24 December 2011

New Girl by Paige Harbison

New GirlNew Girl by Paige Harbison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

Sound familiar? It would if you've read Du Maurier's 'Rebecca'. And if you have, you'll love this one!

I finished reading 'New Girl' hours ago and I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it.
It is the kind of book that leaves you feeling confused and disconcerted but fascinated and amazed at the same time.

To begin with, this is the story of a girl (you don't know her name till the end) who's a new student at a prestigious boarding school - Manderly. Being the 'new girl' is hard enough but for this one, it's much much worse as she's filling the shoes of someone else. Someone who went missing the previous year. Everyday she hears whispers and rumors about the 'missing girl' Rebecca Normandy and is haunted by her memories despite having never met her.

I'm not going to elaborate any further on the plot because I feel that not knowing the plot is what made this book brilliant for me. There were times when I was so angry at the characters that I wanted to scream but I still couldn't stop reading. I loved and hated this book. I have to hand it to the Harbison, she's one hell of a writer and is marvelous at keeping you interested.

Sure, there were incidents that were disappointing and frustrating and that's why I'm not giving it 5 stars but it has a certain riveting element that still makes it an awesome read. The story wasn't perfect and like I said there were times I hated the book, but to me, a great book makes you get attached to the characters and I got to know every one of them in this story.

To be clear,'New Girl' made me go on an emotional roller coaster and at the end of it, I loved the ride. It's not even 2012 yet and I'm naming this one of the 'Must-Read' YA books of the year!

My Verdict.

'New Girl' by Paige Harbison is a highly thrilling, suspenseful and captivating novel and trust me, you want to read it.

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  1. I've been wanting to read this for a while! I was too scared to read Du Maurier's Rebecca but for some reason, I want to give New Girl a try! I can't stop looking at the cover! Great review :)

  2. I really can't wait to read this now!