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. She throws her shiny black BMW, a back-to-school present from her parents, into park and takes an enormous slurp of iced coffee. She flips the mirror down, swipes a coat of watermelon pink lipstick over her mouth, and pinches her cheeks until they flush. They Wish They Were Us was described as Gossip Girl meets One of Us Is Lying and I can partially agree with that.

When Jill Newman was a freshman at Long Island's exclusive Gold Coast Prep, her best friend was Shaila. Normally I don't have a problem with keeping track of past and current storylines but it was not executed very well in this book. Because it feels like my heart has been smashed open and every truth I ever knew is spilling onto the floor. This is a book that you will devour for its secret society, hazing rituals, exclusivity, popularity and power of the privileged few.Jessica Goodman seamlessly introduces us to a cast of characters that you will instantly feel a little unsure about. This fuels the idea that Jill is, despite being a scholarship student, privileged, and was raised with many prejudices. The murder of Shaila was blamed on her boyfriend Graham, while Jill and the rest of her squad tried their best to move on. I listened to the audiobook, and something about the narrator annoyed me, so I think I would've liked it a touch more if I had read the physical copy.

The Players and their seemingly ENDLESS recruitment/hazing/initiation rituals are the focus for, without exaggerating, the first 200 pages.My ebook had 294 pages and it took the main character 135 pages to reach a conclusion anyone could've guessed right from page 15. They are tapped as freshmen and complete an elaborate year-long hazing ritual that culminates in an initiation. Jumping from the past and present POV of Jill, subtle clues to the mystery are dropped and layers are built up to show us who Jill truly is.