This narrative was very hard for me to engage with. It is the story of mostly ultra-rich white teens who are popular and in a secret society that hazes using blackout drinking, sexual assault, cheating on tests, and general elitism to operate. The narrator is slightly less rich and yet participates gladly in the hazing rituals for most of her high school career. The murder is not very mysterious and I didn't really care when we found out who did it.

Thrillers are one of my all time favorite genres and when I first read the synopsis for They Wish They Were Us, I knew I had to read it; it sounded like something I would enjoy!

Jill, Nikki, Robert, Henry, Quentin and Marla are the Players; the most popular people in school and being a Player has its own perks. Not only do they have their own table at the cafeteria, they also have access to an app that makes their lives in school easier. They have answers to tests and basically everything they need to know in order to get into the college of their dreams.

Their goal for senior year is to focus on college applications, to decide who have the potential to become a Player for the next school year, and to forget about their friend Shaila’s tragic death. After all, the one responsible for it was caught, right? But there’s an interesting turn of events when Jill, the MC, receives a message from the sister of the guy who killed her best friend...

They Wish They Were Us was a quick read and an interesting book. I actually enjoyed the second half of it which is when things start to get complicated for the characters! Jill helped Rachel to prove that her brother is innocent and that Shaila’s killer was still on the loose.

While I was reading They Wish They Were Us, it felt as if I was actually watching a TV show. I found myself cheering for Jill when she made hard decisions and when she started to question those around her. It was nice when she finally realized what was good for her and when she started to believe in herself. I kind of guessed who the real killer was at the beginning of the book, but the author made me second guess with the twists!

Also, I didn’t know there’s going to be a sequel! It will be interesting to see what’s going to happen next.

So this was a fun thriller/whodunnit YA.
A group of privileged school kids attending Gold Coast Prep have created a Player club and it has been going on for years. Jill the main gal is part of the Players. To become one you have to go through ritual hazing. Jill best friend Shaila doesn’t make it out alive from one of the hazes and the blame is put on her boyfriend. But did he do it??? I really enjoyed this fast pace read When I saw it was compared to Gossip Girl mixed with One of Us Is Lying I knew it was going to be good and it did not disappoint. About half way through I had a feeling I knew what was happening but I didn’t know why. So the ending was a pleasant surprise.

I do want to note that I tried very hard to not consider formatting issues of the e-copy, but there were passages that I wasn't sure needed better transitions between past and present, or if the formatting was just whacked out.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, especially during the summer and especially during stay-at-home. The characters' motivations made sense, the setting was a little fresher than Manhattan or other urban settings, the worldbuilding of the secret society was fairly well done -- but we didn't break any new ground here. There are a lot of books that took the privileged high school conspiracy genre and have done more or different things with it. I called the first twist pretty early on, and then the second twist was easy to get once the first twist happened. I'd recommend this as a summer read, but I don't know how there's material for a second book given the pretty satisfactory end to the first (unless this is a One of Us is Lying situation, which was another book that didn't need a sequel).

They Wish They Were Us was a fast-paced and enthralling read. It reminded me of a Megan Miranda read and One of Us Is Lying. I enjoyed the unique way the cool kids were viewed as "players" and their VIP status and how it impacted the storyline. I will definitely be picking up the sequel!

I went into this expecting a sort of mystery-thriller, balanced with teenage drama. So essentially, something along the lines of All Your Twisted Secrets. But that isn’t quite what I got. This has way more Gossip Girl vibes and less mystery.

Jill Newman…is a character. She’s loosely likable but it’s not like I would raid an ice cream truck for her or anything. She’s actually not one of those rich kids that naturally attend the Gold Prep Academy, she’s there on scholarship. Which of course, made her slightly more relatable! I really adored her relationship with her brother Jared the most though. Sibling relationships always get me.

Everyone else ANNOYED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. But in a good way? They’re meant to be spoiled rich kids who do dumb stuff just to be top of the food chain (or should I say SCHOOL chain*). I thought that the author did an excellent job of writing a clique that’s bonded by the terrible things they’ve done while still allowing each character to have redeemable qualities.

I do wish that the mystery aspect had been more intriguing though. We get flashbacks from Jill remembering her time with Shaila and the other Players. I mean, Shaila was allegedly killed by her boyfriend Graham right? Yet, most of the book focuses on the drama within The Players and how much everyone tries to forget what happens. The mystery aspect isn’t as fleshed out as it could have been because it gets so little page time. In turn, I was able to guess the murderer with a certain degree of ease. It’s not that this was a bad book because of that, but I wish I had known that this was less of a mystery and more of a complicated drama.

