Harriet Walker's The New Girl is a book for fans of A Simple Favor or Everyone Knows How Much I Love You. Dubbed a mix of The Devil Wears Prada and Single White Female, this book explores the role of jealousy in female relationships, and how that jealousy can push an individual to do unspeakable things.

Margot has a seemingly perfect life, and when Maggie covers for her maternity leave, all that Maggie covets seems within reach. No one, however, is perfect, and there's always danger in wanting what isn't yours to have.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

The New Girl, on the surface, refers to a temp who replaces a woman on maternity leave. The temp ends up loving the job and wanting to stay.
What makes this book unique is the fact "the new girl" refers to three different girls. First, there's the temp I've mentioned, Second, there's a new girl in the high school in a flashback. Third, a young girl is re-made by deftly applied make-up and hair styles, thus she feels like a new girl inside.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for permitting me to read this.

This was too women’s fiction for me - pregnancy, fashion, someone with a secret. Once I figured out that there was nothing “Hitchcockian” about it I went to the last chapter. I’m glad I skipped most of the book because that last chapter confirmed my impression that this book wasn’t for me. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

After reading this book, I decided the glamour of fashion magazine publishing might not be so great. Maturnity leave brings in Maggie to fill Margot's position. Margot thinks Maggie is no threat and Margot will be welcomed back. It turns out differently as this book about friendships and insecurities unfolds. Its a book that keep readers engrossed to the very last page.

Who is The New Girl? Is it Maggie, the girl who takes over Haute fashion editor Margot's position during her maternity leave? Is it Margot's new baby girl? Or is it the wisp of a memory, the classmate who almost torched the friendship of Margo and her best friend Winnie when they were 16 - to dire consequences?

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because most of this novel can only be described at taut - taut with tension, longing, jealousy, rage, grief. Female friendships become complicated as our characters navigate careers, children, husbands and unexpected loss.

What I loved - The New Girl highlighted how much we can live inside our own heads, making things bigger, worse, more dangerous with our thinking than they actually are.

What I did not love - the ending. Not only were there too few clues as to what may happen, but the friendship angle of the 3 women was tied up too neatly. The thoughts these women have towards one another vacillate too far from one end to the other to have everything settle the way it did. The bow tied too neatly.

Thank you Netgalley for this preview of a novel that kept me at the edge of my seat until (almost) the very end.

It took me awhile to get into this one. I think it was because the two main characters had the same birth name. Even though one went by Margot and the other Maggie. I had to constantly try to figure out who was who. I liked the writing style and thought it well done for a debut novel. I expected it to be a little more Single White Female. The last 15-20% had me hooked. I didn’t expect the big reveal to go the way it did but I’m glad the author went that way.

Although the writing style was good and it surprised me, the plot didn't, kind of, get me right. At some points I thought it was a bit boring, but I managed to finish it!

Women know that in spite of all the advances they have made toward professional equality, they still risk falling behind by taking maternity leave. Margot is terrified she will find herself replaced in her much-loved and high-power job editing a leading fashion magazine. She helps pick her stand-in, someone she thinks will be grateful and loyal. But is The New Girl really loyal?

She loved sharing her pregnancy with her best friend Winnie. Sadly, Winnie’s boy is born stillborn. She doesn’t want to talk to Margot, refuses all contact, but sends her a picture of the dead baby. Margot is devastated for her friend and feels guilty when her beautiful baby girl is born. Now someone is harassing her with hostile messages, referencing a nightmarish incident from high school, an incident that cemented her relationship with Winnie, perhaps in an unhealthy way.

I enjoyed The New Girl though her fear and guilt about the past seem disproportionate to the event. However, I ascribed it to hormones. Despite the break down between Margot and Winnie and her increasing distrust of Maggie, this really is a story about friendship more than it’s a thriller. There is true jeopardy, but forgiveness and friendship remain the heart of the story.

I received an e-galley of The New Girl from the publisher through NetGalley.

The New Girl at Ballantine Books | Penguin Random House

Harriet Walker on Twitter

This book was ok, not great. It felt very repetitive and not much happened for most of the book, the ending picked up and provided resolution.

I was really excited about this one, given the description, but didn't quite connect with the characters or the story. It's clever and the writing is good, I'm not sure whether it was just a case of wrong timing for me to read this, but I think it would appeal to readers who like authors such as Liane Moriarty or something a little darker in that vein, too.

This was an enjoyable read which was more women’s fiction in my opinion. It is full of drama with a twist. Cleverly crafted and well written.
Many thanks to Ballantine Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The New Girl has 3 POVs: Margot, who is the Fashion Editor of Haute Magazine. Maggie, the woman Margot herself chose to be her maternity cover. The third is Margot’s longtime friend, Winnie, who suffers a terrible loss.


You can tell that Walker has experience in the fashion editing world and it was pretty fascinating to get a little glimpse into that world while reading this book. If you're into fashion or journalism/editing at all, I think this could be an interesting read for you.

The biggest thing that kept leaping out at me while reading The New Girl, is how crucial a part social media can play in our lives and mental health. How we can misinterpret the meaning of our friends’ posts, how we can hurt others with what we post, and how we might think their lives are totally different than they really are. Don’t assume you know what is really going on in someone's life, especially based off of a social media post. I liked that these were incorporated into this story, because I know that this really is how Social Media can make people feel: hurt, envious, suspicious, even when it's not what we intend.

