31 January 2012

Review: New Girl by Paige Harbison

Posted by Meghan @ Books and a Cup of Tea at 12:00 AM


  Title: New Girl                                              Pages: 304
  Author: Paige Harbison                             Source: Netgalley
  Publisher: Harlequin Teen                        Published: January 31, 2012
  Series: N/A                                                   Purchase: Amazon
They call me '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 maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back.
New Girl is the kind of novel I live for - mystery thrillers - and it lived up to my expectations.

"New Girl," as the main heroine is called for almost the whole novel, was wonderful. She handled her situation beautifully. I mean, if everyone was claiming I was trying to take someone's place and everywhere I went I could feel everyone's hatred and whispers? Yeah, I'd have broken down many times over and would have been gone before you could blink an eye.

"New Girl" however, stood her ground. That is not to say she didn't break down and want to leave. But the point is she didn't leave. She stayed and she dealt with the situation and eventually, she made her own name shine, instead of being in Becca's shadow.

Now Becca, she was entirely messed up. She was manipulative and used her sexuality and looks to get what she wanted. I loved her at first, but when her true colors started to show, I began to really dislike her. She was such a great character, however, that I really ended up liking her in the end, despite her flaws. She just wanted people to love her for who she thought she should be, but what she didn't realize was that people loved her for who she actually was. I felt extremely bad for her, but I really liked how everything played out for her.

The writing was lyrical and poignant at times, but mostly simple. Paige Harbison paints a clear picture in your head of the school's campus and inside.

The plot was fantastic. I couldn't wait to figure out where Becca had gone and what "New Girl's" name was. I felt that the middle dragged on quite a bit, though, in "New Girl's" chapters with no progress in the mystery. I was anxious to get through her chapters and to Becca's, where it seemed the story would pick up quite a bit again. The end picks up again, too, and I liked how everything played out.

Overall, I really loved New Girl. There were moments in the middle that seemed to drag the story, but nothing to make me lose interest. I highly recommend to fans of the contemporary and mystery thriller genres and fans of the classic story, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, which New Girl is based off of.

Pass or Read? Definitely read this one!

Cover thoughts: I love it. It's gorgeous! The font is amazing, the colors are amazing, that girl looks amazing. Need I say it's amazing? :)


2 comments:

Celine on January 31, 2012 at 2:21 PM said...

Great review Meghan! I never really knew what this book was about, but now I do. It sounds like a good read.

Thank you for stopping by at my blog (:

Jasmine Rose on February 1, 2012 at 1:20 PM said...

Lovely review :] I've been wondering about this one, but haven't seen too many reviews. I'll definitely be picking this one up soon.

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