A huge thank you to the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Gold Coast Prep, freshman Shaila is killed, apparently by her boyfriend., Graham By senior year, however, Jill Newman, Shaila's best friend, isn't so sure that Graham killed her and she seeks to set the record straight. A page-turner for teens, this one will keep most teens guessing until the end. This book jumped between the past and the present so often that I had trouble keeping up.

I enjoyed this book. The story was compelling, and I enjoyed the pace at which the relationships were explored. The mystery remained a secret until almost the very end.

Review will be posted to the blog & Goodreads on July 9th.

They Wish They Were Us reminds me how much I hated high school. Sure, I never was a part of a group like the Players. I never went to a school like Gold Coast Prep. Goodman was able to perfectly set up the stage so I felt like a student at Gold Coast Prep and was able to feel the pressure of what was at stake. Heck, there were parts where I felt my chest constrict because I could relate the anxiety of trying and trying and trying and still not feeling like it's enough. I love being able to slip into a book like that.

The lies, secrets, and deceit are deliciously juicy to watch play out. Maybe it's this world is so far removed from anything I've ever know but I did have to suspend quite a bit of disbelief for things to play out. I'm sure rich kids get away with a lot but maybe not quite this much. That said it was still fun to read about this world and the scandalous things going on.

My biggest complaint is the story focused too much on drama involving the Players. I was really hoping for a bigger focus on the murder mystery. Yes, the later half of the book shifts the focus to more of a mystery but it's not quite enough for my taste. Plus the summary puts a pretty heavy emphasis on the mystery.

Recommended more for fans of 'Gossip Girl' than 'One of Us Is Lying'.'

“They Wish They Were Us” by Jessica Goodman

I received an e-ARC from PenguinTeen and Netgalley for my honest review.

They Wish They Were Us is an intriguing mystery about privilege, loyalty, and the cost of friendship. Jill, a high school senior and member of Gold Coast Prep’s exclusive group, the Players, discovers that her best friend’s murderer has declared his innocence. Although Jill and her friends were present three years ago when Shaila was killed by her then boyfriend and fellow Players initiate, Graham, none of them remember nor want to recall the events of that night. Why would anyone other than Graham want Shaila dead?

Much of the story is told through Jill’s reflections and memories of Shaila and through her present day interactions with current and former Players, teachers, and school administrators. These conversations and reflections help weave together the guarded details leading up to the night of Shaila’s brutal murder. Goodman does a wonderful job of portraying the dangerous underbelly of fraternal societies and the willful ignorance that ensues when traditions are threatened. In this story it appears that everyone has something to gain, but no one minds losing a friend or two to get it. From the beginning until the end the reader will find themselves piecing together the events of the night Shaila died, up until the final reveal.

Although the novel includes a diverse cast of characters, their voices are never fully developed beyond the surface, and at times they are unrelatable. This story not only left me needing to know more about the inception and purpose of the Players, but it also left me wanting to know more about the individuals who would choose to join this elusive and seemingly dangerous group. Of course, I expect this will likely be addressed within the finalized version of the book. Overall, I found this book to be a fast-paced and engaging who-done-it mystery. It is perfect for fans of cult classics such as Gossip Girls, Pretty Little Liars, and Mean Girls.

They Wish They Were Us is such a great murder mystery book!
I love that it had me guessing the whole way through! It had me holding my breathe and reading as fast as I could so I could get to the end and figure out what happened! Lol
Thank you so much for this e-arc!

What would you sacrifice for a golden ticket to your dream college? Jill has earned this prestigious status at Gold Coast Prep. It's senior year and Jill and her Players group have the chance to initiate the incoming freshman. But Jill doesn't want it to be the same as the previous years, years when the props went too far, the year her best friend was murdered. Will Jill survive her senior year to reap the benefits of what she has sacrificed? They Wish They were Us is a roller coaster ride through the pressures of high school academics and scholarly achievement. Goodman touches on difficult topics young adults go through such as rape, alcohol abuse, sexism, and classism. The novel will keep the reader guessing how far the players will go and who is behind a player's murder. Under the high thrill of a secret (yet not so secret) society and murder on the run, the book does not venture deep into the issues presented and is predictable at the end.

Thank you to PenguinTeen and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC for my review.

Real rating: 3.5/5 stars.

I think this book is kind of the equivalent of reading an episode of Riverdale. It was pretty entertaining and a very quick read, but the big twist is not hard to predict and there was a real feeling of it needing just a little something else. Most of the main characters were kind of awful in their own ways and I think Henry is the only person I really felt bad for, but that didn't last too long.

For all the build up of how bad the Players are throughout the book, I think it takes a little too long for why they are bad to be spelled out. By the time that is revealed, it is kind of an anti-climax.

