This was such an intriguing and suspenseful murder mystery! I did predict how it ended, but I loved the setting and the writing hooked me in from the very first page.

I enjoyed this but didn't love it. It did remind me of Gossip Girl because all of our characters go to a private school and are super rich. We follow Jill who is apart of 'the players' aka the elite group. Each grade has one and every year the senior class picks 8 freshmen to become 'players' and go through grueling tests to prove their worth.
Jill and 7 others were picked freshman year and now they are seniors and it's their year.
Jill's best friend, Shailia died on initiation night freshman year and her boyfriend, Graham was arrested for her murder and now 3 years later...questions are emerging, did he really do it?
We basically learn all about these tests and how hard all of their lives are and I just loathed all of these characters so much. I'm sorry but I did, and I found the hazing was horrible and yet year after year it gets worse. Overall it was ok...just didn't love it.

I’ve been in the mood for some suspenseful content as fall comes our way and this certainly was that! This prep school murder mystery had me feeling all of the fallish whodunnit teen drama sort of vibes. While I wasn’t a fan of the descriptive teen steam, it did keep me up late turning the pages and needing to know how this mystery ends.

Shaila, one of the exclusive not so secret society members, dies unexpectedly at an event during freshman year and her murderer is in prison. Now that Shaila’s friends are seniors and excited to finally rule over their peers, questions arise about what actually occurred that fateful night. Is the murderer still among the Players?

Thank you to Penguin Teen for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have a thing for YA thrillers and when I saw this book was for fans of One Of Us Is Lying, I knew I had to get my hands on They Wish They Were Us!

I love that this book tackles important topics like hazing, privilege, peer pressure, and overall just how hard it is to be a teenager (high school is hard, guys).

I have to admit it started off a little slow for me and never really picked up - I didn’t connect to any of the characters, so it was hard to stay engaged with the story. The teenagers in this book attend a prep school and most of them come from extremely privileged backgrounds. None of the characters were particularly likeable and I always struggle when I don’t have a character to cling on to. The dual timeline presented in the story was also difficult to keep up with - I had a hard time deciphering which timeline we were in.

I love a good mystery, but this one left me wanting more. I think the murder ended up being secondary to the lives of the characters and I was able to guess the “whodunnit” very early on.

Thank you Penguin Teen & Netgalley for an eARC copy of "They Wish They Were Us", in exchange for an honest review.

Pretty Little Liars meets Gossip Girl, meets Veronica Mars (season 1), is the vibes "They Wish They Were Us" exudes. Think of prep school teenage drama, with a splash of murder mixed in.

The story begins in current day, reflecting back on the elite prep school queen Shaila's murder. The other elite squad, aka the Players (I kept wanting to call them The Careers - Hunger Games anyone?), have moved on with their lives. Well as much as they can, dealing with their grief, applying for college, and also ruling the school as Seniors. Oh, and Graham who was convicted for Shaila's murder. BUT is he guilty?

I really enjoyed the flashbacks premise, as bit by bit of the story was uncovered, just one clue at a time. I definitely had a hunch of the "whodunnit" but not the "howdunnit", or the "whyyoudonnit". The Players and their world were my favorite part of novel, the "rich get richer" definitely applies on this coast. The Players and their family have the advantage, and can get away with everything (maybe even murder?).

I definitely recommend this novel it's the perfect YA escapism mystery, with a fun plot. I would love to see this made into a Netflix show! 4/5 Stars for me - a super fun read!

They Wish They Were Us is a young adult mystery thriller by Jessica Goodman. I thought this book was a good read, but it wasn't my favorite mystery ever. I think this book would be perfect for readers that are new to young adult murder mysteries, because the plot and characters are fun. But I think for readers who have read many mysteries, They Wish They Were Us was really easy to figure out. It was still an enjoyable read set in a prep school setting, with a secret society element added in.

They Wish They Were Us alternates between present day, where our main characters are seniors in high school and three years prior, to their freshman year, when one of their best friends was murdered. The main character in They Wish They Were Us is Jill, who attends the prestigious Cold Coats Prep on a scholarship. Along with her best friends Nikki and Shaila, were recruited into the school's secret society- The Players. The Players affords its' members with endless advantages, in school and in life through answer keys and valuable connections. But when Shaila is murdered during the final phase of hazing, everything changes. Her boyfriend confesses to her murder and the story fast forwards three years to their senior year, where her boyfriend is now rescinding his confession, claiming innocence.

