When I found out that Ruth Ware was coming out with a new book this summer I was completely overjoyed. She is one of my favorite crime/mystery authors and I love almost everything I read from her (aside from The Death of Mrs. Westaway which I DNFed).
I was even more excited when I was approached by the publisher to receive an ARC of the novel titled "The It Girl". I have never received an ARC like this (ARC stands for advanced reader copy and what I usually receive from Netgalley) because it was a print copy but a completely unbound one. It looked like it came straight from the printer and I think that is so exciting!
I read the book within a day or two and it is definitely one of my favorites of the year, and one of my favorites by Ware. The It Girl isn't being released until July 12th but I feel like I need to talk about it now.
Publisher's Summary
April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.
Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.
Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.
Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.
Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.
My Thoughts
This is another novel that has a dual POV between the past and present. You are constantly going back and forth from Hannah in the past and Hannah in the present... before April's death and after. I love a good dual POV and I enjoy going from the past to the present. I think it adds a lot of heart and depth to the story because it gives you an inside look at how things were before the major plot point.
I really loved this book but that doesn't mean I can't be critical of it; I did feel like the pacing was off and a lot of the story happened in the last quarter of the book, but it was an exciting quarter that's for sure. I also thought that the story was going a predictable route but it did not, which was a really nice surprise.
April, as a character, was very predictable. She was the typical 'it girl' who had the flighty attitude, the money, the looks and the boys wrapped around her finger. She wasn't necessarily a bad person but I don't think she was a good person. You get a sense for her personality through both of Hannah's POVs and it's interesting to see Hannah's perspective change from past and present.
I loved the academic setting and really enjoyed the English twist on things; a college setting makes things so much more intense and interesting, ther are so many paths to take and so many different characters to enjoy.
There were a lot of characters in this novel, the main being Hannah, Will, and April. Will, who you will see in both past and present telling was not my favorite. He seemed very sketchy and off the entire time, it was complicated and I don't know if that ever got resolved.
Another point of contention was Hannah herself; I didn't think she was necessarily likeable and I kind of just wanted to shake her to tell her to stop looking. It seemed like she was putting so much pressure on herself and just couldn't let it go. I was irritated... up until the last minute when she got herself in quite the sticky situtation.
I can't reveal much more without giving the ending away but as Hannah tries to figure out who killed April all those years ago, she is met with friends from the past, secrets, and someone who bares a striking resemblance to her old roommate.
The It Girl was a perfect Ruth Ware novel; it was basic enough to keep your attention but gave you the perfect amount of suspense and twist. I really enjoyed it and I think if you love crime novels and enjoy other Ruth Ware books you will really love "The It Girl".
xoxo
B
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