All of this being said, I wasn't bored while reading it and I enjoyed the pacing. It will be interesting to see what the author comes out with next!

Gossip Girl meets MURDER in this YA thriller that had me wanting more. It took me a few days, but I easily could have stayed up and finished it in 24 hours. I was OBSESSED. Quick-paced, this book has you flipping the pages so quick to see what happens next. Readers will follow Jill and her group of friends, The Players. The Players are an elite group at their prestigious school that did a lot of things to get to the top, some easy and some they'd rather forget about. How far are you willing to go to belong? How far are you willing to go to find the truth? We don't know until we're put in a position where we have to risk everything.

Review posted on GoodReads (June 24, 2020)
Review Linked.

3/5 stars!

A huge thank you to PenguinTeen and NetGalley for sending me an E-Arc for an honest review!

I was really interested in this book when I heard about the premise, and I did really like the ending. However, I did find the middle of this book a little slow, and I did find the plot predictable. I also had an issue connecting with the main character. One last thing that I had trouble with while reading this book, and one thing I think that caused me to not love this book, was how I found the switching between flashbacks and the present time very confusing.

I did like the writing style and the idea. I think that if you loved Gossip Girl or Veronica Mars, or any other YA thriller/crime, then you would like this book!

Thanks for reading!
Caden

WOW! This book was great! I love books that include private schools(because they remind me of Harry Potter/hogwarts) and this one was awesome. It has great friendships, a lot of mystery, and kept you guessing. This reminded me of the book we were liars, another book that has a similar mysterious past! I would recommend this to people who love contemporary mysteries that aren’t as predictable as you would think!

I won this ARC in a contest provided by the publisher. My review is completely honest and voluntary, I was in no way compensated for this review.


I went into Jessica Goodman's They Wish They Were Us expecting an edge of your seat, creepy thriller set in a preppy high school of the rich and elite. Thinking that the vapid and vain people were hiding dangerous secrets...but sadly, that's not what I got at all.

My main issue was that I wanted a good creepy thriller mystery and instead what I got was what I felt like was a straight up contemporary read on the everyday lifestyles of the rich and elite students of Gold Cost prep. Jill Newman isn't quite typical student though, she's not of the overtly rich and famous, she's actually at the school on a scholarship. This year though, she's a senior and her and her best friends are finally the leaders of the Players. The super-super elite popular group that basically controls everything about the school and can literally cheat their way into the top colleges of their choice. I mean, seriously! Jill mentions how they all have an app that has all the test answers they'd ever need, what you need to write about in your entrance exams to get into this or that college. It was kind of disgusting. I mean, Jill admits to working hard and trying not to use the easy way outs all the time, but not "all of the time" is still "some of the time."

What continued to bug me was how these Players thought they were all so entitled to everything and I mean everything. Whatever they wanted, they got because they were Players. It was just so disturbing. Plus, when it came to recruiting new Players every year, students were subjected to gross and inhumane tasks in order to achieve the ultimate popularity and privileges.

Now I don't want all this to come off as Goodman being a bad writer, it just wasn't a lifestyle I cared to read about. It was just disturbing and disgusting. The things that Jill and her friends went through their freshman year was just so disgusting, and it was really only the girls who were subjected to the absolute worst. It was just wrong.

This book comes off as a contemporary read to me. Jill gets the first text that would suggest her best friend's murderer isn't really the murderer fairly early, within the first five chapters I'd say, but then all her friends tell her to let it go. So, she does. And then it's back to the literal everyday life of Jill Newman and her friends. Going from day to day, watching freshmen and other underclassmen subject themselves to ultimate humiliation to earn a spot on the Players team for future years to come. It was absolutely and utterly boring coming from a thriller reader's perspective.

It's not until you're past the 65% mark that Jill starts to tire of Player games and trials and thought maybe there was some validity to the claim that her best friend's murderer isn't who they all thought it was. PAST the 65% mark!!! I just read over half a book of watching a person go through their everyday life and it was the most boring thing ever! I was just so aggravated by this, because less than half the book was spent on looking into the mystery element of what I thought was going to be a mystery story!

Another thing that totally bogged me down with reading were the constant flashbacks Jill went through. I mean, I get that some of them might have been necessary, but not all of them. They were just so dull and it took you away from the moment in the present. Perhaps it was just the eARC formatting too, because these flashbacks didn't happen in a way where you could see that they were flashbacks and then you didn't really catch onto returning to the present. I think this was more of an eARC thing, but still, it made it really hard to follow the story-line.

