I was ready to pass on this one, but that tagline made me change my mind. “She’s a liar. A cheater. A murderer. And it’s only her first semester.” It made me wonder what kind of person this girl was and what she’d gotten herself into.

The first few chapters spawned plenty of eyerolls with its tropes and drama. Mean girls – check. Hot guy/instalove – check. Rich kids bullying a poor kid – check. I kept hoping something else would happen and not make me regret requesting this book. It was Lia that kept me reading. She’s been raised by a single mom after her dad’s death and doesn’t have any extended family close by. She has dreams for her future, but her only hope of attending college is a track scholarship. The only way to attain that is to graduate from Draycott Academy, but with everything that happens she’s seconds away from being expelled.

Lia’s internal monologue is another reason I kept reading. Witty and sarcastic, she also tends to speak before she thinks, which puts her in some awkward situations. She’s a victim of both in-person bullying and cyber-bullying, but also gets in some quips of her own, and I liked that she didn’t cower in a corner. I did get frustrated with her a few times when she’d be on the verge of discovering a key to the mystery and then back off and let it drop. Her character is smarter than that.

As far as the secrets of Draycott, they don’t spark electrifying moments during the reveals, but there are a couple surprises. Although it comes with tropes, teens with private jets (seriously?), and some eye-rolling moments, The New Girl is a quick and entertaining read. Other reviewers mentioned this book would appeal to fans of Gossip Girl.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Content Warning: Murder, Drug Use, Bullying

This is my second Jesse Q. Sutanto book and I can definitely see a theme with her stories. Murder! The New Girl is a thriller mystery filled with prep school drama filled with beautiful people, brand names, bullies, wealth and drug use.

I love that the main character is half Indonesian and half Chinese-Indonesian. We get to learn some Indonesiand and Chinese-Indo culture. She attends Draycott Academy where the rich kids drive very fancy cars, wear designer clothes, pay for good grades, use drugs and basically do whatever they want. But when Lia gets a mean girl mad by taking her spot on the track team, she has to do everything she can to fight back and keep her spot at the school. And this is when things go haywire.

Lia is not scared, I gotta give her credit for that. She stands up to Mandy, the girl on her track team but that gets Lia into deeper trouble. The story is full of teen drama, scandals and even murder. I’m usually into teenage drama, but there was something about this one that was turning me off at times and I think it’s all the teen speak going on – it just wasn’t working for me.

Pacing was a little off for me also. It started off slow with her meeting a cute boy and falling for him and then it really picks up as the drama between her and a certain teacher begins. Then it gets wild but I felt that way about her other book, Dial A for Aunties. There are some twists and turns, so with a story like this you just have to hang on and enjoy the ride.

FINAL THOUGHTS::
Why you should read it:
*you like ya mystery thrillers that take you on a wild ride
*Lia’s experience being Indonesian and Chinese-Indo
*twists and turns keep you on your toes

Why you might not want to read it:
*slow beginning, fast ending
*lots of rich teen drama
*teen speak wasn’t working for me

My Thoughts:

It took me awhile to get into this book but the twist and turns did keep me intrigued. Also I like the Indonesian and Chinese-Indonesian representation. The book overall wasn’t a book for me because I’m not the right audience for it but I think teen readers would enjoy this one.

Lia Setiawan receives a track scholarship to the prestigious Draycott Academy. On her first day, she sees a girl forcibly removed from campus. Then she suspects something suspicious is going on in her English class. Lia decides to investigate in order to discover the secrets at Draycott.

The book starts off a little slow, but eventually the action picks up. There is a lot going on, especially after one event, where everything snowballs one right after the other. I didn’t completely guess the final twist, although I did suspect something was not quite right.

This book is also full of mean rich kids who bullied Lia in person and on an app. If this is what high school is like nowadays, I am so glad I graduated way before social media and smartphones were a thing.

Lia was a very frustrating character who made a lot of not very smart decisions, but we can chalk that up to her being a teenager who is in way over her head. What I did like about her is that she is very proud of her Chinese-Indonesian heritage and I love that Sutanto put a lot of cultural references into the book. There was also some good social commentary about class and ethnicity, especially the tension between native Indonesians and Chinese-Indonesians that I did not know about.

While this book is a different genre and intended for a YA audience, I much preferred Sutanto’s rom com, Dial A for Aunties, and am anxiously awaiting the sequel. Reviews for her first YA thriller, Obsession, are excellent so I will give that one a try next.

Arriving at Draycott Academy, Lia Setiawan is thrust into a world she is completely unfamiliar with. Draycott is a super prestigious private boarding school on the West Coast, one Lia can only attend due to the full-ride scholarship she has received to run track.

On the first day, Lia's nerves seem to be getting the best of her. She is like a deer in the headlights amongst all the wealthy, confident Draycott students. Track practice doesn't get off to the best start either. The other girls seemed more threatened by Lia's incredible speed, than they are happy to have a new teammate. It doesn't take long before heated words are exchanged and thinly-veiled threats bandied about.

Not all is a loss though. Lia does make a few friends, including a cute boy, Danny, who has a cultural background similar to her own. They share some sweet moments and for a bit, it seems like Draycott won't be all bad. Lia is never given the chance to get too comfortable in her new place, however. Through a rumor-style app known as Draycott Dirt, DD, Lia begins to be incessantly bullied by anonymous classmates.

It's awful and unfortunately, doesn't stop with online torment. Their hurtful comments and behavior continue into the classroom, with teachers doing nothing to stop it. The whole school is a complicated, toxic mess, as far as Lia can tell. Even her English Lit teacher is corrupt. Lia suspects he is giving preferential treatment to certain students, while she is close to failing no matter how hard she works. She needs to pass every class in order to keep her scholarship, but this guy is making it impossible!

The New Girl follows Lia through her tumultuous first days as a Draycott student. I'll tell ya, there's one hell of a learning curve to this Academy. Y'all, this book had me transfixed. It is an absolutely bats#it crazy story, but man, did it keep me engaged!!! I had so much fun trying to figure out what exactly was going on in Draycott.

Sutanto has a great sense of humor, dry and a bit sarcastic, and even when tackling difficult topics that managed to shine through. There's a lot going on in this narrative, but it never felt overly heavy or bogged down in details. It still felt fast-paced and intriguing.

There is a lot of intense depictions of bullying, so beware if that is something that could be triggering for you. It's not for me and even I found it hard to swallow at times. It also explores wealth, privilege, classism, racism and addiction. Even in its craziest moments, I was rooting for Lia the entire time. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with all of her choices, I can appreciate she is just a teen trying to do her best under really difficult circumstances.

She was quite literally stuck between a rock and hard place. She never gave up and I loved that about her character. A lot of people would have thrown in the towel after being treated the way she was at Draycott, but not Lia. It just made her fight that much harder.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who go all in for over-the-top YA Mysteries. Sutanto's got a style all her own and I'm definitely buying what she's selling. Thank you so much to the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity!

I received an e-galley of The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto from Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book this year that I requested from a publisher that is part of a series. I had not read The Obsession but was luckily able to find a copy at my local library. I can now say that you do not need to read The Obsession before you get to The New Girl but it will definitely help as characters from the first book appear in this book. Though to be fair, in order to not spoil anything for yourself, it's probably best to read it in the order that it's published even though the events of The New Girl actually happen 3 years before The Obsession.

Okay, The Obsession is not my usual genre that I tend to gravitate towards. I'm not a huge mystery/thriller fan but I was drawn to this one because I really enjoyed Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto. And after reading that book, I should have had a better idea of what I was going to get into with The New Girl and The Obsession. This series centers on events that occur at Draycott Academy, a prestigious boarding school for the rich. In The New Girl, Lia is the new girl as the novel is aptly named. She's transferred to Draycott on a track scholarship and soon finds herself the target of bullying because of her new track team members. As Lia begins to navigate these trials at her new school, she finds that there is a lot of dark secrets that students and staff are hiding. She soon finds herself finding out these secrets in order to secure her place at school.

