A review by mtngirl4
They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman

1.0

This book has all the YA tropey garbage that I just can't stand. A bunch of over-privileged private school kids who literally get away with murder and reap no consequences. There is a secret society of the chosen (called the Players) who haze and terrorize their pledges (called the Undies) with alcohol and sex and demeaning acts all year, and the reward is entrance into an elite society that has access to an app with all the answers to every test and a guaranteed spot in the cool club. And then guess what? In the middle of all their hijinks, someone dies, and someone else is framed for it. And guess what else? It is so obvious who the real killer is that its not even suspenseful. And, as usual, there is not a parent in sight monitoring any of it. Jill's parents feature periodically, but never once do they question anything that happens! YA books like this just drive me crazy. They don't teach anything and aren't edifying at all. They just follow an overused, overrated template. Skip this one.