YA Mystery

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The setting of The Counselors is perfect - a summer camp in Vermont with a lake, cabins, counselors... and a murder.

Goldie is a townie but her parents work at camp, therefore she is allowed to go for free. The other campers are all rich kids who get in based on how much their families can donate, so she is kind of the odd one out. However, she made two best friends and they have stuck together each summer for years.

Told in alternating timelines (then and now) Goldie describes what happened that messed up her senior year of high school and what life is like at camp. Here is where the book fell apart a bit. If Goldie is such good friends with these two, why is she keeping so many secrets from them? The trauma from her past is revealed at an acceptable pace, but the fact that it is such a secret for so long is a bit annoying.

In addition, there is a lot of underage drinking and drug use that is just deemed as acceptable. It seems like the counselors don't do a lot of watching children but they certainly know their way around a bar or pot.

Last, I figured out the killer, which is fine, but the way it all came together was unsatisfying. I didn't love the storyline with why Heller was murdered... I think it could have been better. The setting is great though, and Goldie is relatable