"They Wish They Were Us": A Review

Recently, I read They Wish They Were Us, by Jessica Goodman. I finished it quite quickly, however by the end I was left feeling somewhat unsatisfied. In this blog post I will be reviewing this novel and giving it a rating at the end. There will be SPOILERS ahead!

They Wish They Were Us follows Jill, a senior at an admired prep school in Long Island. She is subject to high academic expectations from her parents as well as a reputation to uphold in her "secret society" called The Players. This exclusive group consists of eight students from each grade who benefit from their status. They are offered study guides made by previous students, answers to tests, material from classes, and pretty much anything they could need to get into top tier colleges. The (intended) main storyline is about Jill's best friend Shaila, a fellow player, and how she was killed as a freshman. Graham was her boyfriend at the time was indicted with her murder, however Jill learns he is likely innocent and struggles with the fact that her previous knowledge on the "murder" could all be a lie. The book also follows Jill's relationship with her boyfriend Henry, another player, and with Adam, an an alumni who was also a member. Towards the end we discover that the real killer was Adam. 

One aspect of the novel I was disappointed with was the way it was advertised as compared to the book's plot itself. It was advertised as a murder mystery, however it read more like a story about a girl dealing with the death of her best friend and the issues she must overcome with the social dynamic at her school. The murder investigation portions were relatively brief and unimportant throughout the first chunk of the book, and it did not get too interesting until significantly later into the book. The majority of it was about her flashbacks from freshman year with Shaila, her relationship with Henry, her feelings towards Adam, or just her thoughts on The Players. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the plot itself, however it was misleading due the fact that it was anticipated to be a murder mystery. 

Additionally, the characters lacked depth and were just generally unlikeable. While it is important to depict characters with flaws, it is also important for at least a few characters to have some redeeming qualities. In novels, movies, or any story at all, it is possible to be enthralled with the plot even with a main character(s) who is a blatantly bad person with few redeeming attributes. What this novel failed to do that these stories succeed at is build interesting characters that left an impact on the reader. I found the characters to be somewhat forgettable, and they lacked depth. Jill's inner dialogue always told her to make better decisions, however her actions contradicted that. Because she used the files the Players made so much to pass her classes, it made the destruction of them at the end and her quitting The Players unsatisfying. 

The last aspect of They Wish They Were Us that I was not a fan of is the predictability of the plot. The killer was very predictable--in fact I had guessed who it was within the first 50 pages or so. Adam's character was written to be too innocent to actually be innocent. He was also relatively insignificant to the plot considering how much he was mentioned in the first half or so, making it obvious there is a greater reason for his character--which ultimately is because he killed Shaila. Along with this, the outcomes of Jill's actions were not surprising, such as her withdrawal from the Players and her breakup with Henry. I think the author could have gone about those scenes in a more surprising and significant way. 

Keeping these points in mind, I would rate They wish They Were Us a 6/10. I was captivated enough to finish it pretty fast, however it has several shortcomings. The predictable plot, forgettable characters, and misleading advertising made it less enjoyable, but it was still considerably entertaining. 

-Meher