Review: New Girl by Paige Harbison

New Girl by Paige Harbison
Paperback, 302 pages
Published: January 31, 2012 by Harlequin Teen
Source: ARC - NetGalley
Buy the Book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads: A contemporary young-adult retelling inspired by the classic 1938 romantic suspense bestseller Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
They call me 'New Girl'...
Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed—because of her.
Becca Normandy—that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy. And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault.
Except for Max Holloway—the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken. At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend…but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be.
And maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back.

The book had an intriguing synopsis, but did not live up my expectations. This is a re-telling of the book Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, but I have not read it so I can't make any comparisons. Unfortunately, this was the first book in a long time that I was not able to finish. I liked the premise and characters well enough, but the plot and pacing of book killed it for me. The plot revolves around teen parties and love interests ...that's as far as it expanded to. It felt like a back and forth battle between these to incidents and it got old really quick. This may appeal to some readers, but it just wasn't a good fit for me at all.