The It Girl, Ruth Ware, author; Imogen Church, narrator
A new term has begun at Oxford University. The students come from different backgrounds. Some are completely shocked to find themselves there; some think they are lucky to be there; some think it is their due to be there. Some are accepted because of their wealth and influence; some are the brightest and the best, but all hope to spend the next three years there, in this hallowed, revered space.
As six of the new students arrive at Oxford University’s Pelham College, circumstances throw them together. In the dining hall, they banter with each other and begin to bond. Some had known each other in the past, some were so surprised to find themselves there, they seemed to be in a state of silent shock, but still, their excitement propelled them forward and into their futures.
First, we have Hannah Jones. She does not seem to be the typical student. She is rather overwhelmed with her good fortune. She is grateful and honored to be in this esteemed environment with the others she is meeting. However, she is very naïve, sometimes seems very immature, and often makes foolish choices, never seeming to learn from her mistakes, always second guessing her choices after she has made them, and is always making herself the main attraction so that she stubbornly brings on her own discomfort. She is sometimes a character that is not easy for the reader to like, since her personality can be annoying. She has been assigned to share a two-bedroom, with living room, set in New Quad, with April Clarke-Cliveden. Most of the other students are in The Cloisters, in single rooms, so she is very lucky to have this accommodation.
April is an incredibly wealthy student who takes her presence at Oxford for granted. She has an easy-going demeanor, accepting everything that comes her way no matter how it happens. She has a servant unpacking her clothes from magnificent suitcases and trunks. She has defied the rules by bringing furniture to personalize her room to make it feel a bit luxurious, and she has assigned herself the largest bedroom, because, after all, she got their first. She believes rules are made to be broken. April and Hannah could not be more different, and yet, they grew to like each other and became best friends. Still, even their names practically acknowledged their different backgrounds. Jones vs Clarke-Cliveden almost seems to scream the class divide. April has taken over the set; she is confidently lying on the couch and welcomes Hannah casually when she enters, as if she, April, has always been there. Although April is self-confident and kind of charming in her own way, she can also be cruel. She likes to play jokes on people and her pranks are often very hurtful. What is April’s hold on people? Is it her charm, her wealth, or something else?
Will de Chastaigne is April’s boyfriend. They were in the same school before. He is comfortable at Oxford, accepting his right to be there. He is handsome, seems thoughtful and considerate, and is easy to get to know. Hannah is immediately attracted to him, and somehow, he is also attracted to her. That makes for an awkward situation, since he is her roommate’s boyfriend. They do not develop a relationship in school, although others notice how they seem to react in each other’s presence. Does April notice?
Hugh is Will’s best friend. They seem to be polar opposites, as well. Hugh is so happy to be at Oxford but seems terribly afraid that he will not make it and will disappoint his parents who have placed all their hopes and dreams in him and have worked hard to be able to afford to send him there. He is soft-spoken and agreeable. At Oxford, he becomes a good friend to Hannah.
Emily is a brilliant, brash and outspoken young woman. She says what is on her mind at all times, sometimes making the situation uncomfortable. She meets her match in Ryan, and they pair off. Ryan seems very self-confident too, secure in his place there, but Ryan is not as faithful as he should be. Does Emily know or care? He is almost too self-confident; she is almost too cavalier.
As these six students, from diverse backgrounds, with varied interests and unique personalities begin to explore their new lives on very unequal footing, they somehow all enjoy being together. As their friendship grows, it deepens and thrives.
Another character is Hannah’s English tutor. He lives in New Quad, as well and often meets with the students to go over what he has previously taught them. He also invites many of the students, especially the females, to get-togethers in his rooms. It is convenient for Hannah, who lives in the same building. April also tags along uninvited. It is April’s way. She seems to be able to do as she pleases and gets away with her outrageous behavior. Horatio Myers is a bit arrogant and pompous, impressed with his own stature and position. He does not mind April’s presence at all.
There is one thorn in the basket for Hannah. There is a porter on staff who brings them their mail, secures the campus at night and basically serves the needs of the students. This porter immediately made Hannah uncomfortable. His manner and appearance frightened her. He seemed odd, ungainly and often made inappropriate comments or bent the rules, appearing in places he had no business to be, like her room, delivering a package instead of waiting to give it to her in the Porter’s Lodge. His name is John Neville; he will have an unfortunate influence on her life, and his own. Will it be through any fault of his own, or will it be due to circumstances beyond his control?
Hannah and April lived in a separate building from the others. The others lived in the regular housing known as the Cloisters, in their own small, but private, single rooms. Toward the end of the second semester, April was appearing in a theater production. Hugh, Hannah and Ryan attend it, with Hannah actually arranging a party in her honor for later that night. Will was out of town and Emily had way too much work to attend it. April, however, was quite good in her role. Because of Hannah’s fear of bumping into the porter John Neville, Hugh walked her back to her room. What happened when she returned to her room would alter the trajectory of her dreams and her life.
April’s testimony at the murder trial was instrumental in putting John Neville in prison, where he would be until his death. Hugh also testified, since he was a witness to the events that played out shortly after she arrived back at New Quad. Were her assumptions about what she saw that night accurate, or had she condemned an innocent man to prison, while the actual murderer walked free. For ten long years, she had not allowed herself to be interviewed, or to read anything about the trial and its aftermath. Then, suddenly, when Neville dies in prison, her conscience reawakened, and she began to second-guess her testimony. She became determined to investigate, against everyone’s objections, which was often her way. However, now married and pregnant, it would not be as easy as it seemed. Still, since her memory of most of that night was blank from the shock of it, she began to question her friends to fill her in with theirs.
How have their lives played out? Who has stayed in touch? Who is successful and who has failed? All of them have moved on in different ways. As she opens the can of worms, she begins to wonder if she has made a mistake now, too, trying to relive the experience. That is Hannah’s fatal flaw. She is always wondering about what she has done, making herself irritating and not quite believable as the naivete she seems to be. How does real life alter what they thought was their destiny. Will they remain good friends or drift apart?
The title of the book is “The It Girl”. Although I thought of Hannah as the main character, April is the driving force behind everything that happens. Who do you think is the real “it” girl, and why? Who is the real murderer, Neville or someone else? Could it be one of the friends? As the plot thickens and moves along, it really gets tense. Ruth Ware knows how to put you on the edge of your seat, and although this book is not rocket-science, it is easy to read and will hold your attention for most of it, even if it sometimes seems contrived and is not always quite believable. In the end, all of the threads are knitted together.

I wasn’t expecting the ending!