As Jill tries to figure out if he is really innocent or not, she is also juggling her senior year, college admissions and struggling with the reality of her younger brother becoming a player. In addition to the murder mystery that is the primary plotline, secondary plots of hazing hazards and friendships are also present and they were my favorite part of the story. I figured out the murder pretty early on, but I enjoyed the journey the characters went on enough to keep reading. Overall, They wish they were us was a decent read, but it didn't blow my socks off. If you are new to young adult mysteries, I think you will really enjoy this book. If you are a true crime aficionado or a mystery buff, then this might be too easy for you to figure out- but it is still a fun read.

Hiiiii I'm really emotional right now. I want to first thank Penguin Teen for giving me an early eBook e-arc copy of this in exchange for a honest review.

I got so invested into this story. It honestly surprised me. I don't often really ever read murder mystery's or thrillers. But this one just got to me. I felt so emotionally connected to Jill. Just hearing everything from her side of the story, and all that she went through made me love and care for her so much.

There were quite a few people that I thought I could trust, but then I'd get smacked in the face with betrayal. It really shocked me. I predicted quite a few things (which I usually never can do that) but it kept taking so many twists and turns that I wasn't expecting at all.

I'm so happy I was able to read this. And as I sit here on my bed crying my eyes out, I would highly recommend this to anyone. It's worth the read.

This is a book about a group of (mostly) rich kids who belong to a secret club. There is a murder weaving mystery weaving throughout the story. This is a pretty run of the mill story and predictable but I still enjoyed it.

The Wish there were Us kept me guessing till the end. The underlying mystery in the book - I couldn't stop reading! Looking forward to the author's next one.

DNF at 28%

Found this to be very bland and unoriginal, I was not gripped enough to continue. I will edit my feedback should I decide to continue and finish this book at a later date.

As I sit down to write this review, I realize that I am pretty indifferent to this book. I neither hated nor loved it. It was a pretty middle of the road book for me, which was slightly disappointing considering I wanted so sadly to fall in love with it.

Let's talk about the pros first:
✔️ Rich kid drama with an exclusive and elite private school clique - I seriously love stories with this element! Initiation into "The Players" comes with some pseudo-hazing rituals but also promises of exclusive access to information and even test answers to ensure admission into Ivy League colleges. Essentially, lots so shady rich kid doings!
✔️ A murder mystery - Who wouldn't love a good ol' fashioned high school murder mystery being covered up by other high schoolers? Umm....I'm all in for this! (P.S. It usually never goes well, which is what makes it so entertaining.)
✔️ Friendship- I did appreciate the realness of the friendships and the teenage "girl drama" associated with them. I think this aspect alone will appeal to lots of YA readers.
✔️ I actually did not see the ending coming, so the twist was a pleasant surprise.

Now, the cons:
❌ Too little of the murder mystery- Although I did appreciate the exploration into the dynamics of friend circle in the story, it really did take away from what really makes the story- the murder. The murder of Shaila is always lurking in the background, and it seems to stay in the background for the majority of the story. I really would have liked to have had the murder taking the front seat and drive the plot a little more.
❌ "The Players"- I liked the idea of a secret society, but I felt that the characters took on more of a whiny, entitled tone than I would have liked.
❌Switches in time- I think that flashbacks can be done well, but they can also be done in a way that leaves you thinking "hold on, is this happening now? or did this already happen?" as you're reading. This book did the latter, unfortunately.
❌ The length- I normally don't complain about the length of a book, but this story could have been told in half the pages. There were times when I just felt like it was dragging, and I just wanted it to get to the point and move on to the next part of the plot.

Overall, I would rate this one 2.5/5. Like I said, it wasn't a horrible read, and I can certainly see this appealing to the high school girl demographic, but it was just not the book for me.

2.5⭐

They Wish They Were Us sounded like something I would love, but I struggled to get into this story. It kept me just interested enough to see if it got better. It was a little too predictable, and the alternating timelines were unclear and confusing at times. This wasn't really a bad book, but it doesn't stand out from any other YA thriller.