Social media was making Margot envious of Maggie, Maggie envious of Margot, and Margot paranoid and suspicious of her childhood friend, Winnie. Margot was going through all the normal hormonal changes of pregnancy, and social media helped to feed her insecurities. She had also become obsessed with checking Maggie and Winnie’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds.

A few quotes for examples:

After logging into Facebook while still pregnant, Margot was feeling guilty for not closing down her account like her husband had, thinking,” I could discern its effect on my mood after my rare log-ins: vaguely dissatisfied with myself, irked with people on there. Facebook breeds contempt.”

“I knew that nearly 5 months of eerie, loaded silence from Winnie and observing her from the tortured, over-analyzed remove that social media provided, had made me paranoid and suspicious....”

“Between the two women who I felt held the two strands of my identity in their hands, I lost myself for afternoons at a time...”

The New Girl is not a typical thriller, but it touched on many points that I loved. It did have a thrillerish vibe, but also focuses on female friendships, the hardships of being a stay at home mom (even if it is temporary), the hardships of being a working woman in a higher position who wants children, and grief.

If you are a fan of mystery/thrillers and womens fiction, I think you’ll enjoy The New Girl.

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was expecting a thriller and this book was not that. I really think there needs to be a new term for a non-mystery, non-thriller book about possible crimes/creepy behavior/secrets that is not "thriller". Thriller has a connotation of immediacy that most books, including this one, do not have.

That said, I liked the concept and the set up quite a bit. If I wasn't expecting a thriller, I might have enjoyed it more but I felt like I was always waiting for something big to happen.

Margot, the successful and stylish fashion editor for Haute magazine in London, is about to go on maternity leave.
While she's gone, Maggie, who Margot helped choose, will be her replacement.
Margot's best friend Winnie, also pregnant, has just lost her baby, and goes into seclusion.
And to Margot's dismay, Maggie seems to be doing such a good job at work, she already feels forgotten.
On top of everything, Margot is being harassed by a cyberstalker who is posting some vitriolic comments online.
Tension mounts, as do Margo's insecurities. Will a dark secret from her past, finally come to light?
Part women's fiction and part thriller, this absorbing look into the fashion world was highly enjoyable. It kept me on edge until the exciting conclusion.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

I *think* this is supposed to be a psychological thriller but it certainly doesn't feel that way. Overall, this was a decent read - the three main characters are realistic and relatable. Rather than a "thriller" this is more creepy and suspenseful - the reality that someone can try to swoop in and try to take over your life is frightening. The focus on motherhood, female relationships and the myth of "having it all" makes this an engrossing, fast-paced read.

While The New Girl started off slow, I had a feeling it would pick up and it did! In the meantime, the descriptions of what really happens behind the scenes at a glossy magazine and the wrangling to be "up front" at fashion shows was an eye opener.

As new mom to be goes out on maternity leave, she recommends a friend of hers who she sees as kind of dowdy and "less than" to take her place for a year as fashion editor. But once on the job, Maggie begins to transform, and becomes a real threat (at least in Margot's mind) to her job. On top of that, Margot's best friend Winnie unfriends her just as someone begins to cyberstalk/cyberbully Margot, until Margot's paranoia begins to worry the people around her.

The second half of the book really picked up and you definitely won't guess what happens next.

Walker's writing is beautifully descriptive and her descriptions of the women's insecurities are palpable!

Amazon review: https://www.amazon.com/review/R3QW82P1GILE2E/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Margot has a pretty great life. She's the fashion editor of a high-class magazine in London, married to a man she loves, close with her best friend, and expecting her first child. However, when her best friend loses a child, her world starts to come crashing down. It continues to fall further as she appoints a maternity replacement for her job and begins her first year of motherhood.

This a great suspense novel that will keep you guessing until the very end.

What a mashup of a story - ugly duckling to swan crossed with new mom fears, insecurities and anxieties, and a thriller all in one! That being said, it was a very compelling book to read. It Friendship, social media and perception all play a big part in this story. While I did find the start rather tedious and slow, things were building that I only became aware of the deeper in I got. I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Margot and her childhood friend Winnie are both excited to welcome their first born children to the world. Margot taps a freelance fashion writer, Maggie, to fill in for her maternity year. When Winnie's delivery doesn't go as expected, the past comes back to rear it's ugly head. Also rearing it's ugly head it the that Maggie is trying to push Margot out of the job that she loves.

Although this was supposed to be a suspenseful thriller, it just didn't do it for me. The plot seemed to drag, the past wasn't ever really resolved in a satisfactory way and the end was a little too buttoned up and pretty for my liking.

While this title was one I enjoyed, it didn’t feel like a thriller much at all- I think I would’ve been disappointed more if I was a strict thriller reader. Instead, to me this title was more about female relationships and how each is interacting and deals with our days differently.

Margot is the fashion editor at Haute Magazine, and posses everything a girl could every want - style, grace, a fantastic husband, great looks, and a long time best friend who is pregnant at the same time.

As she gears up for maternity leave, with the temporary successor she helps put in place, The New Girl tells us the story of how Margot, her fears and insecurities lead us into a new mother’s paranoia.

Great interwoven characters that seemed to grow off one another. The multiple POVs kept the story going for me at times when the story started to dull. Overall, great read and I really enjoyed the surprising ending!