They Wish They Were Us

By: Jessica Goodman

Narrated by: Kristen Sieh

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.

©2020 Jessica Goodman (P)2020 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"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 Reviews)

"This debut murder mystery is filled with twists and turns that will keep its pages turning." (Booklist)

“Seductive and slick, They Wish They Were Us is a searing novel about power, privilege, and the dangerous pursuit of perfection. You’ll remember the girls of Gold Coast Prep Long after the last page.” (Jessica Knoll, New York Times best-selling author of The Luckiest Girl Alive and The Favorite Sister)

Ok- it would not recommend

It was ok, would not recommend to anyone. A fine way to pass the time, but very predictable and at the same time slow moving. They should have spent way more time on the mystery-which is the only interesting part. The rest is just a ridiculous club run by teenagers. It has potential and a good premise, but this was not it.

Predictable

I knew pretty early on who the killer was, it was very predictable. And so was the ending. Wanted to like this book so much more but unfortunately it wasn’t that great.

Addicting

Easy to listen and become addicted! Great book and I can’t wait for the series!

Interesting ya read

Mystery was obvious but the character development and atmosphere was excellent. entertaining ya novel.

All the HS prep school drama

This was an entertaining listen. The story was fun & twisty, and the narration was good. I’ll look for more from Jessica Goodman.

Held my attention the whole time!

Never a boring moment. Really enjoyed listening and kept me on my toes. Would recommend

Fun YA read, but with a predictable ending

Pretty exciting book, but had a predictable ending. I would recommend to listen to on a long drive, but I’m glad I didn’t buy a paper copy.

Could of been better

I liked the setting the town and prep school. It wrapped up too quickly, disappointed of the lead character’s ending. Seem she was too stuck on her emotions.

Very good.

I was very impressed with this. Very captivating and the narrator is absolutely amazing. I couldn’t stop finished all 10 hours in less than a week.

Oh, but really, but really,

아차후웇이야야 나 진짜 너무 너무 사랑해 진짜 진짜진짜 너무너무너무너무 사랑해 너무너무너무 사랑스러워서 너무너무너무 사랑스러워서서 너무너무너무 사랑해 진짜 너무너무너무너무 사랑해 너무너무너무 사랑해 너무너무너무 사랑해 너무너무너무너무 너무너무너무 너무너무너무너무너무너무 너무너무너무 너무너무너무 사랑스러워요 너무너무너무 행복해요 사랑해요사랑해요 사랑해요 사랑해요 사랑해요 사랑해요♡