CW - sexual harassment, misogyny, bullying / hazing

I really enjoyed this one and think its definitely one that lovers of Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl will devour! The writing was pretty strong for a debut and I was thoroughly entertained throughout the entire reading experience! I cannot wait to see what else this author has in store and I'm still thinking about the ending / highly anticipating the eventual continuation of this dark little story

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

They Wish They Were Us is a debut YA mystery/thriller set at an elite private school on Long Island that tackles toxic cultures of hazing, misogyny, and privilege. When Jill was a freshman, she was tapped to join the elite Players, along with her best friend and 6 others. The Players have dark secrets and a history of hazing incoming freshman, viewed as required payment for the benefits of joining, but now Jill's cohort is in charge and things are going to be different. But is it that easy to break out of abusive cycles? And Jill may be a senior now, but her best friend is dead and she's starting to wonder if the person accused of her murder was the real culprit.

This has been compared to Gossip Girl, and I can definitely see why. We have a cast of complicated characters at an elite institution, though some are more elite than others. There are parties, drinking, drugs, sex, and cheating to get ahead. None of the characters (including Jill) are exactly likeable, but I do think the author effectively unpacks how they all got to where they are. Family and social pressure, the need to succeed, growing up with privilege, the normalization of misogyny and rape culture, and more. This isn't a light read, but I think it does a good job of getting inside hazing culture and how toxic and insidious it can be, even when people think they want to change it, and how it can end up being very dangerous.

The mystery element here seemed pretty obvious to me, but it was still reasonably well executed. This is the sort of book you will probably either be into or hate, depending on your taste. There are some things I didn't love, like the use of (view spoiler) and having a scene that basically normalizes girls faking orgasms during sex. (This really bugs me, especially in a book for teens. Sex should be about open communication and being okay with things not always working out perfectly.) She does a good job of addressing this issue of hazing, although that's usually more an issue in college than high school and you really have to suspend disbelief that young teens in a small town could really get away with all of this. I would have found it more believable at the university level. But privilege can be a hell of a drug, so maybe it's not so out there.

I do think this is a pretty good debut and I was certainly engrossed in the story. Not a new favorite, but I'll keep an eye on what else we get from this author.Thanks to Penguin Teen for providing a digital copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Content warnings include teen drinking and drug use, sexual assault, teens being drugged, severe hazing, misogyny, murder, violence, manipulation, cheating (in school and relationships), a possible teacher-student sexual relationship, and more.

DNF'd I am so sorry but this book landed quite flat. Maybe it is just the prep theme I wasnt a fan of. Rating it neutral three since I did not finish.

I think my expectations for this book were way too high. This was a solid read and I think many will enjoy it because this is not a bad book. The problem is, I thought I was getting a book where high school kids were truly behaving badly in the most sinister way, and this book just was not that. The acts these privileged kids were pulling were fairly "normal" for kids in the elite class. I wanted something that borderline scared me with how horrific these teenagers were acting, but this was just your typical privileged kids behaving like spoiled brats.

At times this book was a bit to juvenile for me. However it is written for a younger crowd. We have a bunch of rich kids, a few not so rick at a prep school. They take hazing to the next level. During one of their parties a girl is found dead. They believe its her boyfriend. He however can't remember what happened. He wakes with blood all over him and admits to killing her.

Its 3 years later and the truth wants to come out. So who is the one lying?

I did enjoy the end very much and overall it was an enjoyable read.

This book fed my Gossip Girl, Clique, I Know What You Did Last Summer 90s-2000s soul. There better be a sequel! Loved it. It was a perfect, who-dunnit, Pretty Little Liars, summer read!

I had such high expectations for this book. It sounded like the perfect book for me. Sadly, this book did not live up to what I thought it would be. It is advertised as a Gossip Girl MEETS One of Us is Lying, but I did not feel as if the book met those expectations. Gossip Girl is iconic and sadly I must say the book was more of a discount gossip girl than anything. The murder seemed so background and honestly, the murder was the main reason why I picked this up. This book is just high school drama with a dash of someone did something bad. Prep School books are normally a favorite of mine, but again this book did not meet those expatiations.

Now, I must admit the book was somewhat interesting. I like the idea that the kids have all the power and when one messes up its pretty easy to clean up. I Guessed who the murderer was right away and was pretty disappointed when I learned I was right, but I did enjoy the reveal and how there were hints throughout the book that told you who it was.

I received a free copy of They Wish They Were Us from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I have a soft spot for prep school dramas and thrillers. As someone who attended a similar school growing up these stories connect with me in ways that others high school dramas/thrillers don’t. Plus it’s so great seeing some jerk get their comeuppance! I enjoyed this story but I’m not really sure how unique or earth shattering it is. It’s formulaic and predictable which can be nice in a comfort read but if you’re looking for a wild ride this isn’t the thriller. I enjoyed it just fine.