Guest Review: New Girl – Paige Harbison

New Girl by Paige Harbison
Series:
Release Date:  January 31, 2012
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Page Count:  320
Source:  NetGalley
Buy the book at: Amazon 

A contemporary young-adult retelling inspired by the classic 1938 romantic suspense bestseller Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

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.

Callie is a bright, blond, happy teenager about to start her senior year at the Florida high school she’s been attending with all her childhood friends.  Instead, her parents surprise her with the news that she was accepted into a prestigious boarding school called Manderley that she had been obsessed with her freshman year but forgotten about since.  Although less than thrilled, she puts on a brave face and pretends to be excited about leaving sunny Florida for chilly New Hampshire, away from everything she knows.

She’s a fish out of water at the new school, and quickly realizes she’s in for more than she anticipated.  She was able to get into the exclusive school because the summer before, one of the most popular students, Rebecca Normandy, or Becca, went missing.  Callie’s new roommate Dana, is unwelcoming and unstable while she attempts to deal with the loss of her best friend.  The other students are obsessed with Becca too, and Callie never hears the end of it.  She can’t help but be compared to Becca, they are both blond and pretty, both lived in the same room and were both the “”new girl”” for their first year.  When Callie meets Max, Becca’s ex-boyfriend, she becomes interested in him and the rumors fly.  The constant comparison to Becca starts to wreak havoc on Callie’s self-confidence but she remains strong throughout the book.  Over Christmas break, Callie realizes she’d be just as out of place if she returned home and she starts to embrace her ability to adapt and grow in new surroundings.

The name of the school, Manderley is a nod to the Daphne Du Maurier book Rebecca, where the setting is a mysterious and haunting estate of the same name. In that book, the main character is a young woman who is the second wife of a rich and absent husband, still broken by the death of his first wife Rebecca.  Rebecca lingers in every inch of the estate and becomes larger than life.  And just like in that story, this new girl is trying to fit in at a place where she’s a replacement for a much loved other girl.  The narrative switches back and forth from Callie to Becca and we start to see that Becca is not the golden girl that she is remembered as, but a troubled and destructive person who lies to her friends to create the illusion of a wonderful life.  The mystery of her disappearance is revealed just as the school year winds down.

This novel kept my interest, the allusion to the Du Maurier book was clever but not too similar to the original.  The mystery of Becca was intriguing, but there was more plot development around her than needed, which made the story move very slow.  Becca kept proving herself to be an extremely flawed and shallow character, and I didn’t need that point driven home quite so hard.  The romances of both Callie and Becca were also a bit forced.  I didn’t quite believe that Max would stay with Becca given the insight to their relationship and I didn’t understand why he wouldn’t commit to Callie since she seemed to be a much more normal and understanding person.  Much of the action happens during after hours parties in the school boathouse and involves a fair amount of drinking, drugs and sex.  Overall though, it was entertaining and a quick, page turning read.  I enjoyed the switching narrative and development of Callie’s character.

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