Reviews with content warning for Car accident - The Counselors

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Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Counselors by Jessica Goodman

38 reviews

conspystery's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book really exceeded my expectations! I thought the mystery was well-done, the characters were flawed in realistic ways, and the writing style was charming. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, considering They Wish They Were us fell pretty flat for me-- my main criticism of that book was that I felt it was somewhat predictable, the characters were (to me) unlikeable, and that the setting felt tired and unimaginative. This book fixed all those problems. I didn't find it predictable. I liked the characters. The setting of a summer camp was vibrant and suited the author's narrative style very well-- the temporality of it, spanning two months but interspersed with flashbacks, added so much to the atmosphere as well. I really enjoyed this book!

Content Warnings

emily_mh's review against another edition

3.25

mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I think this is the book where I give up on Jessica Goodman thrillers. With her first being my worst book of 2021 and her second only getting a 3.75 from me, I was hoping this book would be the one to convince me she could follow through on her enticing premises. But with a 3.25 rating, I think I can safely say that this author consistently fails to deliver, at least to the level that I want.

My main issue is with the MC. This is a make or break point for any book, but especially one using first-person narration. Unfortunately Goldie is such a non-character. I truly cannot describe her personality, interests (beyond camp), motivations, or desires. She just seemed very… blank. This was truly fatal flaw in the book for me because it made the whole thing seem very two-dimensional, and left me with the question: why was this story written? What did it seek to achieve?

Another thing I didn’t like was that the toxicity of Heller wasn’t properly addressed. At the end of the book you’re left with the impression that he truly loved Goldie and given time they would have gotten back together. In reality,

he drove under the influence, paralysed his best friend, lied about his involvement and sacrificed Goldie’s future for his own, then ghosted Goldie and encouraged people to bully her, even participating in the bullying himself

. I wouldn’t call that love.

Furthermore, the writing style was contrived at times and made me cringe a little. It was too dramatic when it didn’t need to be and so undermined moments that were supposed to be meaningful.

The mystery was fine for YA, although the motive wasn’t that compelling;

I never find financial motives to be so

. I think that multiple avenues of suspicion and investigation needed to be built up from the beginning. Also, the book doesn’t deliver on its promise of a thriller.

I can pay this book some compliments, though, seeing as I gave it 3.25 stars! The setting was a shining star. American summer camp settings are one of my all-time favourites so that was already a win; on top of this it was written excellently by Goodman. You could tell she was drawing on her own personal experiences. Nearly everything happens at the camp and I had a vivid picture of what it looked like. Also, the nostalgia Goldie had for her own experiences was potent and only served to deepen the sense of place.

Additionally, I think the friendship aspect was dealt with quite well.

I appreciated that it didn’t go down the black-and-white toxicity route but showed the complexity of maintaining childhood friendships when you’re growing and changing so much as a teen.

Content Warnings

finalgirlfeminism's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I was pleasantly surprised that I absolutely loved this YA thriller 🔪 it didn’t come off as young at all in terms of the writing or conversations between characters and I enjoyed the split timeline throughout. I did guess some of the reveal about halfway through but there was still some of the reveal I hadn’t guessed until the very end. This is a great year round read and I think especially poignant for those who’ve been to camp and can picture themselves in some of the moments of joy described so well. This was truly a page turner and I couldn’t recommend it more.

Content Warnings

jillkaarlela's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a great new YA murder mystery! I have really grown to like the summer camp-slasher type of mystery, and this was a great one. The characters were well developed and likable, which I appreciated. The plot was also unfurled through “then” and “now” flashbacks that were ordered in a way to create the maximum suspense/tension. The whole thing seemed so interconnected and well though out! It really keeps you on the edge of your seat, and I didn’t expect some of the plot twists! I think that while staying with the summer camp slasher style, it added many original layers and aspects with the camp being for the extremely wealthy, while being located in a poor small town, so rich people fly in from all over. Overall, this was pretty original and well constructed and executed, so I will definitely recommend!

Content Warnings

belovedd's review against another edition

3.25

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

spoilers are in the content warning!!!
This book wasn't necessarily a horrible or even bad read, I just feel like it was advertised wrong.

A YA thriller set at a summer camp, what more could I ask for? Yet. It didn't give me a need to turn the page, to find out what happens next.

I feel like we really only got into investigating after 120 pages, and it took a while for the story to progress through the plot, so long that I considered quitting reading it.

Most characters were original and certainly not bland, but I never felt a strong connection to any of them.

Another pet peeve of mine: the story was written in a non-linear narrative, meaning each chapter jumped back and forth in time, from fall of the previous year to the current summer.

I didn't like the main character much with how she investigated.
light spoilers below

She only discovered one thing, and even then it was all explained to her, all her theories were wrong—even her final ending theory, and at the end there was a very stereotypical big reveal all spoken by the murderers, so, basically, it was all spelled out for her at the end.<spoiler/>

Content Warnings

fictionaladventures's review against another edition

4.0

mysterious

I loved this! It was interesting and complicated and believable. The narrator did a perfect job with the audiobook. There were times I thought I had the killer figured out and it turned out I was wrong. Such a good YA mystery/thriller!

Content Warnings

hermithebs's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

caidyn's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A fine read, but it didn't impress me. I was hoping for a slasher but this was more thriller.

Content Warnings

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

3.0

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

It was a reasonably good story, but HIGHLY predictable, I knew who the killer was and why by 25-35% of the book! I liked the journey, though, so it got 3 stars and not 1.

Content Warnings

the_autumn_reader's review against another edition

5.0

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I loved this!! Such a great thriller.

Content Warnings

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