Book Review : New Girl by Paige Harbison

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Paperback, 320 pages
Published January 31st 2012 by HarlequinTeen (first published January 1st 2012) 
Available on Barnes And Noble:
Paperback $9.49
ISBN 0373210426 (ISBN13: 9780373210428)
 The Queen Bee is missing. Will you be next?
 
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...
Review  

First of all, I apologized for the posting this review after quite some time. I have to say that when I got this book one month ago, I was extremely excited, as it was described as "Gossip Girl meets Mallory Towers with a dash of gothic chill thrown in for good measure!"  

However, to my disappointment, it was nothing like gossip girl, but Mallory Towers, yes. Despite all that, I still think that this is a good book to read.  

"The New Girl" whose name is only mentioned at the end of the book, comes to Manderly Academy for her senior year. It has always been her dream to go to a boarding school. And when her parents finally got her in, she was struck to the fact of leaving everything she used to have behind, especially the things she love. Space is limited at Manderly Academy, so she have to take a spot that recently opened up due to the mysterious disappearance of a student named Becca. 

Rebecca or Becca Normandy had been the “it girl” of the school. She dated the hottest guy, was beautiful, rich and could be friend anyone. This reminds me of Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl, probably why it is described as Gossip Girl meets Mallory Towers. Unfortunately, like all Queen Bees, Becca was not a very nice person. She was manipulative, cruel, and sough the spotlight at any cost.

The thing that stood out the most about this book was the mystery that surrounded the storyline. If Becca is so popular, why did she go missing? How did she go missing? Could someone have forced Becca to disappear? This definitely kept me hooked while reading the book, wanting to know what happened to the mysterious Becca.

The New Girl has nothing to do with Becca, but she has been under Becca's shadow ever since she reached Manderly Academy. She can't help falling for Becca’s ex-boyfriend, Max and Max's best friend, Johnny seemed to be interested in her.  Max was hot and cold towards her that she was confused about the way he acted.

Switching between Callie and Becca’s points of view makes the story much more interesting and allows the reader a look into Becca’s mind, explaining her motivation for the things she did. This book is a good mystery and would be perfect for an audience of teen girls.

If you're a fan of Mystery and Suspense, I would recommend this book to you. To me, New Girl was one of those books that you'd either love it or hate it. I take no sides and rate it 3/5.
 

Rating: 3   

About The Author

Paige Harbison grew up on the outskirts of Washington D.C. and is the daughter of New York Times Bestselling author Beth Harbison. Paige is currently working toward her Bachelor's Degree at Towson University in Baltimore, MD.