* I got this for review from the publisher*
I enoyed this book more then her previous one. I thought the both the sister elements and also the competive nature and i also like the dynamics between the two sisters. I liked how this story was told and how many times throuhgout this read secets were being kept fom us and that itigues me. This book does deal with harder topics like toxic coach dyanics and also abortion i liked the elements. It was quick read with stil some left handing elements but i enoyed it and and happy i gave this author a second chance. ( )

* I got this for review from the publisher*
I enoyed this book more then her previous one. I thought the both the sister elements and also the competive nature and i also like the dynamics between the two sisters. I liked how this story was told and how many times throuhgout this read secets were being kept fom us and that itigues me. This book does deal with harder topics like toxic coach dyanics and also abortion i liked the elements. It was quick read with stil some left handing elements but i enoyed it and and happy i gave this author a second chance. ( )

I'm going to add content warnings to the bottom of this review, some of which may be seen as minor spoilers, but if you need them they're at the bottom.

I think this book is best going into it not knowing much at all. I will say this is more of a mystery/suspense than a thriller, so the plot isn't going to be as fast paced as you'd expect with most thrillers. The mystery begins about halfway through the book. While I would have liked it to have started earlier on in the book, I still enjoyed this and I was interested enough in the characters that it didn't feel like the pacing dragged.

The reveal was also satisfying. While I thought I knew where the mystery was going and who the killer was, this threw us a curveball I wasn't quite expecting.

I know for some people the characters are going to be unlikable, but I really liked the characters. Stella was one of my favorite characters and I think she's really misunderstood and I can't help liking characters that are misunderstood and make you feel for them. Yeah from the outside she seems tough and rough around the edges, and she's closed off and distant from most, but I think she carries a lot of fear and hurt inside her that she hasn't learned how to deal with and it comes out in her anger.

Ellie, our other main character and Stella's sister, while I do understand her, I did get annoyed with her sometimes. I know she's just a kid so she's still learning and growing and is going to make mistakes and she doesn't know what love actually is (though she thinks she does), so she's going to be easily manipulated and abused. So I understand all of that and I get it, but it still didn't stop me from wanting to shout at her, "Ellie, girl what are you doing? You're better than this, you DESERVE better than this." I do like Ellie's character arc though, and I liked the growth that she showed.

I think the whole competitive sports/athletics theme in here was really good as well (though I say this as someone without an athletic bone in her body). But I liked how it showed the dangerous side of some of these sports and how it can push athletes to the point of physical and mental breakdown. I think that should be talked about more and athletes health need to be prioritized over some trophy/reward. Does it matter if you win a gold medal, if you have to push yourself to the brink of death to get there? No medal/trophy/reward is worth your life/health.

That's one of the reasons why I love the final scene in this book. I think it brings home this message, especially after everything the girls went through.

Content Warnings: Teen pregnancy & abortion, trauma related to abortion, addiction & recovery, toxic relationship (emotional & physical abuse), partner cheating, coach abuse, & mental health illness (anxiety, depression, addiction). ( )

Definitely a 5 star YA mystery, but I think The Counselors is staying my favorite book of this author’s.

It’s about 2 cross-country running sisters living in a town where there had been a serial killer targeting girls on the cross-country team. They never caught the killer, although he is believed to be dead. Of course another girl goes missing and they don’t know what to think. Complicating matters is the fact that Stella (the older sister) has a violent past and is deathly competitive— so she becomes a suspect.

There were a few things that I wished were cleared up that weren’t- and there were a few issues with the investigation and the way everyone was acting about the new disappearance that I think weren’t realistic or at least wasn’t the way I would see people acting in this situation. But putting that aside, this book was great. The characters that were the main POVs were super fleshed out— and while running can be boring to read about, this book kept it interesting and not too detailed.

If you haven’t read Jessica Goodman’s books yet, run ( )

Two sisters, a passion for running and a “curse” over the town. Unsolved murders of fellow runners. A new face in the pack, who disappears and is later found murdered. Is it a copycat? Is the killer back? Two sisters who should be running towards each other, keep secrets from each other and run in the opposite direction. This was a slow burn building story, the second half keeping me on the edge of my seat. I did not see the end coming. This one will keep you guessing! ( )