You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your relatives! We review The Cousins by Karen M McManus.
The Cousins – the blurb
The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence:
You know what you did.
They never hear from her again.
Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother’s resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who’s been such an enigma their entire lives.
This entire family is built on secrets, right? It’s the Story legacy.
This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone.
Teen crush
McManus has been knocking it out of the park recently with her teen fiction (have you tried her ‘One of Us‘ books?) Not content to rest on her laurels she has moved away from Bayview with her latest teen offering and decamped to a tiny island just off the coast of Cape Cod. Do not fear though, there are teens and twists a plenty complete with romance, secrets and family feuds.
The Cousins reads very much like a Netflicks series. The bombshell chapter endings have you turning to the next page without even thinking of stopping. I very much binge read it (even managing a page whilst brushing my teeth). It makes it very easy reading, to the point you read so fast you gloss over any slight plot hiccups. Which is good as it’s perhaps best not to think too hard about the reality of one or two plot twists.
A side of attitude
The main trio are well defined and compliment each other well. I particularly liked Milly with her brittle exterior but Jonah and Aubrey were in no way sidekicks. With its rich kid, beech setting it’s very TV worthy. I can totally see Reece Witherspoon getting her hands on it and working her magic. All you need is a Spotify worthy playlist and you are set.
TV aside, teens in search of something modern, pacey and full of attitude will love it. Whilst I wouldn’t want my 11 year old reading it, there isn’t too much in it to make you blush. It’s a brilliant alternative to the extremely woke YA books out there at the moment whilst not veering into the well trodden land of magic and fantasy. I haven’t read the One of Us books yet but they are on my TBR pile and after reading The Cousins, I certainly won’t be skipping them.
