The Other New Girl

I'm surprised I liked this book as much as I did! The author was able to keep me reading by making the subplots as interesting as the main plot.
The main character, Suzie, is a new sophmore student at a Quaker (a relgion she isn't familiar with) coed boarding school. You follow her as she tries to fit in with the cool kids without losing her moral values. She befriends the one other new girl, Moll, a girl who can't seem to fit in anywhere, and is suddenly caught up in a situation she is unsure how to handle. Throughout the book the author goes between present day and the past never making it seem confusing. A great read!

Even though The Other New Girl had 1960 as their setting in a co-ed Quaker Prep boarding high school, it seemed to me that it could have easily taken place in today’s turbulent times. The teenage years were one of trying to fit in, to be part of a clique. This novel demonstrated how some teenagers were able to cope and how others, specifically the other new girl, always felt different and an outcast. When Moll tried to fit in, with the help of her only friend, she was humiliated by hateful words. It was a type of bullying that still resonates in today’s high schools. The consequences of those actions resulted in an emotional debate about loyalty, friendship, and betrayal. The characters were very well defined and the dialogue was filled with a myriad of emotions that resulted in a fast and memorable read.

I really got into this book. By the halfway point I couldn't put it down. The relationships between the characters were well thought out and the main character was really likeable. I would definitely recommend this book!

I loved this book! Possibly because I went to high school in the 60s, and this story is set at a high school in 1960? Nah -- there the similarity ends! This story revolves around two 16 year olds at a private boarding school in the east, both of them new to the school. Susannah, the new girl, gets taken into the “cool girls” clique right away, even though she is a sophomore and the cool girls are juniors and seniors. The other new girl is Moll, also a sophomore. So why did I relate to this so much? I went to a small public high school in a beach town in Southern California, and was definitely not part of the cool girls clique! But part of the reason so much of this story resonated with me was the shame and anxiety that Moll felt as she tried to fit in or at least find her place in the weird world of high school. I'm fairly sure most high school girls have felt similar feelings.
In The Other New Girl, Moll, a brilliant but nerdy social outcast, is encouraged by her only friend Susannah to overcome her fears enough to get her courage up to the point where she can attend a school dance. She works hard on looking right, trying SO hard to fit in, and finally overcomes her anxiety and fear enough to get herself there. But then (in what I thought might become a Carrie moment), she experiences bullying that is so hurtful to her that she decides to take extreme action as she desperately wants to find out who she wants to be. As her actions and disappearance reverberate throughout the school (especially for Susannah), the book explores themes of loyalty, obedience to authority, friendship, and betrayal.
Not exactly a mystery or a thriller or a coming of age story, it is all three! It is a very compelling read that is extremely well done, with realistic characters, dialogue, and situations (even for those of us who haven’t been to a private boarding school in the East). With thanks to NetGalley and She Writes Press, this one gets five stars—and I look forward to reading more of Ms. Gschwandtner’s work.