Jill, our protagonist, attends Gold Coast Prep, the elite private school. Unlike her classmates, she’s not a minor celebrity, she doesn’t have their wealth assets, and she’s only there on scholarship. But now as a senior, she’s become one of the elite - the top of the social hierarchy. Jill is a senior Player, one of the six prime students in the school. When Jill Newman was a freshman at Long Island's exclusive Gold Coast Prep, her best friend was Shaila. Tragically, Shaila died and her boyfriend, Graham, confessed to the killing. Three years later, Jill is a senior and this should be the time of her life. As a member of The Players, the school's secret society, she is on the top of the high school popularity pyramid. But now there is talk of Graham possibly being innocent and Jill doesn't know what to think. As Jill digs for the truth about who killed her best friend, her life is going to be super messy and complicated this school year. Jill - I understood her so well. She loved the stars and she was so passionate about what she really cared about. She was pressured by her parents to be the best possible, get better grades, and eventually get into an Ivy League school. Her lust for popularity put more pressure on her, to be prettier, to be seen, to be better. The anger and hidden anxieties couldn’t come out because she was “that girl”. I feel his eyes on me, like he knows our secrets, like he knows what happens to the Players. Everything we had to sacrifice. Everything we had to do to survive.”

Goodman deftly explores the complex nature of friendship, privilege, grief, and the often crushing expectations placed on teens, all of which dovetails neatly with a twisty murder mystery…. A sophisticated and suspenseful debut.”– Kirkus It was just announced today and it’s the BEST NEWS. We can 100% see Halsey playing the role of Rachel Calloway perfectly. When Nikki pulled out of my driveway, I was giddy with anticipation. Our time had come. We were finally at the top. They Wish They Were Us was on my TBR for a little while, now. A murdered best friend, a secret society, I was SO excited to get into what seemed to be such an exciting read. Did I enjoy it? Read on for my full review! They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman the “pops,” which are basically dares that the ’undies’ have to perform to become a player are…pretty tame, yet they cause disproportionate emotional distress in the prospective initiates. having to read aloud dialogue from a porno—not being filmed re-enacting, just reading the words while fully clothed, or having to make out with someone of the same sex, these lightweight challenges are pretty standard slumber party fare that shouldn’t cause tears or inspire feelings of scorching humiliation, and yet they do.So I hate this book. And I thought the most that can go wrong with a book with a somewhat good plot is the kind of lyrical writing And while we’re on the topic, one of the things I loved most in this book was how Jill becomes more and more aware of the casual sexism and misogyny present in their elite group. The tasks for girls are harder, more cruel, and full of shaming and humiliation. Sure, Jill and her friends are now seniors and in charge, but the price they paid to get there was steep and they are not done paying quite yet. This whole sexist situation in the midst of the Players is a nice reflection of our world in many ways as women have to work harder to prove themselves and then keep proving themselves worthy. Goodman did a really good job of portraying that in this YA thriller. Five hundred and twenty-three Gold Coast Prep students, ages six to eighteen, raise their voices. Even the new kids, who were instructed to memorize the stupid words before they even set foot on campus. Marla - the badass athletic queen. I admired her, but I totally would have been super intimidated by her in real life. She was super chill for most of the book, but she definitely went in on some parts of the book.

Then I rubbed my eyes and read it again and as soon as Choo Choo sounds of frustration train and retro dance images of Kylie Minogue singing Loco Motion, I realized this must be right book but it’s not the right book for me! For a moment nothing else exists outside the Players. We are a force field. And only we know the truth about what we’ve had to do to get here.” The Players has a cheesy and dated feel to it like the story would have fit better in the 1980s time period rather than now. It's over the top but on some level it worked enough to keep my interest. With so much wild and crazy behavior going on, I wasn't compelled to like any of the characters, including Jill. I was curious though to see if the author was going to come up with some spectacular conclusion in regards to the mystery surrounding Shaila's death. Unfortunately it was unimaginative and therefore a disappointment. The author did try to throw in some substance when wrapping everything up but it was too little, too late. I was desperate to find the answers to this story. But I also got concerned at about 80 percent through because it didn’t seem like it was resolving. It kept the tension going right until the end.Realmente he terminado haciéndome preguntas casi rozando lo filosófico. No es un libro que te induzca a ello de manera directa, sino que es tan realista en muchas ocasiones que conecta de alguna forma con esa parte que todo el mundo tiene de querer pertenecer a algo. Cueste lo que cueste. Esto es sin duda el tema principal del libro, narrado de una manera exquisita por Jessica Goodman. You know the best thing in the world is to curl up in a blanket on a rainy day and sit near the window with a book in your hands.

It is Jill's senior year, which is a time of SAT, ACT, entrance into the college of choice, and grades perfected. Their senior year begins dedicating their year to Shaila, Jill's best friend and a student murdered by her former boyfriend their freshman year. Graham confesses to the crime under the duress of police interrogation without memory of the night and a victim of circumstance. After three years in juvenile detention, he recants the night and declares a retrial under the guidance of a new lawyer. Now, all of a sudden, Jill decides to grow a conscience for reasons unbeknownst to the reader (really, no explanation at all) and finally sees that what she has been doing all this time is actionable, to say the least, and tries to stop it. However, she still really misses her "friends", who are even worse than she is, and her hard earned popularity. Goodman also will executive produce. Dre Ryan will supervise and executive produce. Halsey will co-executive produce.

Success!

Girls being taken advantage of, initiates being mistreated or harassed just so that they can prove they’re “tough enough”, being subjected to public humiliation to prove their worth - it was raw. Concerning. And painful, because while the book might be exaggerated to fit the story...this stuff still happens everywhere. To a lot of people. went to the book store to see this on the shelf today! so excited for everyone to read “They Wish They Were Us” by @jessicagoodman 🙂