Review | The Cousins

Title: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

Date Published: December 1st, 2020

Dates Read: July 23-24, 2021

Current Goodreads Rating: 3.81/5

Here's a question: if the rich grandmother who supposedly disinherited your entire family reached out with a summer job working at her island resort as a way to "get to know her grandkids" would you take it? Or would you simply say, "screw you, Grandma" and keep living your life because if she didn't care about you when you were born why should you care now that she's supposedly grown a conscience?

Personally, I don't have an answer for that question. The rebel side of me wants to say I'd tell her to take her job offer and shove it, but the curious side of me would really want to get to the bottom of why she disinherited her children and, by proxy, decided to ignore her grandchildren. However, I think the consequences of this real life hypothetical would probably be a little less crazy than the consequences of the lives of Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey in Karen M. McManus' The Cousins.

Ok, so what happens? Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey may be cousins, but they barely know each other. Now entering their senior year of high school, each cousin receives a mysterious letter from their grandmother, Millicent. After almost 24 years of bitter silence, she has finally decided to reach out to possibly reconnect with her family.

However, when the cousins arrive on Gull Cove Island, things aren't immediately as they seem. Millicent seems surprised to see her grandchildren in her resort and those who work closely with her seem adamant to get the cousins off the island and away from Millicent as soon as possible. Not to mention each cousin brings with them their own secrets and stories from their parents. What happened 24 years ago that could have caused their grandma break completely with her family? How are each of the Story siblings involved? Is it possible to salvage their relationship before it is too late?

Ok, so what did I think? I have no idea how this book isn't more popular on BookTok because I kept getting strong We Were Liars vibes from this book. Not only does it take place in a bougie resort island near Martha's Vineyard, but the secrets swirling around the main family reminded me so strongly of the secrets and heartbreak surrounding Cady's family. Also, Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah have the same clique feeling as the Liars - though admittedly with less danger and maybe the same amount of fire?

I did my best to try and figure out what the twist was while I was reading and, though I was close, I was pleasantly surprised by the twist ending. I left off a star on We Were Liars because I felt that the twist had been hyped up too much and I was let down in the end. In The Cousins there was still a substantial amount of mystery left even when I thought I had pulled a Scooby Doo and unmasked the culprit on my own.

Usually in stories where each chapter is told from another character's point of view, I find myself looking forward to the voices of certain characters as opposed to others, but that didn't really happen while I was reading The Cousins. Sure, there were a few times where one chapter ended in a cliffhanger which meant I had to read at least two more chapters before it got back around to resolving the danger, but those chapters were also jam-packed with clues and quips and drama.

Not to mention all the characters were so strongly developed. I don't think there was a single character that melted into the background. McManus does a great job of layering her characters as we not only walk alongside Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey in present day, but also Allison - Milly's mother - in short flashback chapters that slowly unravel why she and her siblings were disinherited. Each Story sibling has their own story and their own secrets and we not only get to see their character reflected through the eyes of their children, but also through the circumstances of their past.

Also, I just have to say it, even though you won't get it until you read it, but fuuuu - and I cannot stress it enough - uuuuck Adam and Anders.

Let's talk about that ending though. Obviously, minor spoilers ahead. To me, that ending was alllllllmost unsatisfying, but it felt very much like when movies end on a small cliffhanger so if the possibility of a sequel arises then they have an opening to make one so I wasn't too upset by it. I'm not sure what mystery the Story cousins would have to unravel in a sequel novel, but with one of the bad guys still at large the book itself feels slightly unresolved. Regardless, with how quickly I read this book, I have no doubt that I would read a sequel and maybe even a trilogy depending on where McManus plans to take Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey.

Side note - if there are any hidden grandmothers in my family tree who would like to offer me a cushy job at their resort which also involves tailored couture gowns that fit me like a glove please feel free to reach out. I'm available any time.

Long Story Short:

• How many times can I make this bullet point men suck?

• I would love to have a rich grandma with a private island resort

• Why didn't I ever have to unravel a family mystery when I was a kid?

My Rating: 5/5