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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a compelling read. Every step of the way had me gripping the wheel (I listened to it while I drove) with nervous anticipation. I actually cried. This is probably my favorite mystery I have read this year!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Toxic friendship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent
mysterious
medium-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:
No
Another addictively readable book by Jessica Goodman. She’s become a must read author for me. I was so excited for this book that I stayed up till midnight to claim it with my points on BookishFirst first because I didn’t want to wake up to find all the copies had been claimed. Totally worth it!
Goldie feels most at home at Alpine Lake camp and that’s been the case since she was a little girl. Her parents work at the camp so Goldie got to attend for free. For others, the camp was very exclusive and campers’ parents paid tens of thousands of dollars for their kids to attend. Goldie made her best friends at camp and every year she cannot wait to see Ava and Imogene again. This year, she needs them more than ever.
This year all three girls are 18 and working as counselors at the camp but they’re still having lots of fun.
The camp is actually in Goldie’s town of Roxwood, throughout the rest of the year the town feels boring to Goldie. But when summer comes around, the girls take advantage of all the fun they can find in Roxwood.
People who live in Roxwood having conflicting feelings about Alpine Lake. It brings some money into the town but they think it could bring in more. They also know that every camper who attends is wealthy yet they never tip when they spend days off in town.
During the school year this year something major happened in Goldie’s life. It’s negatively affected everything else in her life. But she hasn’t told Ava and Imogene despite their promises never to keep secrets from each other.
After the girls are all reunited at the camp, Goldie feels like she’ll get a reprieve for the summer. But then a teenager from Roxwood is found drowned in the lake at camp. Goldie knows it’s not an accident. She also knows that Ava was at the lake the night before. She doesn’t know what any of it means but something seems off.
I loved the girls’ traditions at camp and I love their relationship with each other. They might have kept some secrets from each other but they are definitely family to each other. I also loved the mystery. They’ll keep you guessing till the end.
Goldie feels most at home at Alpine Lake camp and that’s been the case since she was a little girl. Her parents work at the camp so Goldie got to attend for free. For others, the camp was very exclusive and campers’ parents paid tens of thousands of dollars for their kids to attend. Goldie made her best friends at camp and every year she cannot wait to see Ava and Imogene again. This year, she needs them more than ever.
This year all three girls are 18 and working as counselors at the camp but they’re still having lots of fun.
The camp is actually in Goldie’s town of Roxwood, throughout the rest of the year the town feels boring to Goldie. But when summer comes around, the girls take advantage of all the fun they can find in Roxwood.
People who live in Roxwood having conflicting feelings about Alpine Lake. It brings some money into the town but they think it could bring in more. They also know that every camper who attends is wealthy yet they never tip when they spend days off in town.
During the school year this year something major happened in Goldie’s life. It’s negatively affected everything else in her life. But she hasn’t told Ava and Imogene despite their promises never to keep secrets from each other.
After the girls are all reunited at the camp, Goldie feels like she’ll get a reprieve for the summer. But then a teenager from Roxwood is found drowned in the lake at camp. Goldie knows it’s not an accident. She also knows that Ava was at the lake the night before. She doesn’t know what any of it means but something seems off.
I loved the girls’ traditions at camp and I love their relationship with each other. They might have kept some secrets from each other but they are definitely family to each other. I also loved the mystery. They’ll keep you guessing till the end.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Copy provided by Penguin Teen and Razorbill.
Sisters by choice. That’s how Goldie and her best friends, Ava and Imogen (Imo), define their friendship, which formed years ago at Camp Alpine Lake. This year, Goldie is back at camp as a counselor, desperate for summer to start and for Ava and Imo to arrive. With the dark secret Goldie’s been keeping, she’s more in need of their comfort than ever. When the boy who broke Goldie's heart, turns up dead in the lake, this last summer before college is completely upended—and Goldie learns that she’s not the only person at camp who has been lying. Asking questions offers Goldie no answers, only danger and betrayals deeper than she ever imagined.
The Counselors is a YA mystery thriller that is rich in nostalgia for those who spent their summers at sleep away camp. I think Goodman does such a great job of immersing us into the summer camp atmosphere, and the fun and thrilling adventures of the campers and counselors, that we did kind of lose the mystery aspect of the book. The first half of the book was very slow and the book just felt underwhelming for me. The synopsis promised a dead body and a mystery, but really the story was about the girls and the secrets they’re keeping from each other. There was so much details about the camp and the setting and not enough out into making the plot more compelling. If you’re looking for a nostalgic summery mystery and friendship story, this is an easy and light read that is only if you don’t mind suspending belief and overlooking a few details.
Sisters by choice. That’s how Goldie and her best friends, Ava and Imogen (Imo), define their friendship, which formed years ago at Camp Alpine Lake. This year, Goldie is back at camp as a counselor, desperate for summer to start and for Ava and Imo to arrive. With the dark secret Goldie’s been keeping, she’s more in need of their comfort than ever. When the boy who broke Goldie's heart, turns up dead in the lake, this last summer before college is completely upended—and Goldie learns that she’s not the only person at camp who has been lying. Asking questions offers Goldie no answers, only danger and betrayals deeper than she ever imagined.
