Review: The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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.

• Title: The New Girl
• Author:  Jesse Q. Sutanto
• Publisher: Imprint/Publisher
• Publication Date: February 1, 2022
• Genre: YA, Mystery/Thriller, Contemporary 
• Targeted Age Range: YA
• Content Warnings: Death of a parent. Harry Potter reference. police, physical altercations, mentions of drugs and drug use, online bullying, racism, underage drinking, death, anxiety, overdose, blood, physical attack, descriptions of a dead body, vomit, implied homophobia, mentions of bulimia, coma, police
• Rating: ★★★★☆

After reading The Obsession and Dial A For Aunties last year, Jesse Q. Sutanto has quickly become one of my go-to authors when I want to read a good mystery. 

The New Girl follows Lia Setiawan – a teenage track star who is hailed as “The Next Usain Bolt” – as she begins her first semester at the prestigious Draycott Academy. Lia’s always had a bit of trouble fitting in and hopes that Draycott will be a fresh start for her. When she arrives on campus, she quickly realizes that she is in no way prepared for the dynamics at Draycott. Upset with the injustices happening at the academy, Lia is determined to expose the truth…even if it puts her in danger.

Wow, friends, this was a wild ride from the start! In fact, my first note after reading the first chapter says, “Oof, I can already tell this is gonna be a wild ride!” and I 100% was correct. The New Girl absolutely reminded me of As Good As Dead and Ace Of Spades, both through storytelling devices and character motives. The dynamics at Draycott Academy were very similar to those of the schools in Gossip Girl, St. Jude’s and Costance Billard. The school is filled with rich and privileged kids who carelessly spend their parents’ money, go clubbing and drinking on the weekends, and do whatever they can to bring down anyone they think is beneath them. I also got strong Ace of Spades and Gossip Girl vibes with the Draycott Dirt app where students could post anonymously about whatever they wanted. 

Something that I feel is not discussed enough in academia – both in fiction and reality –  is the way that racism really influences the schools and their culture, and I’m so glad that it’s brought up in The New Girl. Unsurprisingly, in a school full of rich and privileged white kids, racism runs rampant. Especially with the anonymous Draycott Dirt app. While the app may be anonymous, it’s clear that a member of the student body, TrackQueen, is determined to turn everyone against Lia and make her life at Draycott a miserable one. 

“Non-Asians wouldn’t understand the hierarchy that exists between different Asian cultures.”

Lia is quickly referred to as “parasite” on the anonymous app, and when I read that my heart dropped. The blatant racism was so hurtful and disgusting. These people literally knew nothing about her, but  they all turned against Lia because one of the most popular girls in school felt threatened by her. Lia has also dealt with racism her entire life from her father’s Chinese-Indonesian family because of her mother’s Indonesian heritage. There’s a misconception that because someone is a person of color they cannot be racist, which is absolutely untrue and I’m really glad that it was shown and discussed in this book. And while it was painful to read and I just wanted to yell at every single person saying these horrible things, I am glad that Sutanto addressed it as I believe it’s an important topic that should be discussed. 

I really appreciated Lia as our protagonist. She was focused and ambitious and determined to find the truth. There were moments where she made choices that I did not agree with and made me incredibly worried, or had me saying, “what are you doing!?!” but ultimately, I really liked her and found her easy to root for. Time and time again she was backed into a corner and she always fought back. She didn’t sit back and let others sabotage her. She stood up for herself and I really admired her tenacity. 

The dynamic at Draycott is a toxic one to say the least. From students to teachers to the headmaster, every single person is cunning and scheming. Because of the culture of the school, everyone was a suspect in my eyes. I found some more suspicious than others, and there was a lot that I had predicted fairly early on, but my suspect list definitely grew as the story continued. 

I really loved the character development in the story. All the characters went through quite a journey from the first page to the last. I will say that I probably found the love interest Danny’s character arc the most interesting. Sutanto did a great job of dropping subtle hints that you wouldn’t be looking for unless you were suspicious of everyone like I was – I definitely saw a lot of the twists and reveals coming, and was very pleased with myself when I was correct. There were some characters that I correctly suspected from the start, and others that I ended up being completely wrong about. Characterization is, in my opinion, one of Sutanto’s strengths and I really liked what she did here.

There were small mysteries in the story that contributed to the larger mystery which I really liked. The pieces fell together easily and I liked how the majority of the issues linked back to the culture of Draycott, which I found really interesting.

Jesse Q. Sutanto’s The New Girl was a wild ride from start to finish. If you’re looking for a fast-paced mystery that’ll keep you on your toes, this is the book for you.

Links for The New Girl: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound