Introduction
The Cousins, written by Karen M. McManus, was published on December 1st, 2020, by Random House Children’s Books. I chose this book because I love McManus’ work, and this was one I hadn’t read yet. So far from McManus, I have read One of Us Is Lying, One of Us Is Next, Two Can Keep A Secret, and now I can add The Cousins to the list. When I thought of the female authors I love most, she was among the first to come to mind, and I already had The Cousins on my Barnes and Noble wish list, so it all worked out perfectly. As expected, this book was amazing, and I highly recommend reading it before continuing with this review as the section containing my Thoughts will contain spoilers. If you want a general overview, the Plot section will be spoiler free. I hope you enjoy it!
I am sorry again for the late post, I will try to get the last “March” review out next weekend, but I think I will be taking an extra week in between the last March and first April reviews. Finals are coming up as I near the end of my freshman year, and I want to try to get ahead on some of these in hopes of getting the ones in April out on time. I would rather have quality over quantity. Thank you for being patient and understanding with my busy schedule!
If you’d like to keep up with Ali Hazelwood, you can visit her website, https://www.karenmcmanus.com/, or follow her on social media @writerkmc.
Plot
Upon receiving a mysterious letter from a grandmother they’ve never met, cousins Millie, Aubrey, and Jonah Story slowly uncover an old island’s secrets while they try to get their parents back in their grandmother’s good graces. Told through two different timelines and four perspectives, generations of old mysteries are unraveled over the course of this book.
Thoughts
I love that each character is established both through their own perspective and through the perspectives of others. Millie is a very intelligent and observant young lady. She’s headstrong and independent, and she isn’t good at letting her guard down. Aubrey is a people-pleasing athlete who puts everyone else’s needs before her own. She really does have a heart of gold. Jonah initially comes off as a complete jerk, but the more that is revealed about him, the more I appreciated his loyalty to his family. Each character is layered, much like the island they live on for the majority of this book.
Speaking of the island, Gull Cove was an amazing setting. The kids were stuck there working to get their parents back into their grandmother’s good graces after decades of silence. On that note, the mystery in this book is incredibly interesting, which I find is typical for McManus’ work. Why were their parents cut off? What did they do? Who invited the kids? Every time I thought I had it figured out, I was thrown for another loop, and even though I got elements of it right, I never would have guessed the whole story. I look forward to rereading this book because McManus makes every single detail intentional. When I inevitably circle back around to this one, I have no doubt that I will notice a thousand seemingly small details that I missed the first time around.
The big idea that stuck out to me in this book was the family dynamic. None of the cousins have a good relationship with the Story family. Millie’s mom is too hard on and cold towards her. Aubrey’s dad got her swim coach pregnant and ruined his marriage to her mother. Jonah isn’t even a Story, and he had every intention of sabotaging the entire summer to get revenge for his family, who the real Jonah’s dad destroyed financially. Their grandfather had a saying, “Family first, always,” and it seemed that his sons took that idea too far following his death. As a result of their actions, the family completely fell apart. Despite all of this, the cousins stick together. Millie and fake Jonah begin a relationship, and both of them get along wonderfully with Aubrey. Watching their dynamics grow and change throughout the book is so interesting with the different perspectives. It makes it so even when there isn’t anything major going on, it’s still interesting to read.
Overall, I would give this book a 9.3/10. I wasn’t quite as taken aback reading this as I was One Of Us Is Lying, but I didn’t guess this ending either. It was very well written and interesting to follow, and I will absolutely be reading this one again.
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