers, par exemple, montrent leurs arrivées à l’internat. On pourrait croire cela répétitif mais au contraire ! Elles ont un caractère tellement oppo...more Le livre se découpe en deux points de vue bien distincts, celui de la narratrice et celui de Becca. On suit donc chacune d’entre elles et l’on découvre alternativement ce qui arrive à l’héroïne et ce qui est arrivé à Becca un an auparavant. Les chapitres ont généralement une parallèle avec ce qui est arrivé à la jeune fille précédente. Les deux premiers, par exemple, montrent leurs arrivées à l’internat. On pourrait croire cela répétitif mais au contraire ! Elles ont un caractère tellement opposé que l’on a pas du tout l’impression d’être au même endroit alors que c’est bien du lycée de Manderley dont il est question pour elles deux.
Quand l’héroïne — qui n’a pas de prénom — arrive et rencontre ses nouveaux camarades, on voit, pour certains, une nette évolution de leur comportement grâce au point de vue de Becca.
Pour parler rapidement du choix de l’auteur de ne pas nommer son héroïne, à vrai dire, je ne m’en suis même pas aperçu, ça ne m’a pas dérangé du tout dans ma lecture. Chacun la nomme la nouvelle, ma grande ou ma belle. Peut-être a-t-elle choisi cela pour que tout le monde puisse s’identifier plus facilement à l’héroïne ?

Le premier chapitre nous présente l’héroïne et les raisons qui l’ont poussée à être interne au lycée de Manderley. Toute petite, fascinée par Harry Potter, elle souhaitait entrer à Manderley pour être en internat comme ses idoles, néanmoins, impossible pour ses parents de lui y obtenir une place. Lubie vite oubliée pour la jeune fille mais, malheureusement pas par ses parents, qui chaque année tentent de l’y inscrire sans succès, jusqu’à son année de terminale. La grande nouvelle arrive : elle y est admise pour la rentrée, sauf qu’elle n’a plus envie d’y aller mais, devant le bonheur que cet évènement représente pour ses parents, elle n’ose rien dire et se retrouve donc à Manderley. Son arrivée fait vite scandale et tous les élèves la regardent de travers et la rejettent en bloc. Son année scolaire promet d’être très agréable…
En parallèle, le premier jour de Becca fut un succès. La demoiselle est devenue amie avec tout le monde en se montrant adorable et a chamboulé toutes les habitudes des lycéens en organisant des fêtes à tire-larigot.

L’année scolaire de l’héroïne est un calvaire, tous les élèves se montrent odieux avec elle car elle a pris la place de Becca, adulée de tous, qui a mystérieusement disparue. Personne ne sait où ni comment et encore moins si elle est encore en vie ou non, les commérages vont donc bon train sur son compte. Néanmoins, même si elle n’est plus là, aucun de ses camarades ne l’a oubliée et tous le font bien sentir à la nouvelle. A quelques exceptions près, Cam et Blake, qui sont surement les rares personnes normales de cet établissement. Et Max, dont l’héroïne ne tardera pas à tomber amoureuse.

J’ai trouvé que la dévotion qu’ils vouaient tous à Becca — la star de Manderley — était trop improbable. Au début ça passe mais, plus ça va, moins on y croit. Personne ne peut me faire croire qu’elle ait pu mettre tout un lycée à ses pieds en claquant des doigts et que personne ne la haïsse. Aucun ne laisse échapper un commérage un tant soit peu hostile à son égard même les sales pestes du genre de Julia et Madison. Cette vénération sans borne et cette confiance aveugle en Becca est trop peu crédible.

Je crois que le personnage qui m’a le plus agacé dans cette histoire est Dana, la « colocataire » de la chambre. Cette fille est insupportable du début à la fin et son comportement est complètement incompréhensible et le reste même en en connaissant la cause. Elle en fait dix fois trop tout le long du livre et j’ai juste eu envie de la noyer ! De tous les élèves c’est bien elle la plus énervante.

