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.
THE COUNSELORS
by Jessica Goodman
Razorbill/Penguin YR, May 2022
Camp Alpine Lake is the only place where Goldie Easton feels at home. As the daughter of the camp nurse and shop instructor, plus the honorary granddaughter of the camp’s owners, she’s always had a special connection to Alpine Lake, even before she was old enough to attend. Now she’s back as a counselor, desperate for summer to start and her camp friends to arrive. Because with the dark secret she’s been keeping, she’s more in need of the comfort of home than ever.
But with everything she’s been holding back from her best friends, Ava and Imogen, things might not be as simple as she’d hoped—and Goldie’s not the only person at camp who has been lying. When a local boy turns up dead in the lake, she knows that his death couldn’t have been an accident. She also knows that Ava went down to the lake that night. But Ava’s her best friend, and despite everything that happened this past year, Goldie dives into the mystery surrounding the boy’s death.
But asking questions offers no answers, only danger and betrayals deeper than Goldie ever imagined.
Jessica Goodman is the op-ed editor at Cosmopolitan and author of They Wish They Were Us and They’ll Never Catch Us. The Counselors is her third novel.
Melanie Gate is a foundling with a peculiar talent for opening the unopenable—any lock releases at the touch of her hand. One night, her orphanage is visited by Traveler, a gearling automaton there on behalf of his magical mistress, who needs an apprentice pronto. When Melanie is selected because of her gift, her life changes in a flash, and in more ways than she knows—because Traveler is not at all what he seems. But then, neither is Melanie Gate.
Meet best friends Gabby Jordan, Priya Gupta, and Mindy Kim. They’re different in just about every way—personalities, hobbies, family, and more—but they have a few important things in common: they’re all in the same class, they absolutely love animals, and for reasons that are as varied as the trio themselves none of them can actually have any pets. Unable to resist the adorable temptation any longer, the girls decide to come up with a way to finally get their hands on some furry friends. And, as luck would have it, it seems like their neighborhood is in need of some afterschool dog-walkers. So, just like that, PAWS is born! But it turns out that running a business is harder than it looks, especially with three co-owners who are such different people. The girls soon argue about everything, from how to prioritize their commitments to the best way to keep their doggy clients happy. And when their fighting ultimately leads to a doggo crisis, will it tear their business and friendship apart or will they be able to get it together to save the day?
Seventeen-year-old Dare Chase is the star of a popular ghost-hunting YouTube channel—or she was, until her boyfriend and channel co-creator dumps her right after junior year. Dare’s determined to prove she can find success on her own, and thanks to a tip from a fan, she knows just where to start: the Arrington Estate. Arrington is known for its dark past, notably the mysterious death of Atheleen Bell, a teenager who drowned in the lake thirty years prior—and whose body was inexplicably skeletal when it was recovered only hours after her death. Along with the rumors of ghosts on the premises, this is the perfect subject for Dare’s new paranormal investigative podcast. Dare herself doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more to Atheleen’s death, so she accepts an internship working to turn the old house into a museum. As she digs deeper into the mystery with the help of Quinn, the new homeowner’s daughter, and as her podcast gets more popular, it becomes clear that someone—or something—doesn’t want Dare getting too close to the truth. Soon, Dare will have to reckon with the possibility that ghosts could be more real than she thinks. Because there’s something lurking in the lake…and it hasn’t finished with her yet.