The New Girl is so intense and dark. I found it so interesting - just all the drama, subterfuge, and conspiracies that these students were getting into. A certain aspect of the story that parrticularly intrigued me is the idea of good people doing bad things. It's a combination of bad timing, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and sometimes just having bad luck. I found that Lia was making choices that were morally wrong - but I couldn't fault her for them completely seeing how she ended up in those particular moments. I think that this is something that Jesse Q. Sutanto really likes to explore in her books - seeing as it is a running theme in all three books that I have read from her so far.

Like I mentioned before, this is not my usual genre but I enjoyed reading The New Girl and Jesse Q. Sutanto continues to be an author that I will keep an eye on for more books.

Firstly, big thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC. This book releases on the 1st of February!

I don’t really read a lot of YA but what I have read I’ve generally liked so I had high hopes for this.

I really enjoyed this book at the start. I was intrigued from the get go and I was enjoying the journey where we slowly learnt about the new school and who Lia was as our lead character. Unfortunately, the start was the best part.

Partway through the book, I felt things got a bit bonkers and became wildly unrealistic. The main plot point is a bit hard to believe and police turn up at the weirdest of times. I swear every 2-3 pages Lia is about to cry or trying to hold back tears, which felt repetitive. I also kind of had issues with g culture of these high school kids, and the serious mental health issues that went unaddressed. The pace of the story also felt very rushed at the end, given the slower start.

On the upside, I liked Lia’s inner voice and I found it really interesting learning about the Chinese-Indonesian culture and racism between Asian countries (Chinese, Chinese-Indonesian and Indonesian).

Unfortunately I couldn’t get past the unrealistic storyline

Trigger warnings: drug use, assault, eating disorder, addiction, racism, murder.

I've been wanting to read something by Jesse Q. Sutanto for a while, so I was super excited to get my hands on an advanced copy of The New Girl. This book follows Lia, a scholarship student at a prestigious private boarding school. We all know that's where the best drama happens. From racism to bullying to scandalous teacher secrets, Lia is dealing with way more than the average student. The book handles all of these things well, and manages to make this intense crazy drama feel realistic and relatable. A lot of reveals in this story aren't super surprising by the time you get to them, but I think what keeps the story interesting is wondering what will be the consequences of everything. Who will find out which secrets? Who will make it to the end of this story alive? Lia's story will definitely draw you in and keep you engaged.

One thing that I really liked about the book was getting to see the role that culture and heritage played in Lia's life. Lia is half native Indonesian, half Chinese-Indonesian, and there are lots of interactions with others who either connect with her because of a shared cultural aspect, or who react with racism and bigotry. Race and culture is a big part of the story in a very natural way, which I really enjoyed, and there are even sprinklings of Indonesian and Mandarin dialogue, as well as some Indonesian cuisine I wish I could taste. I also liked the different relationships Lia has that are touched on, from friendships to enemies to love interests. I wish we could have seen a little bit more of her relationship with her mom, because it seemed like a really sweet one from what little we got. Overall I found this a really quick, enjoyable read. Definitely a lot of drama, some good suspenseful moments, and a protagonist you really root for. I can't wait to get into Jesse Q. Sutanto's other book's now!

Lia Setiawan is the new girl at Draycott Academy. There on a Track and Field scholarship, she knows she will have to work harder than the rich kids that surround her to earn her stay. Not long after she sets foot on the campus, she witnesses a girl being dragged, screaming off the campus by school security. That experience leads to her questioning everything about the school. As she is plagued with nasty gossip, unfair policies, and blatant racism, she finally reaches her breaking point when a death is discovered.

This book was a wild ride. Every time I got a grasp of what was going on, something new happened to change my view. I’ll put it this way, this is not a book that you can pick up and read little by little. No. This is a book where you get sucked in from page one and look up once it's done, all the while, wondering what day it is. I loved the ease of the writing style. It was so engrossing that I wasn’t ready for the end when it came. It left me wanting more closure for my favorite characters.

There were few characters that I felt any connection to throughout most of the book. This was due to the enormously wealthy kids and their complete lack of maturity when dealing with, well, anything. Everything that Lia went through was dramatic and over the top, but it suited her environment and the all or nothing attitude of those around her. The complete lack of adult intervention was heartbreaking. There were times when the adults' lack of involvement was far-fetched, but other times, it was believable. This variety in the interactions made certain scenes feel forced.

Overall, I enjoyed the representation of different Asian cultures, the depth in dealing with many heavy topics, and the fast pacing of the plot the most.

⅘ stars

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Upon Lia's first day at Draycott Academy, a school for the elite, she sees a girl getting dragged out on her first day. During her stay, she tries to find out what caused the incident and discovers a few more shady things about the school. While I was entertained enough to keep going and finish the book, I have to say the story kind of fell flat for me. The side characters are extremely privileged to the extent that it was unbelievable at times, plus there's a lot of incidents of bullying and spreading of nasty rumors in the story. There are quite a few plot points in this story that I didn't expect, especially how Lia somehow ended up making the situation even worse.

The author's writing on the representation of the Chinese-Indonesian culture is worth mentioning and definitely one I appreciate.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

This was just as overly dramatic and hysterical as Dial A for Aunties.
There is an actual dead body though so props for that.

New Girl at a super sought to get in private school. She is there on a track scholarship, but the thing is the other track girls don't want a new teammate.
There is a social media page up for the school cause duh its a bunch of rich teens who like to gossip so obviously right.
Rumors start, a bit of bullying starts and there is a whole other mess of stuff going on at the school like drugs and cheating on tests.

All in all, it's an ok ya mystery. It did what it set out to do for the genre.
I felt like some of it was too unbelievable for my liking.

Suspension of disbelief is necessary to enjoy all YA lit, in general, but this required a bit too much. Unrealistic characters and too many coincidences.

This was an enjoyable read. I liked how everything pieced together neatly. The characters were enjoyable... well except two.

Lia has been called the female equivalent to Usain Bolt. She has been scouted her sophomore year to attend the prestigious Draycott Academy As soon as she arrives she quickly sees that these kids are like no one she has ever known. They are all rich beyond imagination. With riches comes a variety of problems that Lia never considered. Buying grades, designer drugs, and the most outlandish parties one can fathom. Lia ends up getting in one mess after another, usually by no fault of her own. It's a fast paced book as she figures out who she can trust and who might be out to get her...all while trying to run track and get a scholarship to college.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a super quick read and I was totally invested in the characters. I wanted Lia to succeed and not end up in trouble. She is definitely the underdog at her new school and very few people are cheering her on. When lies and murder seem to follow her, the book is hard to put down until you know the truth.

I'm a big fan of Jesse Sutanto ever since Dial A for Aunties. This is my first YA novel from her as I haven't read The Obsession yet. But now I definitely plan to! I loved the Asian representation in this book and could relate to the pressure of Asian parents to do well in school. Even though this has murder, dead bodies, and drugs, the tone is light-hearted and comical which is similar to Dial A for Aunties. This has Sutanto's signature voice and style. There are some over-the-top slapstick-esque scenes that feel unrealistic but that's part of the book's charm. I wondered how Lia would get out of the seemingly impossible situations she found herself in and her questionable choices always made me laugh and cringe at the same time. A fun addictive read!

"Lia Setiawan has never really fit in. And 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 unphased, but it leaves her unsure of what she's gotten herself into.

And 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."

I love dark school days!

This was just too young for me, unfortunately.
Sometimes YA is a hit and sometimes its a major miss and rarely it falls in the middle where its just ok. The New Girl, for me, was just ok.

I couldn't get into the story, I found the events very unlikely to have actually happened and the decision making questionable at best.

However, if you love a good teen drama - you will enjoy this!