J’ai également trouvé les réactions du corps enseignant complètement hallucinantes ! Quand l’héroïne a eu affaire avec la psy du lycée, c’était limite mais, ça passait encore. Mais, elle s’est fait attrapée alors qu’elle sortait du dortoir des garçons — chose strictement interdite dans l’établissement — elle a raconté ses malheurs à la personne concernée en chouinant et s’est vue récolter un « Oh ! Et à votre place, j’éviterai d’aller dans le dortoir des garçons. C’est le moyen le plus sûr de faire jaser sur votre compte. ». Euuuh… ? C’est une réaction adulte ça ? Non mais, j’ai vraiment eu l’impression de faire face à un autre élève ! Elle viole impunément les règles et tout le monde s’en tape. Nor-mal. M’enfin bref.

Dans l’ensemble j’ai trouvé l’histoire un peu creuse, tout est beaucoup trop concentré sur Becca, tout ne tourne qu’autour d’elle et au final, on n’en sait pas assez sur notre héroïne ou sur tout ce qui se passe autour. A-t-elle d’autres tourments que cette fille ? A son âge ce serait normal mais, en fait non, même ses pensées ne tournent qu’autour de Becca et un peu de Max. Bon, ce n’est pas tellement dérangeant à la lecture mais, sur ce coup là, l’auteur aurait quand même pu développer un peu.

La fin est peu surprenante mais, durant tout le livre on ne fait que se poser des questions sur ce qui a bien pu arriver à Becca. Je pense que c’est vraiment cela qui rend ce livre aussi addictif. Je l’ai lu en quelques heures seulement et n’ai pu le lâcher qu’une fois que je l’ai eu terminé. L’auteur arrive habilement à nous faire douter de l’avenir de cette jeune fille et réussi à faire en sorte que l’on veuille vraiment savoir le fin mot de l’histoire.

Dans l’ensemble c’est un bon livre jeunesse et, malgré les quelques point négatifs que j’ai pu relever, il se lit très bien et très facilement, le style est très agréable et fluide. L’auteur manie bien sa plume pour nous entrainer là où elle le veut. Il s’y trouve quelques réflexions sur la vie et la mort, assez simplistes mais, qui ont leurs places dans cette histoire. Très bien pour faire réfléchir les ados et assez légères pour ne pas être plombantes.
J’ai été étonnée de voir ce livre édité chez Harlequin, je ne suis pas franchement au courant de leurs collections mais, ce livre n’est pas tourné essentiellement sur la romance et ne suit pas les clichés schématiques des romans Harlequin en général.
La couverture pleine de pep’s m’a semblée en contraste avec son contenu. On suit quand même une adolescente avec qui les autres ne sont pas tendres, qui s’en prend plein la tête avec une histoire qui aborde des thèmes assez douloureux, tel que la disparition d’un être cher.

Ce livre, même s’il n’est pas extraordinaire, m’a laissé un souvenir agréable et j’ai passé un bon moment en sa compagnie. Il est quand même plutôt tourné jeunesse alors, on lui pardonne ses petits points négatifs. (less)

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Apr 06, 2013 Me123me1 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow, bloody wow.

it was just mind blowingly awesome.

Its a book I think every teenager needs to read.

Its about a girl, who for her senior year goes to boarding school, but the spot that opened up so she could get in was because a girl that everyone idolized went missing.

It was kind of a mid kaboom. It was really well thought out and structured with the way that everything planed out.

It really looks into the minds of teenagers today.

Because when something tragic does happen to someone, everyo...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Bibliojunkies added it

You’ve got her room. You’ve got her boyfriend. Are you walking in a dead girl’s shoes?

I’m New Girl. Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed because of her. Becca Normandy – that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy.

And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault. Except for M...more You’ve got her room. You’ve got her boyfriend. Are you walking in a dead girl’s shoes?

I’m New Girl. Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed because of her. Becca Normandy – that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy.

And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault. Except for Max Holloway – the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken, At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend … but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be, And may be she’s still out there, waiting to take it back.

Paige Harbison has created a very engrossing world in New Girl. Upon her arrival at Manderly, our heroine is immediately cast as the New Girl – the less than worthy replacement for Becca Normandy. Her new roommate (and Becca’s old roommate) is immediately hostile to her. Every one on campus is either cold towards her or suspicious of her. It appears that Becca had cast such a spell over the student body of Manderly that the New Girl is instantly reviled and treated as an imposter.

