Book Review: "They Wish They Were Us" by Jessica Goodman
"They Wish They Were Us" by Jessica Goodman
Synopsis: 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. - Razorbill
Rating: 3.75
Review: When writing this review, I realized that beyond historic romances and books about magic, I have another genre of book I adore: preppy kids behaving badly. Add in a secret society, and I’m totally sold. So, when I saw this pop up on an instagram post last weekend, I was in: prep school, secret society, murder, smart kids gone horribly awry.
It’s senior year on Long Island, and at first glance, Jill has everything going for her: she’s in the elite group, she’s got an adorable boyfriend, she’s headed to the Ivy League. Everything she’s worked for her whole life is happening — until she gets a text that casts into doubt everything she’s ever known. You see, her best friend was murdered years ago (of course, by the boyfriend), and he’s claiming innocence.
The rest of the book is Jill’s trying to get to the bottom of this crime, and as I’m sure you can imagine, she’s met with a lot of resistance from all fronts: her classmates, her fellow Players, adults at the school. I’m not going to overstate the character development and say this was a novel of self-discovery, but it was refreshing to see a teen girl not give into peer pressure and stand up for what’s right (in this particular setting). Jill does push back against the system, even at personal cost, and ultimately, the book ends quite satisfactorily.
While there are definitely some plot holes — I can’t imagine adults deferring to a teenage clique or turning a blind eye at some of this behavior — the story is quick and fun, and I was genuinely surprised by who actually killed Shaila. So, when I say I could see this as a Netflix series or on the CW, I mean that with the highest praise. It was an excellent summer afternoon diversion and a pleasant escape from 2020 in general.
TL;DR: A fast and fun whodunit at a wealthy prep school that’s ruled by a not-so-secret clique — is there anything that sounds like more fun right now?
If You Liked This, Try These:
“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson - Bookshop | Kindle (my review here!)
“One of Us is Lying” - Bookshop | Kindle and “One of Us is Next” - Bookshop | Kindle, both by Karen M. McManus (in writing this review, I realize I never posted my review of these two books - coming ASAP!)
“Ninth House” by Leigh Bardugo - Bookshop | Kindle (my review here!)
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