I was provided with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4☆

Overall I enjoyed They Wish They Were Us, but it took me what I felt was too long to get into it.

My main issue with this book was the characters. They were the epitome of the rich and popular high school kids you see in movies. Obviously this means they're going to be stuck up and socially torture those who aren't near their status, but the lack of personality and humanizing of these teens put me off. It was not until about the half way point when the characters felt more like actual teens just trying to navigate through life. Although I enjoyed this development, the first person POV the book has makes me feel that their normality should have been more apparent from the start.

In terms of the plot, throughout about 80% of this book I was sure I knew who the killer was- even before the characters suspected this person, but I was pleasantly surprised when the twist was revealed. The red herrings added a lot to the mystery, and I was happy with the way the author shook things up and didn't go with the most obvious suspect.

The elite group the teens of this novel are a part of was a really cool aspect in my opinion, and I've never read anything like it before. It had a fraternity sort of feel to it with hazing and trials in order to get in which were brutal, but creative on the author's part.

I'm really glad I had the chance to read They Wish They Were Us because it was a well written, enjoyable YA mystery/thriller novel.