They Wish They Were Us
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-03 09:51:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jessica Goodman
- ISBN：0593114310
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
TV ADAPTATION THE PLAYERS' TABLE STARRING HALSEY AND EUPHORIA'S SYDNEY SWEENEY COMING TO HBO MAX
"A pristine infusion of Gossip Girl and Netflix's Elite， this prep-school thriller has it all: plaid skirts， secret societies， and a gripping murder mystery， but paired with an adept critique of the powers and privileges that goeth before the fall。" - Elle
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。
"A pristine infusion of Gossip Girl and Netflix's Elite， this prep-school thriller has it all: plaid skirts， secret societies， and a gripping murder mystery， but paired with an adept critique of the powers and privileges that goeth before the fall。" - Elle
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。
Reviews
Haley
，
SOOO GOODDD
Lisa Albright
，
Prep school group with mysterious rituals and secrets， a murder of one of their own， and the truth gradually comes out。 This debut is amazingly well-written and told in intriguing past and present timelines effectively keeping me glued to the pages。 The clues are revealed with a tantalizing slowness that reminded me of a Gothic mystery and the conclusion is oh so satisfying。 I received a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review。
Sandy
，
If you’re looking for a elite prep school murder mystery， The Ivies was better， at least in that novel I could care about a few of the characters， and the mystery wasn’t completely obvious。 Jill and all her “Players” are just ridiculously horrible people。 Jill is the “best” of the pack because she doesn’t want to haze the incoming group as badly as on former years and because she listens when a friend tells her he didn’t murder someone。 Given this， should I be concerned if she doesn’t get into B If you’re looking for a elite prep school murder mystery， The Ivies was better， at least in that novel I could care about a few of the characters， and the mystery wasn’t completely obvious。 Jill and all her “Players” are just ridiculously horrible people。 Jill is the “best” of the pack because she doesn’t want to haze the incoming group as badly as on former years and because she listens when a friend tells her he didn’t murder someone。 Given this， should I be concerned if she doesn’t get into Brown？ If she fails a test because she can’t cheat？ If this “Player” empire all falls apart？ No。 Not concerned in the least。 “We made it out alive” is the resounding anthem that ends the book。 Wow。 🙄I’m addition， within the first couple chapters， I had the two primary suspects pegged and at the end， they were evaluated in that order。 Sigh。 One nice thing I will say was that the audiobook was well done。 Nicely narrated！ It wasn’t even badly written to be honest just not one character in here is worth your time…Apparently， if you like Gossip Girls， you may like this。 I do not like Gossip Girls。 （Language everywhere; drugs， hazing， sex， assault…you name it） 。。。more
Shelbs
，
I absolutely loved this book， there were some moments where it felt slow but I was absolutely hooked。 Finished it in one night
Avery Harrald
，
so so good。 the ending was especially so good， even though i had my suspicions。
Jill Dooley
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The most predictable and boring YA I've read in awhile。 The most predictable and boring YA I've read in awhile。 。。。more
Trigger Warning Database
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Trigger & Content WarningsAttempted rapeCheatingSelf harm， impliedBlood depictionMurderHazing
Olivia Shackelford
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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 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。 。。。more
Caitlyn
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This book was exactly what I needed at the moment and I really enjoyed it。 It gave me Pretty Little Liars vibes and I was obsessed with both the books and TV show。 It was the perfect type of mystery/thriller for me where it’s not that scary but keeps me engaged with the story。 I’m a scaredy-cat so this is important lol。 I wish the mystery part / solving of the mystery didn’t take so long to start， but I was still very engaged with the story from the start。 I really enjoyed the writing， but the w This book was exactly what I needed at the moment and I really enjoyed it。 It gave me Pretty Little Liars vibes and I was obsessed with both the books and TV show。 It was the perfect type of mystery/thriller for me where it’s not that scary but keeps me engaged with the story。 I’m a scaredy-cat so this is important lol。 I wish the mystery part / solving of the mystery didn’t take so long to start， but I was still very engaged with the story from the start。 I really enjoyed the writing， but the way the flash backs worked in sometimes were kind of clunky。 I this it may have worked better if it was separate chapters， but I definitely go used to it by the end and it didn’t bother me as much。 Overall， this was an enjoyable thriller/mystery that was exact what I needed！ 。。。more
Kathleen Dupré
