Cover Image: The New Girl

The New Girl

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Member Reviews

This was so drama drama drama and I don't think it was done very well. I think it was very over the top and just was not realistic when it came to teens and decisions they made. I think yes teens can have drama and etc, but this was just too much.

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I love a YA thriller and it's so fun to see Sutanto continue to write them. This was a nice follow up to The Obsession, but I don't think they need to be read in order. I also really enjoyed the dark academia aspect to it. Had a great time.

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Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoyed The Obsession so I was looking forward to The New Girl. I enjoyed this a lot, and really liked that it was a fast paced read. I found this to be quite an interesting concept, it just needed to be fine tuned a little bit. I liked that there were some really unexpected moments in this. However, the characters were somewhat unbelievable and I found it hard to relate to them for the most part.

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Predictable but still fun teen whodunnit set in one of my favorite YA locations: a super duper fancy prep school for super duper fancy rich kids. Yes, you will totally be able to figure out what is happening about halfway through but is still worth picking up as a beach read or a fun "brain candy" kind of book.

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Prestigious boarding school, new girl on a scholarship, jealousy, intrigue, bullying, and a sense that all that glitters isn't gold... The New Girl by Jesse Q Sutanto doesn't deliver much "new" for someone who has been around the block a time or two, but the target audience very much seems to be on the younger end of YA (13-17 would be my suggestion) and for them it should hold up pretty well!
As I am clearly not the target audience, I will give the book a solid 3/5 and hand it off to my 14 year old who will surely find the characters more relatable and the drama less over-dramatic than I did.

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I adore Sutanto's thrillers, and this was no exception—gripping, character-driven drama.. Couldn't put it down!

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This was a chilling thriller and I loved it! It was so different than her Aunties series and I really enjoyed it. The characters were entertaining and the writing really sucked me in from the beginning.

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Oh, I really enjoyed reading these books! I actually got both of these books as ARCs before they were released, but they kinda slipped my mind-until her Dial A for Aunties books brought them to my attention. And I'm so glad that they did, they were so thrilling and entertaining!

These are both set at Draycott Academy. The Obsession came out first, but The New Girl was set beforehand, the drama that was referenced about the previous year. And we briefly see Logan at the beginning of New Girl, what with the taking away of his first female obsession, Sophie.

Both of these books have some pretty rage-inducing scenarios. A parent's significant other being abusive, but also a cop. A stalker. Rich, privileged girls who don't like the space you're taking at the school, and the methods of bullying. A corrupt school. Urgh!

I felt for the both of these girls, they were just both in awful situations. Some of their responses to these situations is technically and morally wrong, but it was against these awful people, and it was so great to see them get some comeuppance! They were both really satisfying mystery thrillers!

Loved reading these books and I can't wait to read more by Jesse Q. Sutanto!

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I have a lot of thoughts. I'm honestly unsure if I'm going to keep this at three stars or drop it later. This is for a number of reasons I examine later.

First off, murder is bad, but I get why all this happened the way it happened. I think the circumstances through which Jesse Q. Sutanto examines moral greyness and murder are interesting and often complex. What felt frivolous in Dial A, felt inevitable here for a number of reasons - adults unwilling to help and listen, bullies who don't mind destroying people to make themselves feel bigger, and terrible, terrible rage.

I really liked the first half of the book. I felt like I was buried in Lia's anxiety. Between the bullying, the fear of getting kicked out, and the need to make sure she never does, there was a lot of pressure on her. Plus, being the fish out of water really affected how she got on with a much richer crowd, who saw her as valuable as the dirt beneath her shoes. The way her anxiousness is captured was fantastic and immersive. While that was maintained through the second half of the book, I found her oscillating more between what was necessary, what she wanted, and what was justified and I couldn't say that I agreed with her as much on a lot of points, but I also understood why and that made the descent somehow worse.

I found the way this book examined a broken, classist system to be very interesting. The system was rigged against Lia before she even stepped onto campus, but the way it kept failing her at every turn was infuriating and it made everything that came later justified. I wanted to yell at her to say something, to do something different, but as Lia said, they all made their choices.

In the end, I was disappointed by the second half and how it all fell apart. I'm not sure what I had expected, but this felt the same as my disappointment and conflicted feelings around the finale of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. I understood, but I couldn't support it. It definitely made me think though, so here we are.

