Jessica Goodman

Jill Newman's best friend, the enigmatic Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend three years ago. After that dark night on the beach, Graham confessed, the case was closed, and Jill and her friends 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, the admiration of the entire school, and the highest grades. This is going to be Jill's year. She's sure of it. But when she starts getting texts proclaiming Graham's innocence, Jill's dreams of the perfect senior year, in her perfect seaside town, with her perfect group of friends, starts to crumble. Suddenly, flashes of that night on the beach freshman year start coming back to her, along with memories she's tried to suppress. More than anything, Jill wants to uncover the truth about what happened to Shaila, but she soon realizes that doing so means putting her friendships, and her future, in jeopardy.

They Wish They Were Us

At an exclusive prep school on Long Island, Jill Newman looks forward to her senior year as a member of the school's most elite clique, the Players, until new evidence surfaces about the murder of her close friend Shaila.

౨ৎ | I think she died from anger, from betrayal. From wanting too much all at once. From never feeling full. Her rage was all-consuming.

i love when a book completely deviates from the plot and doesn’t pick it back up till 99% of the way through the book. 

the beginning was boring. the plot twist was NOWHERE. the murderer is the most predictable thing about this book. the characters are a SNOOZE fest. 

anyway i liked the prologue! had some of my favourite quotes. 

౨ৎ | I think she died from anger, from betrayal. From wanting too much all at once. From never feeling full. Her rage was all-consuming.

— ★ 1/5

i love when a book completely deviates from the plot and doesn’t pick it back up till 99% of the way through the book. 

the beginning was boring. the plot twist was NOWHERE. the murderer is the most predictable thing about this book. the characters are a SNOOZE fest. 

anyway i liked the prologue! had some of my favourite quotes. 

Linara K.S

trixie

3.5/5 

does it speak more to me or the book that i guessed the “twist” from the second chapter. anyway sydney sweeney being a lil fruity supremacy <3

An entertaining page-turner! Reminded me of a lite version of The Maidens; a suspenseful and dark mystery circled around a small school community.

I enjoyed this one, it's a bit predictable but it's an entertaining page-turner and I blew through this in a week. Starts off a bit slow (none of the characters are very likable....they're privileged, vapid secret-society kids at a prep school!) but the main character Jill develops over the course of it in an interesting way.

I'm a sucker for YA cold-case murder thrillers, I guess. A lot of the "discoveries" were a bit incidental (right place, right time, i.e. accidentally bumping into something and finding A Big Clue) but it was a fun suspenseful read. Jill's relationship with her best friend Nicki and the sister-of-the-accused-murderer Rachel is the most compelling part of the story.

The blind-date description on this book called it "dark academia" but it felt more like a modern thriller at a prep school, less musty libraries and knit sweaters and ink stains on fingers. (I guess I just associate dark academia with a more fantasy genre.)

, dark themes and suspenseful, but for a younger crowd. Still, a lot of horrific shit happens in the book. TW for coerced drinking, bullying, hazing, attempted assault.

One thing I liked in particular was how the flashbacks were told, and at what points. It would have been easy to make this a book separated into chapters of present / past, but I'm really glad she didn't do that. Instead, the flashbacks emerge organically throughout the story - like it would naturally as a character remembers something. That way, a scene is interrupted by a flashback without a page break, and it feels like getting swept away in the current of Jill's repressed memories.

I'm interested to check out other books by this author! She has a great way of spinning a story.

Caroline Clutterbuck Kapulkin

An entertaining page-turner! Reminded me of a lite version of The Maidens; a suspenseful and dark mystery circled around a small school community.

I enjoyed this one, it's a bit predictable but it's an entertaining page-turner and I blew through this in a week. Starts off a bit slow (none of the characters are very likable....they're privileged, vapid secret-society kids at a prep school!) but the main character Jill develops over the course of it in an interesting way.

I'm a sucker for YA cold-case murder thrillers, I guess. A lot of the "discoveries" were a bit incidental (right place, right time, i.e. accidentally bumping into something and finding A Big Clue) but it was a fun suspenseful read. Jill's relationship with her best friend Nicki and the sister-of-the-accused-murderer Rachel is the most compelling part of the story.

The blind-date description on this book called it "dark academia" but it felt more like a modern thriller at a prep school, less musty libraries and knit sweaters and ink stains on fingers. (I guess I just associate dark academia with a more fantasy genre.)

It read like a lite version of The Maidens, dark themes and suspenseful, but for a younger crowd. Still, a lot of horrific shit happens in the book. TW for coerced drinking, bullying, hazing, attempted assault.

