Barbara M. reviewed on + 147 more book reviews
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."
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