I like how Harbison has the chapters weave in and out from the New Girl’s first person perspective to Becca’s third person perspective. It's done so effectively and seamlessly that it wasn’t until close to the end of the book that I realized that I didn’t even know New Girl’s name! This particular ploy is brilliant because it allows you to truly feel the lack of identity and isolation she experiences at Manderly. It’s an overwhelming feeling especially when you read of Becca’s time at Manderly and wonder how she managed to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes for an entire year. If anything I grew to really despise Becca – there is nothing redeeming about this very narcissistic, manipulative and vengeful girl. I was hoping for someone to take her down. It's amazing with how much I hated her, she didn't ruin the story for me. Instead her storyline only solidified my empathy and high opinion of New Girl and I rooted for her throughout.

Seriously, reading New Girl is like watching a very twisted soap opera where you’re yelling at the screen (as if the actors can hear you), wondering why on earth no one has caught on to what’s happening. It’s addictive and suspenseful. Yep if you eat up the ridiculousness that is Gossip Girl, and are a fan of Veronica Mars (my personal favorite), you’ll definitely enjoy New Girl! … Oh and I was completely caught off guard when New Girl’s name was mentioned at the end!

~ Bel

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Jun 24, 2012 Andrea Guy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, ebook, netgalley, young-adult, suspense, gothic

This was an interested plot for a YA novel. It reads like an old gothic novel, yet it is set in the present day.

I liked the book but in the same time I was disturbed by it.

Likes:

1. The plot moves along quickly and it kept me interested.

2. I really liked "The New Girl" though I have to say it made no sense that Paige didn't give her an actual name until the end. WTF is up with that?

3. There can never be too many gothic novels. They are always so fun, cheesy and over dramatic, and let's face facts...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: hey-i-just-met-you-this-is-crazy, wish-i-hadnt

I just had to read this, didn't I? Okay. I had a really long-winded review for this book all typed up but, though I was just being honest, I felt like it was really harsh and I don't enjoy bashing books so rudely because the beauty of literature is that a book can appeal to one person for the same reason it can make someone else want to vomit for the rest of forever. On the off chance anyone is actually interested in reading my original review I'll send it to you but really all I feel the need t...more

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May 09, 2012 Sara Thompson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

I read a review about this book which prompted me to request it from NetGalley. I’m so glad I did. New Girl is a re-telling of Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. I have never read Rebecca nor was I familiar with the story so I thought it would be a fun way to discover a classic and I would have no pre-conceived ideas of how the plot should go. The other thing I knew about the book was there was a twist at the ending. I had expected more of a twist than I got. That’s not to say it was a bad ending or t...more I read a review about this book which prompted me to request it from NetGalley. I’m so glad I did. New Girl is a re-telling of Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. I have never read Rebecca nor was I familiar with the story so I thought it would be a fun way to discover a classic and I would have no pre-conceived ideas of how the plot should go. The other thing I knew about the book was there was a twist at the ending. I had expected more of a twist than I got. That’s not to say it was a bad ending or twist but my overactive imagination was sure there was something so unexpected going to happen like the “New Girl” turned out to be Rebecca and everyone was playing along with her fantasy but it was nothing like that. The only twist is that you find out what really happened to Rebecca and it’s not that much of a twist. The story was great. I could not put the book down. I devoured it in hours (which always leaves me unsatisfied because it’s over). The main character’s name is not revealed until the last page or so which makes describing the book a little tricky. The “new girl” is accepted to Manderley, a private boarding school in New Hampshire. She has spent her whole life in a small town in Florida and is stunned to learn she will be spending her senior year at a boarding school she had been interested in years prior. She’s not that excited to go. She gets to the school to find that she is “replacing” Becca who mysteriously disappeared at the end of the last school year. The book flips between the new girl’s story and Becca’s. There’s not a lot of “plot” in this book but it’s an interesting picture into the life of the New Girl. I enjoyed her journey through her senior year. It wasn’t easy and yet her character remained believable. The circumstances remained believable. Sometimes it’s nice to just experience someone else’s life and that’s what New Girl really is. She’s not perfect but she’s not overly flawed, just human. She’s in a bad situation but doesn’t let that stop her from succeeding. It was nice to see her struggle and the awkwardness she felt as she changed. I think it’s a great book for young women to read. It’s probably too “girly” for boys but it’s still a great story to experience.
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Apr 09, 2012 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Book Title: New Girl

Author: Paige Harbison

Published By: Harlequin teen

Genre: Young Adult

Recommended Age: +13

Reviewed By: Emily Tuley / AngelsCryHavoc

Blog Reviewed For: Great Minds Think Aloud Literary Community

Rating: 3 Ravens

A very interesting coming of age story that allows the reader to see the perspective of both girls through their eyes, The one where it seems the old girl is not being let go and the new girls is not being accepted the odd similarities of them both and the fact that no matt...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Felicia Chien rated it 5 of 5 stars

Book: New Girl by Paige Harbison
Pages: 314
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Source: Sent from Harlequin Teen

Short Synopsis: Callie had always wanted to go to a private school ever since reading the Harry Potter novels. But when she didn't get in the first time she applied, her parents kept trying. Now a senior at a public school Callie loves, her parents tell her she's finally been accepted to Manderly Academy, and Callie doesn't have the heart to tell her parents she doesn't want to go.

My Thoughts: A...more Book: New Girl by Paige Harbison
Pages: 314
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Source: Sent from Harlequin Teen

Short Synopsis: Callie had always wanted to go to a private school ever since reading the Harry Potter novels. But when she didn't get in the first time she applied, her parents kept trying. Now a senior at a public school Callie loves, her parents tell her she's finally been accepted to Manderly Academy, and Callie doesn't have the heart to tell her parents she doesn't want to go.

My Thoughts: A very unique story, with a little bit of everything all rolled into one great package.

Callie fell in love with the idea of going to an awesome private school when she read Harry Potter. After being rejected the first time, Callie hadn't bothered with the thought at all. But as senior year rolls around, with a great public school, and a best friend, Callie's perfect life is about to be turned upside down, when her parents tell her that she's been accepted to Manderly Academy for the completion of her senior year.
Callie doesn't want to go, but can't tell her parents no, when they feel so excited for her. And as soon as she gets to Manderly, she's automatically dubbed as 'the new girl.' And what's worse, are all the rumors flying around, about Manderly's own student Becca, who had mysteriously disappeared a couple months back, allowing Callie to take her place. And if things weren't bad enough, Callie also takes Becca's old bed, and roommate.
On top of it all, Callie also starts to have feelings for one boy in particular. Max Holloway, also known as Becca's ex. Callie knows that she should stay away from Max, but can't. Especially when everyone seems to be comparing Callie to Becca, Callie knows that she should be careful. But as rumors start spreading around about Max and Becca's past, Callie is caught in the middle of it all, with no idea of how to handle the situation. Can Callie survive senior year at Manderly and still have the relationship that she and Max so desperately want?

A definitely interesting turn of events in this fast paced, unique romance story. Told into two points of view of Becca's past, and Callie's present, we as readers get to experience being at Manderly Academy, along side both girls.
The one major thing that I didn't really get was Becca's character. Harbison does an excellent job of really disliking Becca. She's conniving, untrustworthy, a blackmailer, unfaithful, and yet, everyone at Manderly seemed to love her so much. And even though Becca does somehow redeem herself in the end, I still didn't understand why everyone felt that she was so special and so great when she was so awful to so many people.
I loved reading about the relationship between Max and Callie. But I didn't like that everyone was comparing Callie to Becca, and was extremely glad that Callie didn't follow in Becca's footsteps of the love triable of Max and Johnny. There were also a couple things I didn't get as well. I didn't understand how even though Becca was dead, that she was still able to connect with Callie, unless Harbison implied that Becca was a spirit? And I also felt that Callie and her best friend from back home broke off years of their friendship over a guy, and that Callie's best friend didn't believe her. Overall, a great fast paced, entertaining read, that had me greedily wanting more. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Would I recommend this book: Yes

Rating: I give this book a 4.5/5.(less)

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Feb 23, 2012 Gina (My Precious) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary

New Girl
BY PAIGE HARBISON

Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (January 31, 2012)
Length: 320 Pages, Hardcover
Format: E-ARC
Source: Netgalley.com
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Series: No
Completed: February 2012
Challenges: 2012 2nds Challenge, 2012 E-book Challenge, 2012 Completely Contemp Challenge, 2012 Outdo Yourself Challenge, 2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge

SUMMARY

What happens when you are uprooted from your high school your senior year and shipped off to a prestigious boarding school thousands of mi...more

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