The Counselors by Jessica Goodman
I'm a huge fan of Jessica Goodman and her writing. Whenever I pick up one of her books, I feel like I'm diving into a spin-off of Gossip Girl or something just as addictive. If you're a lover of Gossip Girl, you should definitely read any of her books. But if you're like me and you love Gossip Girl and other camp-themed movies, such as horror movies or movies with a whodunit element, then you should definitely add The Counselors to the top of your reading list.
The Counselors is a dark, elite, and mysterious teen murder mystery set in a wealthy, exclusive east-side summer camp. It's filled with twists, turns, a bit of romance, teen drama, and a tough-to-crack murder mystery.
Like many of Goodman's books, the characters in The Counselors come from the wealthy side of the Eastern U.S. (you know, Connecticut, New York, etc.), and the main character is often paired with someone who lives amongst them but is more of a commoner and definitely not wealthy.
In this book, the main character is a local to the town where the wealthy camp resides, but her parents work at the camp, which allows her free admission. She enjoys attending every summer to see her two best friends and escape from a mysterious reason that has left her an outcast in her local town. But this summer is different, as she becomes embroiled in a murder mystery when a local boy is found murdered on the camp property just as the summer session is beginning.
Jessica Goodman did an excellent job developing the characters and establishing the unspoken rules in this fictional world. Understanding those unspoken rules will help the reader understand the motives and reasoning behind what has happened to so many characters in this book.
Overall, I found The Counselors to be another great book by Jessica Goodman, and I would definitely recommend it. Keep in mind that you're reading a teen murder mystery, so don't expect complex themes or plots. This book is all about having fun on the journey, and there are good clues placed throughout the book, so pay close attention to the tiny details, whispers, and sideline conversations. I won't spoil it, but I had my suspicions about who the killer was about two-thirds of the way through, and I think I was pretty close!