Another gripe I have was Jill herself. In the book she had a very nice boyfriend among her circle of friends, but she didn't love him. Really, it seemed like she was just using him to make her crush--who was away in college and not even at her high school anymore--jealous. Adam was the one who recruited her to be a Player and subjected her to the humiliation trials in order to win her place among them. She fell in love with him from the moment she met him basically and secretly lusted after him her freshmen year and after he went to college she kept in touch with him here and there. Having a boyfriend was just easy, and expected for a Player apparently. What was worse, her boyfriend seemed to really care for her and she just strung him along knowing that one day they'd end things and she could be with her crush Adam. It just seemed cruel and heartless of her, and here we're supposed to be rooting for Jill as she's our heroine of the story. Her romantic decisions didn't sit right with me and made me like her even less.

So once we got up to that 70% mark or so, the mystery really started to thicken and get interesting! I had two suspects myself. One came up fairly early on, the other one around the midway point and and I can definitely say I sooooo knew whodunit!

In the end, I will say that I was a bit disappointed with this one. I went in expecting a great thriller mystery and instead got a contemporary read that had an underlying mystery that needed solving that our characters eventually got around to solving in the end. Things felt rather resolved in the end-end, so I'm a little uncertain why Goodreads is showing this one as a series. I suspect it could be a possible continuation as if there's more that we don't know, or as the series' title suggest, it could involve a whole new cast of Players and mystery. Only time will tell, but I can honestly say that I likely won't be reading that one.

I still have another of Goodman's book on my TBR pile that I plan to read at some point. I won't say I am turned away from this author, but if this other book turns out to be a contemporary read with just a tiny mystery that needs solving, it might turn me away from her books for good. If you enjoy contemporary reads and are not opposed to mini mysteries, I would recommend They Wish They Were Us. If you love a good straight up mystery, well, don't expect much from this book.


Overall Rating 2.5/5 stars



They Wish They Were Us releases August 4, 2020

Jill Newman attends Gold Coast Prep, a prestigious school that seems to create brilliant graduates. In freshman year, Jill's best friend, Shaila Arnold is killed by her boyfriend, Graham. Three years later, Jill is a senior, and part of The Players, the elite of Gold Coast Prep. When Jill starts receiving texts from Rachel, Graham's older sister, claiming his innocence, everything becomes more complicated. Now, Jill needs to decide who she believes, and who she can trust in the end.

I think this was more of a 2.75/5 star read for me, but I'm rounding it up for the sake of Goodreads having a crappy rating system. I was a bit disappointed in this because I was able to figure out who the killer was very early on, but I had written them off because it seemed to obvious an option... but then I ended up being correct in the end. The plot was a bit slow, spending more time on Player drama then the murder mystery. I was intrigued with the Players and what they were all about, but I wasn't all that impressed with how much they complained about EVERYTHING. It seemed a bit silly when they are handed everything on a silver platter and still have the audacity to complain about having to get donuts for a senior above them... I dunno, it just rubbed me the wrong way I guess. I did enjoy Jill and her development throughout the story. I like that she finally realized the Players didn't need to be something she put on a pedastal. I also enjoyed how the story flipped between the past and present without it being too jarring to read.

Overall, a fun read, but nothing to memorable in my opinion.

Elite private school kids caught up in deadly pranks and hazing rituals? Sign. Me. Up.

The story "They Wish They Were Us" follows high school seniors at a rich private school in Staten Island, where the elite is made up of a group of hand chosen students to run the school and pass down their traditions for the next batch of seniors. "The Players" as they're called, select new candidates from freshman stock before the start of their senior year. To be chosen is not only an honor, it's a guarantee of the best opportunities for a future you could only dream of. Acceptance into top Ivy League schools, networking with powerful leaders in various fields, a guaranteed perfect GPA, not to mention the ultimate in high school social status. But this senior class of 'Players' is haunted by their own freshman initiation, where they lost two of their own in a tragic night that resulted in the death of one and the imprisonment of the other. Determined to carry on with their responsibilities of choosing the new "Players', partying, and enjoying their last year of high school popularity, they all try and push away the memories of that night, and with it, the truth.

This book was fast paced, edgy, full of mystery, and dipped between past and present seamlessly. I found myself double guessing all the characters and wondering just how deep the secrets went in every chapter. The gothic school setting mixed with the almost George Orwell-esque descent into bacchanalian scenery made me anxious, frightful and thrilled. This debut is such a haunting read, and the reveal stayed with me long after I finished the book. Even after knowing all of the sordid deeds committed by and to the 'Players', I couldn't help wondering if I had been there, would I wish I was them?

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for this amazing E-ARC!

This was an engaging fast-paced read with a cool secret society twist. I would've loved more time spent with the murder mystery plot line versus the secret society challenges and flashbacks, but overall a solid read!