A review by kingrosereads
They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman

tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Is the murder mystery in the room with us? Aside from the fact that as soon as they introduced who was actually the murderer I went “that guy did it”, there was hardly any elements of a murder mystery. It’s essentially: friend was murdered 3 years ago, her boyfriend was convicted of the murder, and now his sister is saying there’s new evidence that he’s innocent. The sister (Rachel) contacts the “Players” (a Greek life/secret society-esque group of cool kids) about her brother (their ex-friend and group member) and they all decide to ignore it. And that’s exactly all that happens for a good long while. Jill doesn’t even really start digging into this “mystery” until the halfway mark. Then it’s just very bare bones trying to figure out the actual murderer. 90% of this book is slice of life senior year, college applications, and “woe is me. I’m a middle class girl going to a very prestigious prep school”. Cry me a river. This group cheats on all of their papers, projects, quizzes, and tests because their little society has files with answe

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