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Quick reading murder mystery that was enjoyable if not completely surprising for a veteran mystery reader。 I can certainly see this making a very entertaining movie or limited series along the lines of "Pretty Little Liars"。 I will say， I'm coming at this as a seasoned adult--for teenagers I imagine this would be a gripping， relatable thriller and that a lot of kids woiuld recognize themselves or people they know in the characters。 Definitely recommended for teenage girls who enjoy a good murder Quick reading murder mystery that was enjoyable if not completely surprising for a veteran mystery reader。 I can certainly see this making a very entertaining movie or limited series along the lines of "Pretty Little Liars"。 I will say， I'm coming at this as a seasoned adult--for teenagers I imagine this would be a gripping， relatable thriller and that a lot of kids woiuld recognize themselves or people they know in the characters。 Definitely recommended for teenage girls who enjoy a good murder mystery and stories about best friendship。 There are some really touching， authentic moments placed amid the shenanigans and excess of prep school kids clearly suffering from "affluenza"。 。。。more
Natalia
，
Okay so did I enjoy it， yes。 Could it have been better yes。 But also， I think I am simply not into the whole prep school we all have secrets thing。 I will say overall， this book to me was unpredictable which can be difficult to accomplish with thrillers。 I would recommend for someone to read but definitely could think of at least five things I would recommend first。
Kari
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The Author packs an intensive punch with this suspenseful and unpredictable YA thriller。 It was a fast and easy read for me because the storyline was absorbing and I couldn’t find a point where I could let myself stop reading。 The characters so realistically represent high school teenagers and the problems they face in the wake of pleasing their parents， keeping good grades and dealing with peer pressure。 This is a chilling read where you aren’t quite sure what lengths someone will go to， to ach The Author packs an intensive punch with this suspenseful and unpredictable YA thriller。 It was a fast and easy read for me because the storyline was absorbing and I couldn’t find a point where I could let myself stop reading。 The characters so realistically represent high school teenagers and the problems they face in the wake of pleasing their parents， keeping good grades and dealing with peer pressure。 This is a chilling read where you aren’t quite sure what lengths someone will go to， to achieve the best grades， popularity and get everything they desire。*****If you want to be a PLAYER， which is a secret society that only Gold Coast elite freshman are selected for。 One must try out and perform a list of secret rituals in order to be inducted to this elusive club。 What comes with it isn’t only being a PLAYER until your Senior year but a whole world that opens up to you that helps you get the best grades， reach the best contacts， attend the best parties and pretty much ensures your success after High School。 But when Jill Newman and her best friend Shaila Arnold make it their freshman year， only one of them survives。 Because one of them is murdered。 The killer confesses and is behind bars but when new evidence is found， it may be that the confession was coerced。 That would mean that the killer is still out there and possibly one of the PLAYERS。 Becoming a player is a gamble。 The rules are terrifying and your life may just be the very thing at risk。 。。。more
Carolina
，
The best mystery and suspense books are the ones where I get reeled in and can’t see it coming！ I was hesitant at first since it’s focused on high school students and didn’t know if I’d be up for high school drama， but the story line develops so nicely that I followed it through to end and was surprised！
Maddy Leahy
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a very generous 2 stars tbh
Jasmy
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Entertaining but very predictable
Adara Kenney
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this was a book i came out of honestly just feeling。。。 disappointed。 part of it i think is that high school drama just isn't my thing， but i was on some level curious about this book。 nearly the entire first half of the book feels like pure buildup， which was frustrating to read through。 there were a couple of odd nitpicks （why would you notice water in someone's lungs before you noticed blood in their BLONDE hair？） but that's not too big a deal in the long run。 most of the characters were。。。 eh this was a book i came out of honestly just feeling。。。 disappointed。 part of it i think is that high school drama just isn't my thing， but i was on some level curious about this book。 nearly the entire first half of the book feels like pure buildup， which was frustrating to read through。 there were a couple of odd nitpicks （why would you notice water in someone's lungs before you noticed blood in their BLONDE hair？） but that's not too big a deal in the long run。 most of the characters were。。。 eh？ i can't remember most of their names， which isn't a good sign。i wish there was an actual proper murder mystery， but the first 200 pages （no， this is not an exaggeration） are about "the players" and i have to say i got bored with it fast。 i came for a mediocre murder mystery， i got even more mediocre high school drama and the murder mystery right at the end， with a predictable murderer。 the funny thing is， the investigations were the most compelling part of the book， and that's what you read the least of。 really？ my big issue with this book， however， was not awkward pacing or dull characters or drama。 my issue with this book is that its criticisms of class， misogyny， etc。 fell completely flat。 if anything， the book did exactly what it tried to criticize。 the example that stands out to me the most is reading the older teenage boys sexually assaulting a 13 year old girl （absolutely caught me off guard， by the way） while one of the older girls watches and eggs them on and it just。。。 barely has any weight？ like， okay， it does， technically。 but what i find interesting about it is that the girl watching gets a （weird） talking to， meanwhile。。。 the boys get off damn near scot free。 it still changes essentially nothing in the long run。 there's an *entire* thing within the story about how the boys got it easier， and the narrative does the exact same thing。 it boggles the mind。 and there are several more occasions where main characters will do the same things the book criticizes and then just！ get away with it！ with naught more than a slap on the wrist！ what point was the author trying to make？ the representation was as mediocre as the rest of the book， by the way。 it honestly just felt like "gotta tick that representation box！" one poc that i can think of， and one lesbian who is never really explicitly stated to be a lesbian。 folks， as a lesbian， i am tired of the lesbian characters never just。。。 explicitly being called lesbians or something similar。 it's a weird plausible deniability thing and i don't like it。 she says she has a girlfriend then says "yup， queer。" and then there's some stuff that implies she's only interested in women。 it felt really awkward。 the thing that makes this book especially disappointing is that there were moments where it got so close to making a point。 and none of it went anywhere。 i kept reading in the hopes that something would eventually stick and it never did。 also， if i had a dollar for every time this book made me read about feet in unnecessary detail， i'd have two dollars which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice。 。。。more
Jude
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This had an element that made me feel the stakes in my gut。 However I guessed the stuff along the way but it was still a pretty good read。
Priya
，
It was a pretty good thriller/mystery book。 A fun enjoyable read and pretty fast paced too。
Dareen
，
✨2✨I was gonna DNF it but I wanted to love it so much。 It was not the one for me though。 Took me too long to finish it and I was so bored。
raai
，
3。5/5⭐️
Brynn | readyourworriesaway
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Jill Newman attends an exclusive prep school on Long Island。 Now that she is a senior and a “Player，” her year should be perfect。 But nothing has been the same since her best friend was killed by her boyfriend when they were freshman。 While Jill should be focusing on being part of the exclusive Players， she begins to consider that maybe Graham didn’t kill Shaila。 I love anything set in a fancy prep school， so this one was right up my alley。 Characters doing whatever it takes to get into the Ivie Jill Newman attends an exclusive prep school on Long Island。 Now that she is a senior and a “Player，” her year should be perfect。 But nothing has been the same since her best friend was killed by her boyfriend when they were freshman。 While Jill should be focusing on being part of the exclusive Players， she begins to consider that maybe Graham didn’t kill Shaila。 I love anything set in a fancy prep school， so this one was right up my alley。 Characters doing whatever it takes to get into the Ivies？ A murder mystery？ Count me in！ They Wish They Were Us delves into grief and loyalty， and the consequences of changing yourself for the sake of fitting in。 。。。more
Meredith Henson
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3。5 ⭐️ Very much Clique books vibes + a murder。 Excited to see this as a movie！
Beccy
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GOSSIP GIRL TAKES A SINISTER TURNattention: before you start reading I’d like to mention that there will be slight spoilers that aren’t related to the plot！！ I’ll just go into detail about the characters， so it’s your decision if you want to go onMy first thought when I finished was: that’s basically gossip girl but without the drama， instead we’ve got murder！ As a former gossip girl fan I really enjoyed the rich set-up。 I actually have to say that I originally wanted to call out the author for GOSSIP GIRL TAKES A SINISTER TURNattention: before you start reading I’d like to mention that there will be slight spoilers that aren’t related to the plot！！ I’ll just go into detail about the characters， so it’s your decision if you want to go onMy first thought when I finished was: that’s basically gossip girl but without the drama， instead we’ve got murder！ As a former gossip girl fan I really enjoyed the rich set-up。 I actually have to say that I originally wanted to call out the author for the lack of diversity， but as I kept reading I realized that the author actually called out US prep schools for the lack of diversity！ It wasn’t 100% obvious I think but very clear between the lines。 It was stated that those prep school let like 5 students of color in for publicity， that’s it and that’s the sad reality。 This concept gets more and more clearer as we get to know the complex hierarchy in between the old， rich families that live in Gold Coast， how they graduated there and do each other favours and how everyone is a very tight community， hard to get in。 That was so fucked up， yet real。 Speaking of calling out bullshit: the author really did a great job with topics like rape culture， misogyny and how rich people literally can get away with almost everything。 The best example is how Graham， a murderer was treated: he got into a low security facility with Bolognese Fridays。 Great job justice system！ Even though all these topics were just part of all， I liked how naturally it was embedded into the whole plot。 It really underlined how especially the girls had to live like that daily and even normalised it in order to keep it together。 I really enjoyed it。 And I think it’s great that authors start to talk about these topics so naturally， because in reality it’s a daily matter as well。 However， the murder mystery itself wasn’t too exciting。 I actually guessed it correct from the beginning so it wasn’t that gripping for me， but still I thought it was cool to see it unravel！ Besides that， I loved the effortless jumps between present and flash backs！ I didn’t wonder who the murderer was， I just wondered what happened in all that Players initiation process！ I loved how emotional everything was written: I could really feel Jill’s anxiety and disgust， but still understand why she kept going。 Now to the characters: even though I wished we had some people of color， I was glad we got queer characters！ My absolute favorites are Nikki， Rachel and Quentin！ Although all characters had their own uniqueness！ However， what really kept me reading was the extraordinary friendship。 I didn’t believe Shaila would play such a huge part but due to the flash backs we got a lot of her。 And I LOVED the strong bond between the girls， how they actually depended on each other and really cared and how the whole Player shit slowly destroyed them， so many emotions。 But even without Shaila: Jill and Nikki are amazing together， I kinda wished they would’ve been queer bc that would’ve been such an amazing love story， but never mind。 Anything else to add？ Probably but I forgot haha， I really recommend that book to every murder mystery fan， in my opinion it’s definitely a must-red！ It’s very fast paced and will make you think！ 。。。more
Adya R
，
I quite liked the book and the style and everything and it was well paced but the ending was slightly predictable。
Fatma
，
I really like this book， the first half is gossip girl and the second half is a murder mystery。 However， the killer was super obvious， I knew him/her from the first time a heard about them
Mouli Chopra
，
This book was one of the first murder mysteries I read， and it did not disappoint。 The plot was always thrilling， keeping me in suspense and in the dark。 The novel was humorous and exciting， and I read it all in one sitting because I needed to know who killed Shaila。 The plot twists in this book gave me whiplash; I must have gasped aloud at least a hundred times。 Although towards the end， the book got more predictable， the story resolved nicely without any giant questions or wholes， and I was ha This book was one of the first murder mysteries I read， and it did not disappoint。 The plot was always thrilling， keeping me in suspense and in the dark。 The novel was humorous and exciting， and I read it all in one sitting because I needed to know who killed Shaila。 The plot twists in this book gave me whiplash; I must have gasped aloud at least a hundred times。 Although towards the end， the book got more predictable， the story resolved nicely without any giant questions or wholes， and I was happy to learn that I along with the protagonist， was able to detect the true murderer by piecing together the clues。 I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good crime novel; it certainly got me into the genre really quickly！ The plot was never boring and I was always excited for the next chapter。 This was a fun and quick read， and I am looking forward to more of this author’s new books。 。。。more
Chelsea
，
Like a bad episode of Riverdale 👎🏻
E
，
Ah yes， the ups and downs of high school cults。
ela
，
from what u can also remember this is also v important to me i think
nan g
，
this had so much potential to be an amazing book， but sadly everything started to get interesting by the 60% mark。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=They Wish They Were Us
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=They Wish They Were Us&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft