They Wish They Were Us

Written by Jessica Goodman

Narrated by Kristen Sieh

“Gossip Girl but make it a juicy murder mystery.”—E! Online

A taut murder mystery set against the backdrop of an elite prep school with an exclusive secret society, from New York Times bestselling author of The Counselors.

In Gold Coast, Long Island, everything from the expensive downtown shops to the manicured beaches, to the pressed uniforms of Jill Newman and her friends, looks perfect. But as Jill found out three years ago, nothing is as it seems.

Freshman year Jill's best friend, the brilliant, dazzling Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend. After that dark night on the beach, Graham confessed, the case was closed, and Jill tried to move on.

Now, it's Jill's senior year and she's determined to make it her best yet. After all, she's a senior and a member of Gold Coast Prep's exclusive, not-so-secret secret society. But when Jill starts getting texts proclaiming Graham's innocence, her dreams of the perfect senior year start to crumble. If Graham didn't kill Shaila, who did? Jill vows to find out, but digging deeper could mean putting her friendships, and her future, in jeopardy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9780593209066

Jessica Goodman

Jessica Goodman es la autora del best seller Sueñan con ser como nosotras, su primera novela. Editora en la revista Cosmopolitan, formó parte del equipo que ganó el premio a Mejor Revista nacional en 2017. Además, ha trabajado en revistas como Entertainment Weekly, HuffPost, Elle y Marie Claire.

Reviews for They Wish They Were Us

[lynnmpk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An average YA thriller. I did enjoy reading it, but I never felt compelled to read large chunks at a time. The author tried to make the characters distinct, but there ended up being a lot of telling and not showing since we only get the story from the perspective of one person. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.

[mutantpudding · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Actually a pretty good critique of wealth and privilege in academia. Ok murder mystery. I guessed the culprit pretty early but to be honest that was based on my own opinions on the characters ethics more than the book itself.

[oldandnewbooksmell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

They Wish They Were Us is about Jill Newman and her senior year at Gold Coast Prep. Though everything looks perfect, it's far from it. Three years ago, Jill's best friend Shaila Arnold was murdered. Her boyfriend Graham confessed, the police arrested him, case closed. Now, Jill is a senior member of the Players (a Gold Coast Prep exclusive, not-so-secret society) and she's ready to make a change. One night, she gets a text claiming Graham's innocence and her year begins to crumble. She needs to find out what really happened to her best friend, no matter the cost.

I enjoyed this book, but I think I enjoyed it most because of the character of Jill Newman. She's a badass, independent female character who knows what she wants. Her friends though, I absolutely hated them at the beginning - spoiled little rich kids who think the world owes them everything. But throughout the book, Jessica Goodman was able to drop hints here and there about why they are the way they are, and it made me hate them less. By the end of the book, I actually started rooting for them.

Towards the end of the book, I had a thought as to what the twist was, but still didn't know who the killer was, not until it was basically revealed. Goodman did an excellent job at keeping the suspense. The twist ended up being good - sometimes with murder mysteries, the killer/killing ends up being a bit out there, but this one added up.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the mystery within. It kept me turning the pages to see what the end results were.

*Thank you Bookishfirst and Razorbill for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[shellypya · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Gold Coast, Long Island, everything from the expensive downtown shops to the manicured beaches, to the pressed uniforms of Jill Newman and her friends, looks perfect. But as Jill found out three years ago, nothing is as it seems. Freshman year Jill's best friend, the brilliant, dazzling Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend. After that dark night on the beach, Graham confessed, the case was closed, and Jill tried to move on. Now, it's Jill's senior year and she's determined to make it her best yet. After all, she's a senior and a Player--a member of Gold Coast Prep's exclusive, not-so-secret secret society. Senior Players have the best parties, highest grades and the admiration of the entire school. This is going to be Jill's year. She's sure of it. But when Jill starts getting texts proclaiming Graham's innocence, her dreams of the perfect senior year start to crumble. If Graham didn't kill Shaila, who did? Jill vows to find out, but digging deeper could mean putting her friendships, and her future, in jeopardy.

[bettytaylor56 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An entertaining Young Adult read. Great for fans of Gossip Girl. Lots of high school angst, lies, betrayals, and secrets.

The protagonist Jill Newman is now a high school senior at the prestigious Gold Coast Prep. Along with her friends Nikki, Marla, Quinton, Henry, and Robert, she should be excited that they now rule the exclusive society, The Players. They are now the leaders of the privileged few. However, they cannot escape the fact that there should be eight Players, not six. But three years ago, on initiation night, Jill’s best friend Shaila Arnold was killed by her boyfriend and fellow Player Graham. Graham confessed and has been in prison since the murder. But now he claims he is innocent. So, what actually happened that night?

Jill is caught in the middle. Should she try to find out what really happened and possibly alienate her friends, or don’t rock the boat and get through senior year? As the story evolves and secrets are slowly revealed, we learn Jill’s true character.

I thought the book gave a realistic view of how teens deal with their issues and the decisions they must make to maintain the popular elite image. I loved the focus on female friendships and loyalty. I was kept in suspense trying to figure out who really did kill Shaila and why. The plot twists were surprising yet believable.

[lea.pearl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this book, so my review is based on the audio version narrated by Kristen Sieh. The narrative is nice, Kristen does a great job with this book.

Throughout the novel you learn about The Players and their backstories, how they became the cliquey seniors they are. Jill, the main protagonist, receives a text message with information about Shaila's death three years ago. From there, the story flows and I was captivated pretty quickly.

I laughed out loud at some of the things the characters said to each other, typically High School antics. I found it enjoyable, but not much chill-factor being labelled as a thriller. It's more of a light mystery, I feel.

I was quite intrigued by the whole story. I will definitely have to read a physical copy at some point.