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phoebe_erh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While I at first found the characters way too unlikable and annoyingly privelliged, as the book progressed and their flaws became highlighted I found it a great read. I had some difficulty distinguishing some of the players but eventually got used to having so many characters. the beginning is a bit weak due to how annoying they were before they encountered difficulty and how weird their school and traditions are as a non American, but it is worth holding on past this for the pay off of the book overall. having Adam as the killer despite many potential suspects and also his closeness to Jill made the twist even more intense. i also loved the self awareness to make it that what effectively killed Shaila was the power that came with being a player and how Adam’s self entitlement as a result of this made it easier for him to become cruel and manipulative in a way that was unimaginable. Also having an ending other than them disbanding the players would have been really frustrating so the ending really rounded the book out. </spoilers>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Car accident
emily_mh's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
It is not often I come across a book that I don't like a single thing about, but unfortunately They Wish They Were Us was one of these. Nothing happens in this book. There is no proper investigation as you would expect in a mystery/thriller book, and no character development. I couldn't stand most of the characters. Jill herself is so judgemental it's gross, and her friends are horrible and are redeemed without doing anything to earn it . The "Players" plot line is the ONLY plot line for half of this book, and then half of the plot line for the remainder of the book and it just wasn't interesting. There was an attempt at an analysis of misogyny within hazing but it didn't really go anywhere. I was really disappointed that the book turned out the way it did as I've been looking forward to reading it for a while. Regardless, I am still interested in reading They'll Never Catch Us as the premise sounds interesting and this book was only Goodman's debut.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Confinement, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Drug use, Alcohol, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Violence, Physical abuse, Child death, Murder, and Death
Minor: Drug abuse, Car accident, Ableism, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Torture, Self harm, Antisemitism, and Adult/minor relationship
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