New Girl – Book
Review
Paige Harbison
YA Contemporary
Synopsis:
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:
‘New
Girl’ is a contemporary retelling of Daphne DuMarurier’s classic novel, ‘Rebecca’ which I read years ago and
thoroughly enjoyed. Therefore I was particularly interested to see how Paige
Harbison’s new version would compare and I can honestly say that it was pretty
amazing. While keeping all the key elements of the original story, Harbison
manages to put her own individual spin on the tale making ‘New Girl’ a really intriguing read.
The story begins when our main
character (who remains unnamed until literally the very end!) is accepted into
Manderley Academy, a prestigious boarding school that she dreamed of attending
back when she was 11. However now 17 and about to start her senior year of high
school, leaving behind her friends and family is the last thing she wants but,
unable to disappoint her parents – she puts on a smile and accepts the offered
place.
However when she arrives at the academy, her fellow students
are not nearly as warm and welcoming as she had hoped for. Instantly dubbed as
the ‘new girl’, our main character soon discovers that her spot at the school
only opened up due to the disappearance of another girl – Becca Normandy.
Loved and popular, Becca Normandy was the centre of all
things cool at Manderly Academy, but nobody wants to know the ‘New Girl’ who’s
replacing her. Everything New Girl does, she finds herself compared to Becca
and always falling short – But when New Girl lands herself Becca’s old
boyfriend Max, the school erupts in rumours as everyone tries to discover what
really happened the night Becca disappeared…
A year apart, the
story is told through the dual perspectives of both Becca and New Girl as they
go through and experience the same things and situations in Manderly Academy. The
plot – despite a few plot holes and slight ‘not sure that would really happen
moments - is packed full of intrigue and suspense as every events leads up to
finding the truth of what really happened the night Becca disappeared.
The characters themselves were also really interesting. New Girls
roommate was sufficiently creepy, and Becca herself was as selfish but relatable
villain. The romance however, between New Girl and Max didn’t really work for
me – mostly as I found Max quite shallow in the beginning and for someone who
supposedly doesn’t care what people think – he really dragged New Girl into a
strange on/off relationship.
The ending though I thought was brilliant and ver cleverly done. It certainly put a satisfying end to the book and has put Paige Harbison on my 'authors to watch' list. Mysterious, suprising and all in all a great retelling, 'New Girl' was an intriguing read. 3 1/2 stars!
Interview:
1) What gave you the idea for NEW GIRL and how
long did it take you to write?
Watching Hitchcock movies, remembering
about Rebecca, and thinking: a girl
is jealous of a girl and it’s fuelled by her interest in a guy? High school! I also wanted to delve into the
obsessive compulsion teenagers have when it comes to tragedies involving their
peers. If someone goes missing, dies, gets pregnant or anything at all, they
obsess. It took me about a year from the very start to the very finish.
2) While writing, did your characters behave
as you wanted them to or did they ever change the direction of the story?
Oh absolutely they changed the direction.
When I write, I plan out a couple of points I mean to hit along the way, but I
completely let the characters and the scenes drive themselves. If a guy and a
girl is arguing, I let them say the things they’d really say, wounding or not.
So a girl says something she doesn’t mean to the guy and he ends it. I might
have intended that, but as the dialogue crescendos, I just let it go where it
wants.
3) What was the biggest challenge you faced
when writing NEW GIRL?
Writing the main character. She was based
on, of course, the main character in Rebecca,
who was unreasonably meek and spineless. I had to translate that quality to a
modern day girl who you wouldn’t want to slap. And at times you still do want
to shake my character and say, “stand up for yourself!” But she doesn’t,
because she’s real. How many times have we all looked back and wished we done
things differently or realized how much we let someone walk all over us? It’s
the same for my characters.
4) Can you tell us anything about any
new/future writing projects of yours?
I am working on my next book now. I can’t
say too much, but that it delves into the friendship between two girls that
become driven apart by their own personal fears made worse by a boy and a
discovery in a creepy shop.
5) And finally, what was the best piece of
advice you received back when you were still an aspiring writer?
I never really aspired to be one, actually.
It just kind of happened. I started writing Here
lies Bridget, title and all, and the next thing I knew, I was a writer. But
my mother, New York Times bestselling author Beth Harbison, certainly gave me
advice once I was on the road. Most of it was in the form of her reading my
books and making notes saying, “This part is stupid.” That’s the advice I took
away: recognise when something you write is dumb and unrealistic.
