They Wish They Were Us

When I stumbled across this book and saw it billed as “Gossip Girl meets One of Us Is Lying with a dash of the Secret History” I thought PLEASE inject this into my veins. And then, because life is hard, I put off reading this book until mid-July and absolutely devoured it.

Jill is a senior at Gold Coast Prep and finally a top member of the elite not-so-secret Players club at school, along with her boyfriend, Henry, and her best friend, Nikki. But there’s one person missing, and her absence hangs over them all: Shaila, the vibrant friend who was killed, supposedly by her boyfriend Graham, at the end of their freshmen year.  But as Jill and the Players take the reins, Jill is determined to make a change, especially since her brother is in the running. But when a former Player starts questioning Graham’s guilt, things get complicated for Jill and the Players, and everything is on the line.

I devoured this book! It’s so well-done with thoughtful insight into Jill’s personality and experiences as a high schooler. This felt realistic and enjoyable as a mystery and while I still suspected the culprit, I didn’t mind knowing because it was still a fun ride. This book is about so much more than just the death though–there’s school tension, class divides, college admissions, etc. It’s well done and engaging and I loved it!