The Cousins

Product Information

SN: You switch perspectives in this book, like you have in other books, but this time there are so many different characters and routes you could have taken. How did you decide, ultimately, to allow these specific characters to tell the story of this family? The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: McManus, Karen M. The Cousins. Delacorte Press, 2020. Kindle Edition. Hi friends! Today I’m posting my The Cousins Book Review. I am a huge fan of Karen M. McManus and her thrillers, so I was super excited when Penguin Random House sent me this book for review. Let’s get into it! Everybody has secrets,” she says, taking a sip of her drink. “That’s nondebatable. The only question is whether you’re keeping your own, or someone else’s.” But I know better. In the seconds before my grandmother regained her composure, one of my tangled thoughts separated from the rest with total, piercing clarity. She had absolutely no idea that we were coming.

What the author excels at most is creating protagonists you can’t help but love and end up rooting for. I loved Milly, Aubrey and Jonah so dearly I wanted all good things for them. Cousins is an engrossing story that runs on in the head long after it has finished.’ — Dominion Sunday Times KM: That's the plus side. I did my launch event for The Cousins with Stephanie Garber. It was with Porter Square Books, and they had that chat window open, and people were saying where they were coming from Mexico and Panama and California and New York. And so that was really nice because, normally, my event is in Boston, and it's just local people, maybe a friend or two will fly in. But that's it. So that's the nice side of things. And also being able to do an event with Stephanie, who is in California is also nice. So there's some benefits, and I hope we keep some of those, because I feel like the book world has learned that a lot can be done virtually, and some of that is beneficial to readers and authors alike.There's something that screams “different” since the first chapter, and that something is the atmosphere. The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over–and this summer, the cousins will learn everything. All three teens think that this sounds like a terrible way to spend the summer, but they aren't really given an option.

The three cousins communicate with each other through texts prior to their departure. Milly and Aubrey do not know what Jonah has grown up to look like because he does not have his picture on social media. The girls plan to take the ferry to the island together, but Jonah says he does not see the point of going with them. However, they bump into him on the ferry. Milly, Aubrey and Jonah were each unique, with their own insecurities and hang-ups. I liked how their relationships evolved over the course of the story, as they began to work together to get to the bottom of why their parents got disowned. The cousins is a great mystery book. Surprisingly, the book is not about murder like most of the books by Karen M. McManus. Karen wrote this book for tweens and teens and it isn’t very intense. She wanted to write a book that doesn’t really have to do with murder, but with family, friendship and family history. The book is lots of fun but parents should be concerned with a few things. The narrative doesn't show much drinking (but a character is said to have gotten drunk) , and characters use profanity (including "f—k" and "s—t") but not very frequently. For a mystery book, there isn't much violence shown/written. Still, expect a very brief shooting and suspense, plus murders and impostors are referred to, but not shown/ written or heavily described. The interactions between many families in the novel offer conversation points regarding family dynamics, particularly how to handle difficult family histories and other unsettling subjects. There are messages about working as a team and never giving up. Great book for 11-13 year olds! In this book, Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story are from the same family, but they don’t interact with one another much because of family drama and their parents estrangement from their elusive grandmother Mildred. But when the trio is invited to stay with Mildred at her island resort for the summer, their parents are all able to agree that not going is not an option.They own the largest resort on the island; a remote vacation destination off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Pero, pero... ¿entonces por qué cuatro estrellas? Pues mira, porque creo que la autora sabe manejar perfectamente los tiempos, las escenas, los diálogos y la narración, las participaciones de los personajes de manera dinámica, el misterio... Es muy buena, de estas que te cuentan un acto simple como comer con un arte que te mantiene en vilo. No sé, especialmente respecto a los personajes, cuya profundidad está trabajada desde el principio y vamos descubriendo poco a poco más y más sobre ellos. La verdad es que en Lazos de sangre desde el primer momento parece que vamos a ser testigos de algo macabro, de un misterio que lleva décadas desenvolviéndose frente a los ojos de los lugareños de la isla Gull Cove y honestamente, creo que no termina de ser tan increíble como parece en un principio. Sí, está bien. Sí, tiene giros que me dejaron completamente descuadrado. Y sin embargo, y lamentándolo mucho, me esperaba algo más.

Everybody has secrets,” she says, taking a sip of her drink. “That's nondebatable. The only question is whether you're keeping your own, or someone else's.”The Goodreads plot summary of the The Cousins tells you everything you need to know going into this novel. Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story, the titular cousins, are each keeping secrets. Their parents have been keeping secrets for decades. And their grandmother Mildred—who disinherited her own children with a simple letter cryptically stating “you know what you did”—may have the most secrets of all. While Theresa is telling Archer and Aubrey her story, Paula is setting fire to the house. Aubrey and Archer escape. Theresa dies. Paula escapes from the house and the police. The police arrest Donald. The house is uninsured; thus, the Story family's fortune is gone. The revelation of the truth helps Archer and Allison heal. Milly’s and Allison’s relationship also heals. Aubrey and Milly stay close; Milly and Jonah continue their romantic relationship. Paula sends a postcard to Jonah indicating that she plans to make Anders pay for his actions. Twist and shout, come on come on come on baby, work it on out! I keep singing this song after reading this ultra twisty, surprising book with full of deliciously juicy mind games! The teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family this summer. But some secrets are better left alone.

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Even better, though, was the enjoyment of experiencing them with each character. The three protagonists were just as developed as the next, and I found myself easily drawn into their individual motivations, however misguided they might’ve been. Told from three separate POV’s, every thrill was seen from a unique lens and perspective, making for a reading experience that never really let me get too comfortable with how things were going. There was always something — or someone — ready to throw a wrench into the mix.

KM: I have been asking other people that a lot. Trying to find new skills and comfort watching shows. Schitt’s Creek is one of my absolute favorites that I discovered last year. And I have watched that many, many times. When I'm feeling stressed, I'll just turn it on and it's very soothing. And I've also been doing the standard baking, which is good in that it takes up time and it takes concentration, but it's maybe a little bit bad because then you get a house absolutely full of baked goods and you can't really give them away. But that's nice and soothing as well. And then just trying to stay connected with people because I feel like that's been the hardest part, not getting to see my family, friends, or other bookish people. So making the time not just to chat online, but to actually FaceTime with people and see them. Mildred invites the teenagers into her home for brunch and to attend the Summer Gala. Things do not go well at either event. Mildred focuses her attention on Aubrey and Jonah. She ignores Milly. This upsets Milly and creates friction between her and Aubrey. Mildred and Donald catch Milly and Jonah kissing at the Summer Gala. At this point, they believe that Jonah is Milly’s cousin. Jonah tells Mildred that his father, Anders, hates her. Then Anders arrives with the real Jonah Story and tells everyone that Jonah North is an imposter. It turns out that Jonah North wanted revenge because Anders lost his family’s money through bad investments. Donald has everyone escorted away. Respecto al misterio, como comento, y aunque está bien llevado en cuanto a dosificar la información, la autora construye algo que parece que va hacia un lado y termina yendo a otro, y eso a veces es buena señal, aunque para mí en esta ocasión no me ha terminado de convencer al cien por cien. Me ha sorprendido (no tanto como esperaba) y lo he disfrutado bastante. Además, ese momento final con la nota me ha gustado mucho. No sé, creo que era un final que encajaba en las características de la trama, así que tampoco puedo decir que sea vago, porque no lo es para nada. Está bien construido.With a premise based on everyone’s worst fear — family drama — and no shortage of deadly secrets, The Cousins is a fun thriller that never pauses for breath.