Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre: Mystery

Calista, Holly, Zoe, and Denise were best friends at the summer camp they went to every summer and they loved their camp counselor, Violet. A tragedy strikes the camp and forces it to close and a few years go by as they finish up high school and slowly drift apart from each other. Then, one of them learns that Violet has died tragically and they all come together again to go to the funeral. At the funeral they are stunned to learn Violet died by drowning because she was a very strong swimmer. Even more shocking is that her appearance has completely changed and they almost don’t recognize her. They start to become concerned that this might not have been an accident. Despite the fact they all have things they need to get back to, they decide to stick around and find ways to investigate what happened on their own. They are forced to face the reality that Violet was not perfect and in many ways manipulated the girls in their youth. Can they get to the bottom of what happened to Violet? Can they reconcile the past and become good friends again?

This mystery has an interesting premise and four strong main characters. The details of the past are slowly revealed until it becomes clear what led to the close of the camp they all loved so much. They all have things they are dealing with at home as well. The final reveal won’t be satisfying to some mystery readers, but it does explain everything and gives hope to the four characters that they’ll be able to move on from this. Recommended for fans who enjoy mysteries.