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A review by oashackelford
They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman
3.0
Jill Newman is a scholarship kid going to an elite school on the east coast. Everything she is supposed to be doing should be pointing her towards college, so why is she a part of the players? The players are an exclusive club at school that tortures it's members but making them humiliate themselves in order to gain access to the files, a set of records that has the answers to all the tests at school as well as elite study guides for the SATs and connections to help students get into Ivy league schools. Five years ago when Jill was trying to join the Players her best friend died, but now Jill isn't so sure that the story adds up. Can she go against the players, and the school's wishes and find out what really happened to her friend that night?
This book was only okay for me. The plot was interesting enough for me to keep reading because I wanted to find out what happened, but the book moved really slowly and wasn't enough of a mystery to really call it a mystery. The book mostly just recounts Jill's relationship with her best friend in her memories, and how she is feeling in her current relationships in the present. A lot of the book is how messed up the players are, not about solving the mystery, and when they do solve the mystery it is the smallest part of the book and the twist is clear a mile off. If you like shows like gossip girl about intrigue and elite private groups getting into trouble because they are rich and they can, then this book would probably be perfect for you. If you prefer investigative mystery novels, then I would keep looking. The plot also moved too slowly for my taste. It was okay, but not one I will read again, unless of course I forgot what the plot was, because it was a little forgettable.
This book was only okay for me. The plot was interesting enough for me to keep reading because I wanted to find out what happened, but the book moved really slowly and wasn't enough of a mystery to really call it a mystery. The book mostly just recounts Jill's relationship with her best friend in her memories, and how she is feeling in her current relationships in the present. A lot of the book is how messed up the players are, not about solving the mystery, and when they do solve the mystery it is the smallest part of the book and the twist is clear a mile off. If you like shows like gossip girl about intrigue and elite private groups getting into trouble because they are rich and they can, then this book would probably be perfect for you. If you prefer investigative mystery novels, then I would keep looking. The plot also moved too slowly for my taste. It was okay, but not one I will read again, unless of course I forgot what the plot was, because it was a little forgettable.