*I WAS PROVIDED A DIGITAL GALLEY VIA NETGALLEY IN RETURN FOR MY HONEST REVIEW. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION*
If you're looking for a rich and enticing thriller with epic twists and unexpected turns, look no further!
They Wish They Were Us was a book I was really excited about since its announcement. I love murder-mysteries, and I love them even more when they're written with an addictive writing style. Jessica Goodman planned to deliver, and deliver she did.
I loved each and every one of the characters in this story. The main character, Jill, is both an outsider and an insider in her friend group. She was chosen for the Players, a group of teens in their high school have earned their way to being "elite" in Gold Coast Prep, but she doesn't exactly fit the school or its student body. For one, majority of the people attending Gold Coast are rich, white kids with affluent families. The author made multiple points throughout the book to call schools like Gold Coast out on this, making it obvious her stance that there should be more diversity than just those who can afford it or are white and can act well enough to fit in.
Jill's best friend, Shaila, was killed during their freshman year of high school. Everyone assumed the killer was Shaila's boyfriend after he was found wandering in a blood-drenched hoodie. Since then, it's been silent. But upon starting her senior year, Jill gets a text from the guy's sister claiming he was innocent.
I really loved how the author plotted this story out. Just when you thought you had a hint of something, you were proven wrong or left guessing in the aftermath. Along with that, she made the teenagers in this book feel and appear as real teenagers. In the majority of young adult books, you'll either have characters who feel older than they're said to be or you'll have stereotype-influenced characters that are so fake they make it hard to read. Goodman didn't let that happen in this book, and I have to say, I'm very thankful for that.
Even though I was able to solve the ending before it actually came about (thanks to my unwavering brain that refuses to rest for even a second until it knows every last detail), I still found this book to be unpredictable in a lot of other aspects.
The only part of this book I didn't like was that, toward the end, there was a threat made to Jill by Gold Coast's principal over a situation that occurred. I didn't really feel like that ever got wrapped up or dealt with like it could've been, and it was more so glossed over after everything else came out to play.
But overall, I really did love this book. I wasn't anticipating to love it as much as I did, and for that, I rate it 4.75 stars. I look forward to reading more from Jessica Goodman and also to seeing the movie interpretation of this novel!
If you're looking for a rich and enticing thriller with epic twists and unexpected turns, look no further!
They Wish They Were Us was a book I was really excited about since its announcement. I love murder-mysteries, and I love them even more when they're written with an addictive writing style. Jessica Goodman planned to deliver, and deliver she did.
I loved each and every one of the characters in this story. The main character, Jill, is both an outsider and an insider in her friend group. She was chosen for the Players, a group of teens in their high school have earned their way to being "elite" in Gold Coast Prep, but she doesn't exactly fit the school or its student body. For one, majority of the people attending Gold Coast are rich, white kids with affluent families. The author made multiple points throughout the book to call schools like Gold Coast out on this, making it obvious her stance that there should be more diversity than just those who can afford it or are white and can act well enough to fit in.
Jill's best friend, Shaila, was killed during their freshman year of high school. Everyone assumed the killer was Shaila's boyfriend after he was found wandering in a blood-drenched hoodie. Since then, it's been silent. But upon starting her senior year, Jill gets a text from the guy's sister claiming he was innocent.
I really loved how the author plotted this story out. Just when you thought you had a hint of something, you were proven wrong or left guessing in the aftermath. Along with that, she made the teenagers in this book feel and appear as real teenagers. In the majority of young adult books, you'll either have characters who feel older than they're said to be or you'll have stereotype-influenced characters that are so fake they make it hard to read. Goodman didn't let that happen in this book, and I have to say, I'm very thankful for that.
Even though I was able to solve the ending before it actually came about (thanks to my unwavering brain that refuses to rest for even a second until it knows every last detail), I still found this book to be unpredictable in a lot of other aspects.
The only part of this book I didn't like was that, toward the end, there was a threat made to Jill by Gold Coast's principal over a situation that occurred. I didn't really feel like that ever got wrapped up or dealt with like it could've been, and it was more so glossed over after everything else came out to play.
But overall, I really did love this book. I wasn't anticipating to love it as much as I did, and for that, I rate it 4.75 stars. I look forward to reading more from Jessica Goodman and also to seeing the movie interpretation of this novel!