Do you root for the underdog? This book will have you rooting for the underdog despite all her bad decisions…Which was one after the other. I do not know how someone could have such bad luck and continue to make them worse. This book will have you yelling at your kindle saying “noooo! Don’t do it” While you have to keep reading to see how it will play out, in hopes it might work itself out. If you like Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars or any type of rich teen drama bullies this is definitely your next read out on February 1st!

Jesse Q Sutanto is back with more secrets, more murder, and more delicious Indonesian food in The New Girl.

Teenage track star Lia Setiawan gets a scholarship to an upscale prep school, and quickly discovers Draycott Academy is full of typical mean rich girls, nasty teachers, and the intense pressure to keep her scholarship.   There's a Gossip Girl-style rumor app, Draycott Dirt, full of catty backstabbing and just generally mean commentary on everyone at the school. All anonymous, of course, but you can figure out who absolutely hates Lia for bumping her spot on the track team. Fortunately for Lia, there's also a certain handsome Indo classmate, who seems to like her a lot.

Almost as soon as she sets foot on campus, Lia sees an ex-student having a fight and being taken away by school security. Her new schoolmates vaguely mention that the ex-student had something to do with tainted drugs? maybe cash for grades? blackmail? Lia's literally living in the expelled girl's room, where she finds a vague graffiti warning. Something is very much not right at Draycott, but with these mean girls on her tail, Lia might be expelled before she figures it out.

The New Girl isn't a sequel to The Obsession, but there are many similar elements. Lia just wants to make a success of her chance at prep school, at first, but when she's pushed, she has the same determination and survival instinct we've seen before. Much like our Delilah in The Obsession, and a bit of Meddy in Dial A for Aunties, Lia can be wonderfully ruthless in getting to her objective.  Lia wanted to be a normal track athlete, but if she has to resort to crime, then she's going to be the best criminal mastermind in Draycott Academy. It turns out that there's a bit of competition for that role, though, with twists and double identities all over campus.

YA readers will especially enjoy the blend of school gossip, campus cliques, rich girl excess, and straight-up crimes.  In The New Girl,  once the drug running and blackmailing really get going, our Lia (along with most of the Draycott Academy students) looks likes a sweet, high-achieving high school girl, who couldn't possibly have anything to do with that terrible murder. (Perhaps we even see the same insightful and skeptical Detective Mendez, who gave Delilah such a hard time?!?) This is where the tension really comes in, as Lia tries to keep it together while investigating the dark side of campus life and trying to look like a well-adjusted student.

Recommended for fans of, oh, basically all the prep school thrillers. Beware The Girl for another scholarship girl with secrets, The Cheerleaders for a high school thriller with a believable friendship at the heart, and obviously, if you missed Sutanto's earlier novel, The Obsession, you're in for a treat.

he New Girl is a prequel of sorts to The Obsession, focussing on a different character but referring to events mentioned in The Obsession. It follows Lia, a track star who gets a track scholarship to the prestigious Draycott Academy. She hopes that performing well at Draycott will get her a college track scholarship, but the rich kids of the school don't make life easy for her, and neither do the teachers.

The book explores racism both outside and inside the Asian community. Lia faces it from parents and teachers alike, due to her Indonesian and Chinese-Indonesian heritage. Draycott is full of people scheming and taking advantage of people, and because of this Lia's track dreams are at risk. Everyone in this book is a suspect, and there is so much going on from murders, accidental killings, drugs, overdoses, and a cheating in class scheme. Despite it's drama, I found myself actually to be quite glued to the plot and was routing for Lia the whole way through.

Like in The Obsession, the book explores that people aren't always how they appear to others, and the dark sides of different characters. I liked the mysteries woven into the plot, and there's something about Jesse Sutatato's writing that I just love.

Overall, a great YA thriller with a lot going on for such a short book!

After reading Dial A for Aunties, I had high hopes for The New Girl. The story is very much YA from an adults perspective - from the dialogue/lingo, to the decision making. Lia, the protagonist, is not a likable character and consistently makes the worst mistakes. She’s very much a “pick me” girl in the age of Tik Tok trends and memes. I finished the book only because I had hoped there would be some incredible plot twist or justification for the continued bad decisions made.