The Counselors is a YA mystery thriller that is rich in nostalgia for those who spent their summers at sleep away camp. I think Goodman does such a great job of immersing us into the summer camp atmosphere, and the fun and thrilling adventures of the campers and counselors, that we did kind of lose the mystery aspect of the book. The first half of the book was very slow and the book just felt underwhelming for me. The synopsis promised a dead body and a mystery, but really the story was about the girls and the secrets they’re keeping from each other. There was so much details about the camp and the setting and not enough out into making the plot more compelling. If you’re looking for a nostalgic summery mystery and friendship story, this is an easy and light read that is only if you don’t mind suspending belief and overlooking a few details.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I've said this before, and I'll say it again--I absolutely LOVE a good teenage summer camp counselor thriller! I grew up in the 1980s at the height of the camp horror craze watching films like Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp, so I was excited to read this one when I received it!
Goldie, Ava, and Imogen have been friends since their first summer at Camp Alpine Lake, an exclusive summer camp that caters to the richest families around. This summer they are all returning as counselors and lifeguards and they can't wait for the fun to begin! Goldie, a townie who was only allowed to attend camp because her parents worked on staff, has a secret she's keeping from her two besties, and after her ex-boyfriend's dead body is discovered in the lake at the camp, she wonders if she's not the only one with a secret.
This YA camp thriller gave me ALL THE FEELS! I loved the characters and the "ride or die" type friendship that Goldie, Ava, & Imo have. There are clues sprinkled in throughout but I was left wondering who done it up until the end!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience. If you are looking for a good camp thriller without all the blood, gore, & sex, then this book is for you!
Goldie, Ava, and Imogen have been friends since their first summer at Camp Alpine Lake, an exclusive summer camp that caters to the richest families around. This summer they are all returning as counselors and lifeguards and they can't wait for the fun to begin! Goldie, a townie who was only allowed to attend camp because her parents worked on staff, has a secret she's keeping from her two besties, and after her ex-boyfriend's dead body is discovered in the lake at the camp, she wonders if she's not the only one with a secret.
This YA camp thriller gave me ALL THE FEELS! I loved the characters and the "ride or die" type friendship that Goldie, Ava, & Imo have. There are clues sprinkled in throughout but I was left wondering who done it up until the end!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience. If you are looking for a good camp thriller without all the blood, gore, & sex, then this book is for you!
Honestly, I feel like this book will only really be enjoyed by people who have summer camp nostalgia. It does have that summery air, but from someone who never went to a camp, everything was just blah.
The mystery was decent but I wasn’t a fan of the main character.
The mystery was decent but I wasn’t a fan of the main character.
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
No
Set in an idyllic summer camp, The Counselors puts together the pieces of a boy’s mysterious murder and how it connects to Goldie and her camp.
Unsuspecting
Goodman did an excellent job with the pacing of the novel. But, above everything else, the pacing is what steals the show. Goldie’s story begins before the summer, except we’re only given bits and pieces of it over the course of the novel.
I loved the flow of the story and how the pacing worked to build up that tension. The past is non-linear, which works well for the story because we do not remember the past linearly when we think about it. That aspect of the story, the way it goes from one event to another, gives the story a sense of realism that draws the reader to the mystery. It asks the question: what does this one event have to do with the other?
Goodman worked hard to build up the mystery that ties the relationship together. There is a complicated puzzle going on here and a ton of misdirection. Everything in the story is interconnected, from Goldie to her friends, her friends with the boy she loved, the camp she loves, and the town she grew up in.
The steady way the story unfolds, and the pacing captures that tension pulls the reader in. We’re trying to solve this puzzle with her. And with the multiple red herrings in the story, it is impossible to see where the story is going, keeping the reader guessing until the end.
Strong Character Dynamics
What I also loved was the solid female friendship portrayed in The Counselors. Imogen, Ava, and Goldie are best friends from different sides of the trek. Goldie is often considered a “townie” but not by anyone in her camp; the people in the town remind her she is not one of those rich kids.
Ava and Imogen may be the “rich kids,” but they also have their problems, and they never make Goldie feel inadequate. They act spoiled for sure from time to time and are not always self-aware, as Goldie points out, but they never forget their friendship bonds. These are girls who live with their hearts and ego, and while it showcases the privilege these characters have, it does not take away from their goodness.
It is empowering to see girls form strong friendships, to see that even though they have their secrets, they do not let those secrets come between them; they do not let boys or other nonsense come between them. Sure, they forget from time to time, too ashamed to let their closest friends see the things that have hurt them. But that makes them human and more relatable to the reader and solidifies this idea that women should stand by one another, not shame one another.
Final Thoughts
Overall, The Counselors is a good thriller. It keeps the reader on edge with good use of misdirection and focuses on developing strong character dynamics.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced