Reviews with content warning for Car accident - The Counselors

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The Counselors by Jessica Goodman

34 reviews

sophiesbookshelf2's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The counsellors is a fun, relatively quick mystery read. I enjoyed the main trios friendship and I feel like the story developed at a good pace until the end where the confrontation just felt a little lackluster and then it was over and we didn't see any of it. Just felt a little meh as an ending, but pretty good YA mystery murder

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libraryghost's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

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cady_sass's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is so fun! Very reminiscent of “The Last Time I Lied” by Riley Sager but written for a younger audience. I have some minor qualms with the glorification of an obviously unhealthy relationship, and it’s clear based on other reviews that lots of other readers feel this way too, but let’s remind ourselves that this is YA and we are talking these are circumstances where the kids are just doing whatever their parents say because they’re scared. I can’t say much more about that without spoilers. I think this is very well crafted, the conflicts feel realistic for the characters and their social settings and/or class differences. The villain monologuing at the end to fill in story holes is always a pain point for me, so that’s my only real gripe. I prefer better storytelling and an MC who digs in and figures it out without having to have it spelled out for them in the final pages. That being said, every actual adult in the book behaves as if they don’t have a single brain cell. The parents, the staff, the townspeople. Collectively not a single intelligent thought. So obviously teens will love it.

(side note- there are a LOT of reviews here that should be hidden due to spoilers, tread carefully if you’re reading reviews prior to finishing)

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caffeineandcatnapsreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Counselors, by Jessica Goodman.

3.5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️

TRIGGER WARNINGS-

Murder, drinking, death

Camp Alpine Lake is Goldie Easton's favourite place, her safe haven. Goldie and her two best friends, Ava and Imogen, (who met at camp as kids), are now returning as counselors. Only each girl returns with their own secrets that puts a strain on their friendship. Just as camp is about to start and the kids are due to arrive a dead body is discovered in the lake one morning and it's someone that Goldie knows. Now Goldie is left wondering if Ava had something to do with the death. Could her childhood best friend really be a murderer?

I found the book to be slowish at times and it kind of dragged on for a bit in certain places.

But... as usual due to her writing style you can kind of predict how the story will go; The plot/story will have some random curve balls in guessing who the killer/killers are and you'll know better then to assume the first person that seems to be it, is probably not the killer.

I hated the fact that everyone kept telling Goldie that Heller loved her because he kept telling people he felt guilty for having her take the blame yet he never righted any of his wrongs... This left Goldie believing what exactly? That what she and Heller had was actual true love?

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cassielaj's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Love a good summer camp mystery! This was definitely somewhat predictable but made for a good story.

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growintogardens's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Loveable characters? No

2.0

So emotional. Imo, it isn't tense or dark at all. It's very *teen show,* just so many times when you want to yell, dude, be smart about this, why are you doing that, etc etc.

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conspystery's review against another edition

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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

5.0

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!

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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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

3.25

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.

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mfrisk's review against another edition

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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

4.0

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.

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jillkaarlela's review against another edition

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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

4.0

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!

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