Heartside Bay #1 - The New Girl product reviews

My 12 year old just loves to read and will sink her teeth into most books but as she is getting older books like these that focus on teen life really appeal to her. She has really fallen for this series of books having read the first three so far and just dying to read more. I think the appealing thing for her is that the focus on things that are important to young teen girls like friendship, boys and drama. This book was packed full of all those things so it certainly ticked all the boxes in my daughters eyes.

This book is told through the voice of new girl to Heartside Bay Lila Murray. It tells the story of her move to Heartside Bay and the struggle to begin to fit in and make new friends and of course meet new boys. Poor Lila has a bit of a rough start as she meets the eye of Ollie Wright who just happens to be the School Queen Bee's Crush. This doesn't make Lila any friends and you certainly don't want to be an enemy of Eve at Heartside Bay as she has the power to make or break you time at Heartside Bay School.

Lila learns this the hard way but a strong character like Lila doesn't let anything stand in her way and soon she not only settles into life at Heartside Bay but makes strong friendships, attracts the eyes of boys and even gets her own back on Eve. I'm sure this won't be the end of the feud between Lila and Eve so will be interesting to see further drama unfold in the coming books, I can't see Eve softening to the girl who stole her crush.

Certainly lots of teen drama in the book with pranks and revenge gallore. Eve Somerstown is a powerful young girl who reminds me a lot of the "popular" girls at high school so I guess it is something teen girls can relate to. Lila though is also a strong character which is quite refreshing as she stands up for herself and gets what she wants. I think she is a very mature character for her age which in part could be from what she has gone through in her past.

The book doesn't go into a lot of detail about Lila Murray's past but it is clear she has made mistakes and wants to change and make a fresh start at Heartside Bay. Of course your past always comes back to haunt you especially as a teenager making your way in the world so Lila has to face her past which I think makes her grow up quite a lot. I like Lila I think she is a very likeable character and although the next book is told through a different characters voice I still feel like I would like to get to know Lila more.

Looking forward to reading the second book where we will learn more about Polly and her story, my daughter has already finished the second book so is dying to talk to me about it, so I better get stuck into that and fast luckily the books aren't half bad I mean who doesn't like a bit of teen drama!

Moving to a new town is never easy and can be extremely hard when you are the new girl at school. Things are made even worst when you fall for the cutest guy at school and the most popular girl at school Eve absolutely hates you. I have to admit I love teen dramas.

This book is very simple and flows beautiful. There is nothing complicated about the plot or the characters. But it is a great read. I managed to read this book just under three hours and I really enjoyed it. The chapters are nice and short and the words are very basic but the story itself is really well told. A great read for young/teenage girls everywhere. It has the drama of the fighting between two beautiful girls, the romance between Ollie and Lila and also the mystery of who has been writing the secret notes. You have the deep friendships that only teenagers seem to possess and there is also the fact you are wandering why Lilas parents are upset with her.

The first book in a 12 book series and I have to admit I am already hooked. There seems to be enough characters to keep the series going as each book is based around one individual. This one is about Lila Murray. I am finding all of the characters interesting and am dying to know what happens next. Just love these sorts of Mills & Boon books.