All in all, I loved the Indonesian rep and the inclusion of Lia and Danny enjoying and basking in their culture together. This wasn't the book I had been expecting, but I enjoyed it well enough. If you're into thrillers and people trying to think their way out of bad situations, this is a good book to pick up. As with Dial A, it wasn't the writing that turned me off, but specific plot points themselves that weren't for me.

Rep: Half Native Indonesian, Half Chinese Indonesian FMC, Chinese Indonesian MMC, lesbian secondary character

TW: classism, bullying, racism, inter-racial racism, drugs, overdose, death, cyberbullying, physical assault, injury detail, vomit; mentions HP, eating disorder

Plot: 2.5/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Pacing: 3/5
Overall: 3/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.

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I found this one to be a bit of a try-hard. There are too many elements. The plot is all over the place and the concepts aren't properly integrated. Not engaging enough to be worth the effort.

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I am not sure why but it felt likes I had read this book before. The entire time I was reading it I was having de ja vu. Still don't know what other book I read that made me feel like that. But I liked this book a tiny bit more than The Obsession.

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Great book and enjoyed the characters . loved the slight romance and the how well the group worked together. Overall a great book . I would read this author again.

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This book ended up being a DNF. Rating is based solely on the content I did read. I ultimately found the pacing and development of the story and/or characters not engaging enough to continue on and finish the complete book.

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THE NEW GIRL was a good book. Sutanto is one of my favorite authors but I just don't think YA is really for me. Loved the dark academia and mystery vibes but the book read really young to me. If I was ten or more years older I think I would've loved this book.

Rating: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4).

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

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Boarding school ✔️ mean girls ✔️ scandals ✔️ not knowing who you can trust ✔️ Dark Academia- absolutely.

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If there is one thing I love, it is a book set in a boarding school. I think this one was just a little too camp for me. It kind of reminded me a watching an episode of Sabrina- where things start off somewhat believable and then quickly land in far-fetched land.

The main character has never fit in and wants to prove herself. She's never really fit in. She sees a girl being taken but everyone else is acting like it didn't happen. Weird stuff keeps happening (think Pretty Little Liars) You know really know what's going on, but it keeps getting ridiculous. I enjoyed it enough, but it wouldn't be at the top of my list to recommend to a friend.

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Sorry I DNFed this one. Loved the Obession and was excited to get this one, it just didn't keep me interested in the story.

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Review of ‘The New Girl’, by Jesse Q. Sutanto

This boarding school story started interestingly enough, with Lia starting the year on a scholarship at an exclusive school for kids from very, very rich families. But this is definitely not your Enid Blyton boarding school. On account of their every whim being acquiesced to, there is just so much drama at this boarding school. Like, incredible, jaw-grinding amounts, especially in the first half of the book. And this review is being written by someone who is toughing through the last seasons of Riverdale just because I want to know how it all ends (and also because I love the acting and the outfits, but that’s a conversation for another day). It really felt too over the top at times; there is a line between making a point that there is a lot of drama in a school versus actually including way too much angst and drama into the pages of a book. I did find myself rolling my eyes many a times.

The second half of the book was focused on the unfolding of a mystery and its culmination into Lia having to literally run for her life. Her decisions are quite bad and get worse with time. She seems to be unable to learn from her mistakes and sinks into her rage. I guess this could be a lesson in the effects of a toxic school culture on anyone. And I guess it could be a good read, if the drama from the beginning of the book was cut at least by half, and replaced instead with some insightful commentary on the effects of this toxic culture on Lia and how she is going to be able to get through the year without it affecting her morals. The resolution was also a little troubling and I had a hard time wrapping my brain around it.

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Publisher synopsis:

Lia Setiawan has never really fit in. When she wins a full ride to the prestigious Draycott Academy on a track scholarship, she's determined to make it work even though she's never felt more out of place. But on her first day there she witnesses a girl being forcefully carried away by campus security. Her new schoolmates and teachers seem unfazed, but it leaves her unsure of what she's gotten herself into. As she uncovers the secrets of Draycott, complete with a corrupt teacher, a golden boy who isn't what he seems, and a blackmailer determined to get her thrown out, she's not sure if she can trust anyone--especially when the threats against her take a deadly turn.

Review: I really wanted to like this book - I love a good school story and a bit of mystery. This one felt like it a bit too much for me and I didn't really connect to Lia - I don't connect to the sporty side of characters. I did enjoy the diversity and representation in this book but overall fell flat for me. 3/5 stars.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my free digital copy.

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Wow! I am obsessed, this was thrilling and page turning. I loved the pace and the characters which were well rounded and felt real!

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