Helpful Score: 4
Not my favorite Beth Gutcheon, but not bad if you grew up in the 60's. One thing I came away with -- girls were girls regardless of socioeconomic factors. I didn't grow up anywhere near the economic class these girls were in, but still saw my friends and I in many of their conflicts with growing up.
Helpful Score: 3
My favorite book this year. Intelligent without being presumptious, sentimental and smart.
Helpful Score: 3
I kept waiting for the plot devices to kick in, but no pay off. There was so much more potenital and it just fell flat for me. Surprising as the characters were believable and the settings excellent. I just felt let down that in the end, it just seemed like a story about some rich girls and their time at prep school in the 60's and nothing particularly special.
Helpful Score: 2
Great read about a group of affluent, yet diverse girls at a prep school in the 60's and their subsequent reunion.
Helpful Score: 2
Very enjoyable book. The characters, the time period, and the private school settings all make for a great story.
Helpful Score: 1
story of young girls at boarding school...good
The New Girls is a resonant, engrossing novel about five girls during their formative prep-school years in the tumultuous mid-sixties. Into their reality of first-class trips to Europe, resort vacations, and deb parties enter the Vietnam War, the women's movement, and the sexual revolution. As the old traditions collide with the new society, the girls lose their innocence, develop a social conscience, and discover their sexuality--blossoming into women shaped by their turbulent times.
I came across author Beth Gutcheon in 2017 when I bought "Five Fortunes" at a garage sale. I read it in 2018 and enjoyed it--gave it four stars. So, I requested two more books--"Death at Breakfast" and "The Affliction"--from the local library. These two were books 1 and 2 of a mystery series. Gave these books three stars. I added "The New Girls" to my paperbackswap.com wish list and recently got this book. This book was similar to "Five Fortunes" in that it followed the lives of a group of women (in "Five Fortunes" they met during a week-long spa stay). However, "The New Girls" was a disappointment.
There are five main characters--Lisa, Ann, Muffin, Jenny, and Sally--who attend the same girls' prep school. The book starts out with them meeting up again at their 15-year reunion but quickly flashes back to their three years at Miss Pratt's school. Most of the book is about the years at Miss Pratt's but there is also some time spent on their lives as adults.
Most of the main characters were unlikeable or unsympathetic: Lisa could be characterized as a "mean girl"--pretty, spoiled, self-centered, and belittling of others; Sally continually got in trouble and although we later learn she had a traumatic childhood, I had a hard time feeling sympathetic; Ann and Jenny were people I simply didn't care about. Muffin was the only likeable character. While at Miss Pratt's, Lisa often made comments to Muffin about Muffin's weight and eating. Yet, in the years after Miss Pratt's, Muffin seemed to be the only one who was truly happy with her life. The sexual stuff that came up periodically added nothing to the story.
I plan to read some more of Beth Gutcheon's work--hopefully, they'll be on the caliber of "Five Fortunes" and not "The New Girls."
There are five main characters--Lisa, Ann, Muffin, Jenny, and Sally--who attend the same girls' prep school. The book starts out with them meeting up again at their 15-year reunion but quickly flashes back to their three years at Miss Pratt's school. Most of the book is about the years at Miss Pratt's but there is also some time spent on their lives as adults.
Most of the main characters were unlikeable or unsympathetic: Lisa could be characterized as a "mean girl"--pretty, spoiled, self-centered, and belittling of others; Sally continually got in trouble and although we later learn she had a traumatic childhood, I had a hard time feeling sympathetic; Ann and Jenny were people I simply didn't care about. Muffin was the only likeable character. While at Miss Pratt's, Lisa often made comments to Muffin about Muffin's weight and eating. Yet, in the years after Miss Pratt's, Muffin seemed to be the only one who was truly happy with her life. The sexual stuff that came up periodically added nothing to the story.
I plan to read some more of Beth Gutcheon's work--hopefully, they'll be on the caliber of "Five Fortunes" and not "The New Girls."
