The Counselors by Jessica Goodman

e-Audio, 09:13:45
Narrated by: Phoebe Strole
Release Date: May 31, 2022
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: June 2-6, 2022
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Death, Arson, Car Accident, Alcohol Usage
For Readers Interested In: Thriller, Mystery, YA

    From bestselling author Jessica Goodman comes a twisty new thriller about three best friends, one elite summer camp, and the dark secrets that lead to a body in the lake.
     Sisters by choice.
     That’s how Goldie and her best friends, Ava and Imogen, 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.

*MY THOUGHTS*

I was a bit hesitant going into this one since I’ve had to DNF her other books. They’ve always had some kind of drug usage and that’s a trigger for me. Especially since they were also teens. It’s not something I can like. This time, that wasn’t there, and I actually enjoyed it.

Goldie real life has been upended. And because of that she’s eager to get away from it and getting back to camp where her friends are. This year her and her friends are counselors at the camp they attend. They’ve been waiting on this for a long time. What they didn’t anticipate is all the crazy things that will happen this summer, from all the secrets that will be revealed to the death of Goldie’s ex. Literally everyone in Goldie’s world seems to have a motive. Can she figure it out before the looks start to turn her way?

The coolest part about this was camp. The world-building was bussin. Definitely set the stage for camp and put me right in the middle of some woods next to a lake. Just from being in the woods alone was pretty creepy. And I can’t lie, I kept playing Jason’s theme song in my head the whole time I thought about it. The setting definitely set the mood for this book.

As for the plot, I was a little disappointed. I went in to this being hella excited that I was going to get a Jason like book, but no. It was not even remotely the same. Serves me right for never reading synopses. I had built it up in my head that this books was going to be about the camp counselors trying to stop a killer at the camp. Like a Goosebumps/Jason crossover. But this wasn’t even close. There wasn’t even more than one person who dies. (Yes I know that sounds terrible, but its fiction. Let me live.) And I gotta say. (again because this person is despicable and he deserved it.)

I did like the mystery and how it was solved tho. Idk, I love a good mystery where you can solve it, but also make sure you can clear your name also. I think because solving the mystery is always for the victim, but we always only get a love story for the main character. And yes that’s important, but I also want closure for the main character as well.

Now the characters themselves were annoying af. The main character was crazy. Going to talk to all these people with no back up. As a Black woman, it felt hella unsafe. With no one to know where she was going I remember yelling at her through the pages. And then there’s her friends. They both had secrets too. But their secrets were no where near hers. But unfortunately to me they just felt like a plot device. *SPOILER* She literally just was telling her family secret because it gave the reader something else to think about.* I knew what was happening the moment it was introduced.

This book appealed to me as a librarian who buys for a teen audience. Unfortunately it never turned on my “I’m reading this because a love for mysteries and thrillers.” BUT will I say this, I’m going to try again on reading her back list. Maybe I can skip over the parts I don’t want to read. I guess we’ll see!

Overall, I give this