New Girl, Paige Harbison

I'm IN LOVE with this cover! Gorgeous!

Title: New Girl
Author: Paige Harbison (author website)
Release Date: January 31st 2012 by HarlequinTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery
My Rating:

I was ambivalent about New Girl for a while. Like its main character’s love interest, I ran hot and cold—for a good third of the book. Then it sucked me in, and I was drawn into Manderley’s imposing stone walls, mysteries and social cliques. Not so much a scary tale or mystery, New Girl is a tale of social isolation, manipulation, and identity. So bring your flashlight, because New Girl is a dark little story.

From Goodreads:
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 a...moreThey 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

New Girl book is told from split point of views: The titular ‘New Girl’s first person and Becca Normandy’s third. Two very different characters, starting out in two very similar places.

The new girl I mentioned? That’s all you’re getting for a name. Throughout the story her name remains a mystery, and this little riddle is woven into the book so well, I barely noticed. It’s strips away another of her layers, because that’s what this book is about: Identity. Who you are, who you’re perceived as, who you try to be, or even try not to be.

The book starts out with New Girl (who I’ll refer to as NG from now on, to avoid confusion :D) being shipped off to an exclusive boarding school for her final year at school, and as it progresses, NG seems to lose herself even more in the shadow of the last new girl at the school: Becca Normandy. Pretty, popular, and missing. While she’s not being openly bullied so much, she’s subjected to painful psychological torment. NG starts out seeming slightly whiny, though outwardly stoic, but as the story moves forward, she starts asserting herself. But more than asserting herself througout the novel, she grows to be OK within herself, without lashing out, or telling people how it is. She develops a quiet core of strength that is stable regardless of the cruelty she's subjected to, and I loved watching this side of her grow. She grows to understand that she's worth knowing, she's a good person, and she has the confidence and composure to understand that it doesn't matter what other people think, but what she does.

Becca

NG is great, but oh my, she's not half as compelling as the infamous Rebecca Normandy.
Becca starts at Manderley one year prior to NG, and we’re given the story of the year preceding NG’s in alternating chapters. Now Becca is interesting. Likable? No. But interesting? Oh yes. While it’s never implicitly stated, the fact that Becca Normandy is a textbook psychopath has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Becca manipulates, lies and cheats, but she hides it behind a mask of the perfect popular-girl. She seems friendly and kind, but it’s hiding a deliciously cold, calculating core. As the story of Becca’s year progresses in tandem with NG’s, her web of lies and manipulation unravel. The mystery of her disappearance, as well as the reasons for her classmate’s cruel behaviour towards NG, is slowly revealed, and Harbison handles this artfully. Becca's story and twisted mind was one of my favourite parts of New Girl. Bring on the crazy!

Prince Un-Charming

While New Girl has a lot going for it, it’s certainly not perfect. One of the major plot points in the book is NG and Becca’s shared love interest, Max Holloway. While NG genuinely likes him, Becca sees him as a tool and a pawn. One she’s not afraid to use. Max has obviously been burned, but he sets himself up to be used by Becca by using her, and his behaviour towards NG is on/off, hot/cold, and his capriciousness irritated me. Prince Charming one minute, cold and aloof the next, I found him difficult to like.

Sex, Drugs, and...

New Girl is dark. It’s brimming with teen sex and alcohol and drug use. They’re certainly not glorified, but constantly present. Becca sees these as tools for her manipulations, but NG finds herself caught up in the Manderley student body’s reckless behavior... not that she’s so very unwilling. New Girl is certainly not meant for young teens. The characters in this book are reckless. The sex? Unprotected. The drinking? Out of control. Like I said, not glorified: This is a plot point, and the repercussions are shown.

The Verdict

New Girl is gorgeously written, with lines of prose so beautifully crafted they verge on poetry. It’s a tale of finding one’s identity, and losing it. It’s an unexpectedly dark story, with interesting, though not necessarily likable characters, and while its mystery didn’t quite deliver the tension and menace I’d hoped for, I liked it. New Girl is a dark, psychological story, beautifully written, for older teen readers.

Thank you thank you thank you to HarlequinTEEN Australia for providing a review copy of New Girl!