One thing I liked in particular was how the flashbacks were told, and at what points. It would have been easy to make this a book separated into chapters of present / past, but I'm really glad she didn't do that. Instead, the flashbacks emerge organically throughout the story - like it would naturally as a character remembers something. That way, a scene is interrupted by a flashback without a page break, and it feels like getting swept away in the current of Jill's repressed memories.

I'm interested to check out other books by this author! She has a great way of spinning a story.

Elisa Bieg

I really like YA mysteries and thrillers: they focus less on shock value and more on characterization and setting to build the sense of urgency — you come to care for the characters and don’t want things to go wrong for them. 

This one is YA but it reads a little differently: there is an undercurrent of danger, secrets, and something threatening beneath the surface which gives it that ominous vibe you’d normally associate with a gothic novel. I don’t normally enjoy gothic novels, but I could appreciate the sense of atmosphere. 

The novel is narrated in first person and has a fair amount of dialogue, and yet surprisingly I found the characterization a little lacking. None of the characters feel entirely three-dimensional, but more like chess pieces with specific roles — which is probably why I could guess the culprit so early on. 

That said, the writing was quite smooth and the pace was fairly consistent, building up drama and gradually leading up to the big reveals. It never got boring and I never felt like skimming, because I always felt like I shouldn’t miss any details. The scenes were fairly vivid, unlike some of the characters which for me stayed a little vague and amorphous until the very end. 

I don’t normally enjoy novels where the whole cast is made up of unlikeable characters, but there was something compelling about this, and I really wanted to find out about what happened next even though I didn’t like any of them. 

Overall, this was a mostly satisfying read, and I’d rate it somewhere above 3 1/2 stars, but not a full 4 stars — so I’ve rounded up to 4.

Courtney 

Aditi

TW: violence, on the page character death, alcohol and drug consumption, and sexual misconduct.

It really doesn't take a lot to impress me when it comes to dark academia but this has nothing going on for it. From the first chapter, I could tell that this was going to be really cheesy and I was ready to lean into it and enjoy it for what it was but it was just bad. The mystery was so obvious and it takes the main character so long to even start the investigation and it was really annoying to wait for her to start asking questions. 

That would've been fine if the characters could make up for it but they're all bland and boring. I didn't care about any of them and I thought the Player drama didn't need to take up that much of the book.

mia escoto

Beckah brooks

They say only the good die young, but that’s just a line in a stupid song we used to sing”
•
They Wish They Were Us is everything I was expecting. This book has been all over my feed. I picked it up. It did not disappoint! There was the perfect amount of murder, high school, partying, and secret societies. Definitely pick this one up!
•
In They Wish They Were Us is about Jill and her friends. They happen to be in a not so secret society called the Players. This society put them at the top of the food chain in the school. However, three years ago Jills best friend was murdered. And now someone is started to drag up the past and claim the murderer is innocent. The book follows Jill through what might be the craziest school year yet.

kendall p

This book is everything!! I am a sucker for mean girl books and this was IT. We have an exclusive club, on the beach as well as rivalry between everyone -- what more could you ask for? The characters are shallow, vapid and mean but it works so well. You honestly get lost in the book as you're reading and find your self wishing you could be along side jill solving the crime. speaking of the crime -- was anyone else shocked when the truth was reveled? I mean, I'm not going to spoil it but WOW. I mean, I did have bad vibes from him but I just thought he was a creep. 
Seriously though, if you like pretty little liars then you MUST read this book. The secrets, parties, lies, etc. It all just adds up to make one big messy drama vibes that you can't pull away from. The writing is so tastefully done and the clues are put in there at the perfect time. I have nothing bad to say about this book.

Chloe Searles

the start and end dates are wrong, but the amount of time it took for me to read it is right. i read this like a million years ago (actually just a couple of weeks ago). it was okay but i expected more since it is so popular. this book took FOREVER to get interesting. i feel like it was a waste of my time reading the first few chapters, they were unnecessary. this is more like a 2.9

FEVRONIA AVERI

Even though it took me a while to finish it I really liked it! And I didn't expect the ending!!

Zoe anne

Took a while to get into it, first book in a while that hasn't made me cry.

TV ADAPTATION "THE PLAYERS' TABLE" STARRING HALSEY AND EUPHORIA'S SYDNEY SWEENEY COMING TO HBO MAX “A pristine infusion of Gossip Girl and Netflix's Elite, this prep-school thriller has it all: plaid skirts, secret societies, and a gripping murder mystery, but paired with an adept critique of the powers and privileges that goeth before the fall.” – Elle 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 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.

