Let me preface this by saying I hate, hate, HATE giving books poor reviews. I’m a writer, and know how much blood sweat and tears go into crafting a novel, and desperately hoping the world will love your book. So I’m striving to be honest, but never rude.

First off, Lia’s inner voice is remarkably consistent and sharp—there are some beautiful turns of phrases there, so I know this author can write. And I would absolutely be open to reading more by her. Just want that to be clear before pointing out some of the issues!

I would’ve appreciated The New Girl much more if it were either wholly younger YA or older YA, but instead it is an odd mix of both. Some of the story is very young YA—the dialogue is a little cheesy, the main character shallow and emotional, there are many, many exclamation points, and the mean girls are a little too mean and the rich kids too rich to be believable—the blackmail, murder, and evil teacher aside. But then, drugs, f-words, and clubbing make their way into the story, so I can’t even recommend this for younger YA readers.

On the whole, the mix of both made the story sadly unbelievable. Hopefully some of these issues will be addressed before the publication date. But like I said, I’d totally be open to reading something else by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

-A

Jesse Sutanto is a must-buy regardless of genre. This latest is a recommended purchase for YA and HS collections where thrillers are popular.

Another dark academic thriller with a few twists but nothing really memorable to set it apart from the rest.

I really wanted to like this one. I really did.

When this book was announced it didn’t have a title and looked like it would be a continuation of her first YA book The Obsession. Cue the disappointment when I found out it was new characters and wouldn’t correlate with that story. Okay, fine. I went into this story with an open mind. Honestly, this was my least favorite of her books written and I have read them all.

I know that her books are usually written with a lot of drama and unique plots. I was prepared for that and it’s one thing I like about her books. The problem with this one is that it felt way too dramatic. It was Mean Girls on steroids. Dramatic books such as this one just aren’t my cup of tea.

None of the characters were ones that I liked and I just pushed through the book so I could be finished with it. I just felt there wasn’t any substance to them. They were just out being as crazy as possible.

Overall, this one just wasn’t for me. I’m not a fan of high drama books. I’m sure others will like this one more than me especially if they are into books like that.

Dial A for Aunties is one of the best books I’ve read this year! So when I saw Sutanto’s new book here, I requested it and thank you Sourcebooks Fire for the arc via Netgalley.

The New Girl isn’t what I was expecting, not after Dial A. This is a full blown mystery with crime undertones as opposed to Dial A which is a light humorous cosy type mystery! I liked The New Girl, it is fast paced, secretive and entertaining. Lia should expose secrets amidst untrustworthy people at her school. Its an interesting plot, but I found all the characters including Lia slightly unlikeable. It was a little weird because I’m used to liking the MC’s. But in spite of that, I was totally rooting for Lia the whole time to find the secrets which weren’t too exposing after all the tension! I’d say this is a good YA thriller, but don’t go reading this with high expectations. 3.25/5 ⭐️

The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto was an incredible, well paced out and thrilling with good twists hidden here and there. I loved the characters and how they were portrayed, the book has many different hard topics that I thought the author did very well covering such as bullying, racism and drugs plus more. The book was more than I expected and it was a very interesting read which I devoured almost instantly. I love how there is a bit of everything, such a very well written book that I would most definitely recommend to my fellow book reader friends.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks fire, Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

Sourcebooks Fire,
Than You so much for this eARC! 😘

The New Girl by Jessie Q. Sutanto

Mini Review:
I freaking loved The Obsession!
So when I seen her newest YA thriller The New Girl I was crossing my fingers for this approval!

Lia has always felt like an outsider. Never really fitting in.
She gets a full scholarship to the respected Draycott Academy for track.
She wants to make the most out it, even if she feels out of place.
The student and teachers seem placid when she sees another girls being removed from school campus forcefully, she isn't sure what she has gotten herself into.
She started uncovering some of Draycott's secrets, along with a crooked teacher, a boy who seems shady along with a blackmailer who is trying to do anything to get Lia kicked out of school!
But the terrorizing takes a turn for the worst....

This book sucked me in and kept me up late reading. Intriguing!
The writing is so taut and the characters practically walk off the page, they're so realistic.
It's a pacey, twisty thriller with enough plot twists to keep your attention all the way through.
The plot, had me completely shocked. The way Jessie writes is something phenomenal and I sucked it up!
This was one of those books I wanted to pace myself because I didn't want it to end!
This is one chilling book that YA Thriller lovers ate going to go nuts over!
Simply put.... I loved it, I wanted more of it, and now I need another amazing YA Thriller just like this!
Now Please!

I can't thank Sourcebooks Fire enough for the opportunity to read this outstanding novel!

I recently read Jesse Q. Sutanto's Dial A for Aunties and absolutely loved her over the top humorous style. The New Girl has the same smart sarcasm and quick witted and quick paced writing that I loved in her romance series. This one is scheduled for publication just in time for me to send a copy to my niece for her upcoming birthday.

DNF at 12%

Honestly this is probably a really good story and I think everyone that reads this short review should try to read it despite what I say because I do not know the entire story, just the beginning.

Personally, I did not enjoy the beginning of this story very much, who’s is why I DNF. I usually push through to the end to see if I’ll actually enjoy the rest of the story or not, but I just couldn’t manage to do that this time.

Other people will enjoy this story much more than I did. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley and SourceBooks Fire for allowing me to read and review this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After reading The Obsession, I was ready to dive right into another Jesse Q. Sutanto YA Book. The New Girl is a decent read and I liked the writing for the most part. The pacing was slightly off at times and the twist was figured out pretty soon.

I think with my expectations kind of high this one fell a little short. I do like Lia as our main POV, her inner monologs are realistic in a very unrealistic school. The school she goes to is filled with students who are obscenely rich. I couldn't connect with most of the characters.

3 stars.

Teenagers are terrifying and teenagers with too much money even more so. What even happened in this crazy, go off the rails HS drama? So very much. Lia - you in danger girl from Day One. It just sort of somersaults and cartwheels crazy twist after crazy twist and I'm in a Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars meets 90s teen horror. Needless to say: campy, YA fun. 3 stars.

She's a liar. A cheater. A murderer. And it's only her first semester.

From the author of The Obsession, this story takes place at the same school and features a few cameos of characters from that book... however as mentioned in the previous book there was a major drug scandal... and this story is that. This story is sort of a prequel to The Obsession. The story follows Lia Setjawan, who has just won a scholarship to Draycott Academy on a track scholarship. She’s not like the other kids, she’s poor and they make it a point to bully her about this. Lia has to maintain her scholarship in order to continue going her and further advancing her track career.... too bad almost everyone at school is out to get her, there’s a corrupt english teacher bent on failing her, and a blackmailer who is determined to get her kicked out of the school. Lia won’t take this laying down, she is determined to fix it... fix it all.... no matter what. When she uncovers more secrets at Draycott Academy she soon finds herself in over her head with lies spreading, drug use, murder, secrets, and nobody is who they seem. Will she be able to make it out alive? This was definitely a unique change of pace from the previous book. Despite being a sort of prequel, the story does work as a standalone. The story is only told from Lia’s POV and she definitely isn’t a good person, however, you can empathize and understand her position. She is backed into a corner, with everyone coming at her and the emotional abuse is horrifying considering how alone she is. You feel for her, and her situation. The overall story was interesting and well paced, The conclusion was a quick resolution and I definitely do think this is a great read to go with the first book. I do have to say I liked the first book better but this by no means makes this book any less fun to read!

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Very far-fetched and hard to get into. In this book, we have rich kids in an exclusive boarding school. And of course, most of the kids there are crazy rich. We're talking kids who have their own BMW's and private jets, who jet off to Paris on a whim. And who pay $10,000 per test to get an A. Like, who has money like this? This cannot be real life. The drama from an anonymous online site is so ridiculous, you have to wonder why anyone would take it to heart.

I love this book what a great thriller. Great characters and even better storyline. You’re absolutely going to love the twist interns this book has to offer.

Maybe a touch popcorny, perfect for a rainy afternoon with some snugglepups. The main character was occasionally annoying, generally because of her naivete, but she is also a teenager on her own, so.

This book came out really hot from the beginning until the end! I love the cultural references, the writing style and the relatable plot. Everyone’s been new somewhere at least once in their lives!

At first I thought The New Girl was going to be all about, "agnsty teen arrives at new boarding school and is bullied until she gets the guy and everything is right in the world*. Boy was I wrong!! The MC does something kind of bad but on accident and now someone knows her secret, can she figure it out before she gets in over her head?

The book had a little bit of everything, racism, murder, drugs& overdose, Bullying, and more! The author does an absolutely great job of covering many of the"hard" topics and till making a interesting, fast paced mtslw

Lia Setiawan transfers Draycott Academy on a track scholarship. Early on she faces multiple obstacles to fitting in and making a place for herself at the uber wealthy school . Thus follows multiple hot topics like a cheating ring, drug dealing and actual murder! It's a bit hard to take seriously but the characters are fabulous. Lia's parents are Chinese Indonesian (Dad) and mainland Indonesian (mom and her love of her culture is threaded through the entire story. I felt like I learned a lot just based on the food she missed when she was at boarding school.

Also wonderful, was that Lia stuck up for herself. She was never a shrinking violet or a "whoa is me. what can I do?" when faced with some pretty terrible bullying. I really enjoyed this lite mystery and recommend it to all that enjoy YA and light mysteries feature schools. Jesse Q. Sutanto is the author of Dial A for Aunties, another fabulous lite mystery that I recommend! #NetGally #NewGirl

I adore books in a school setting so this one was a no-brainer for me. When Lia is accepted into the prestigious high school, she is determined to do well and win a scholarship to college. She is attracted to Danny who is also Asian and things seem to be going well, until there is a suspicious death on campus. Things spiral from here as we discover a cheating ring, a social media account that exists to allow students to bully one another, and a drug problem that flies under the radar. So even though it's billed as YA, hang on for the ride of your life, as if you went to school you will recognize many of these things (and be glad you are out)!

I really loved this book.
What would you do if you accidentally murdered someone? Would you turn yourself in?
Could you live with yourself.
This book is like gossip girl with a side of murder.