Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Counselors

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Counselors by Jessica Goodman

11 reviews

liciaaaaa's review

mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.25

Every character sucked except Imogene, but that’s because she was severely underdeveloped. I feel like Scooby Doo episodes have cleaner wrap ups than this book did. All that for tax evasion? Really?

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cassiereadsbooks_'s review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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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

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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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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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