Amanda Autumn Berrey

love it 

absolutely love this book. very much so worth all the hype. i definitely saw the ending coming but to be honest it was so well written i don’t even care. 5/5 stars.

Megan Oiler 

Somewhat predictable, but definitely enjoyable to say the least. Really enjoyed the ending; that feel good moment. I’ll be sure to check out other books by this author.

Brittany Harper

This was fine, but nothing spectacular.  It took about 200/250+ pages to really get into the story.  The first 2/3rds (200-250+ pages) seemed too wordy and didn't provide much detail or insight into the story.  Once it did get going, it felt still a little slow.  I did see the "big reveal" coming, and guessed who did it, well before the finale.  But it was fine overall.  Not the worst thing I've read.

megan

This book perfectly blends high school drama with murder, creating a sinister back drop that can only spell disaster. It's clear from the get-go that nothing is as it seems in Jill's perfect little world, and that the Players aren't as glamorous as they seem. I greatly enjoyed how the author would tease darker hints of Jill's life from the very beginning, successfully drawing the reader into the story. I found myself on the edge of my seat while reading this novel, waiting to see what twists may be around the corner.
I found Jill to be a very compelling character, and I enjoyed the various relationships she had with family and friends, and her dynamic with her younger brother in particular really interested me. Overall, I found this novel to be a real thrill!

Kirsty Henderson 

This is an incredibly amazing book! I absolutely loved it! As you all know I am a huge thriller fan and this one was just brilliant. Although I was able to guess who had done it, the book still kept me hooked on what was going to happen all the way to the end. The twists and turns in the books plot are expertly crafted and make such a suspenseful read! I would definitely recommend this book, even if you’re not a thriller fan you will love this one for sure! 

laura

*I got this book for review for the publisher for my honest thoughts*

This is a thriller that had some of my favorite elements a cool setting a long island boarding school, a secret society and a murder mystery. I really grew to love these characters throughout this read and loved the dyamanics of the cast. I found this book to engaging read. I think the second hand of this book and the pacing was much stronger. I really loved Jill as main character and loved how this book tackled harder issues like male and female relationships, school, cheating and murder. It was engaging mystery and I really hope we get more books set in this world in the future.

Kymberly L McNabb

Pretty Little Liars meets Gossip Girl. Interesting but I felt the ending was predictable.

Emily C Peterson

Faith Collins

Samantha Bass

This was, once again, a buddy read book that I read with my friend Grace, but this time we also read with our friend Bliss! We read about 50 pages every day, except for the ending which was about 70-80 pages.

And our group chat was going CRAZY talking about this book!

For starters, we talked extensively about who we thought the killer was. It was a lot of back and forth, but in the end, we guessed correctly - we just didn't guess HOW it ended. This was a rollercoaster of a book as we're lead with Jill through all the possibilities and all the obstacles in finding out what really happened to her best friend.

Besides the mystery, we also talked a lot about Jill's perception of Shaila and her friends in general. Mostly because they don't seem to act like friends. Maybe it's the Gossip Girl like situation, where everyone wants to act mature for their age and show that they don't care, but it just came across really fake. Especially when Jill would remember moments with Shaila or interacts with Nikki. They just seem nasty with each other and overall rude at times.

It was a bit weird.

But besides this weird dynamic, I was more invested in the mystery overall. I wanted to know who did it and why - because it really didn't seem like Graham was the killer, even during the flashbacks Jill was having.

I thought the build up to the reveal was awesome and it had me on edge, waiting to see what would happen. It was also really interesting getting to hear about this "secret society" they were initiated into called the Players - it was like a sorority and fraternity mixed together, but high school.

Overall, I liked the story and the ride in general, but the friendship dynamics were really weird. Jill's relationship with Shaila, and even with Nikki, don't seem genuine at times and it was at times uncomfortable. They claimed to be best friends but then pitted themselves against each other. Overall, I think this was a 3.5 // 5 stars for me (rounded up to 4).

If you like murder mysteries and/or Gossip Girl, you will definitely like this book. I thought it was set up well and the ending was really intense!

J.N. van Soest

** spoiler alert **
           *2.5 stars*

I enjoyed the reading experience but found it very predictable. I realised pretty early on what the plot was going to be and what twist would follow it. 

The characters were likeable and I did really feel their emotions. Some of them deserved so much more than what they got. With the ending fixing it a bit to late.

There was one scene wich I found unessesary (with the headmaster). But it didnt bother me to much. 

I personally cared more about the injustice for the boy than finding out who the real murderer was, I ofcourse also cared for the injustice for the girl who was murderd.

Seksisme is also a topic in the book but nobody really dealt with it, wich is a bid of a disappointment.

They Wish They Were Us

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