Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

59 reviews

novi's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I don't know why I didn't know this, but this is a young adult thriller. The reviews are right, the vibe is very similar with E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, but this one is more.....comfortable? It wasn't as eerie or unsettling as We Were Liars, but it's still so fun to read because the way the plot moves fast is satisfying and in each chapter we always learn something new about the story (or um, The Story, since that is the name of the family that this book is about). The twist wasn't as messed up as I hoped it would be lol the tone of this book is lighter that the cover made it seem to be, that's all I'm saying. I really enjoyed being with these characters and the pacing of the book is perfect. I couldn't put it down I really could've finish it in one sitting if I didn't have work to do.

This isn't a hot take or anything, but I just want to say that the last page felt really unnecessary lol like okay I get that the author wanted the readers to leave the book feeling uncomfortable, a bit haunted, or with a goosebumps, and I wanted it for myself too, as I was reading it, but sadly it wasn't strong enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Car accident, Gaslighting, and Vomit

simplysmile15's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity

silverhastings13's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, Dementia, Toxic relationship, and Miscarriage

junefish's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Infidelity

Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Murder, Dementia, and Death of parent

Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Car accident

read_al_about_it's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Karen McManus' writing hits me in a few literary places that aren't touched upon often. On one hand as an adult reading YA I need a certain level of writing to keep me entertained. But on the other I am usually reading YA to enjoy a quickly evolving plot and lighter subject matter. Somehow McManus is able to hit both every single time for me. I love the setting of this story being on an island, as the other pieces I have read of hers are set in a high school, but also enjoy that they are working within this affluent family that owns basically everything on the island. I feel as if there were many tropes that could have been used that would've really flattened the storyline but every single time I expected one I was met with more fun character analysis and backstory instead. One of the characters we are experiencing through the novel is from a flashback, and their story added so much depth and was a very necessary part of understanding the family dynamic. 

All in all a really fast and fun summer read for me! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage and Death of parent

Minor: Violence

gingerkathrynreads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Dementia, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Bullying, and Grief

Minor: Car accident and Cursing

nickoliver's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, Miscarriage, and Gun violence

lybrarie's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was alright, but it definitely wasn't my favourite of McManus' books. I felt like the pace was quite slow and everything seemed to happen in the last few chapters - which I normally wouldn't mind so much but the reveal in this book didn't feel very satisfying. It didn't really feel like there was much foreshadowing for the main twist in the book, which I normally love being able to look back on and see what I missed. There was some foreshadowing, but not for the biggest parts of the ending. I was also very uncomfortable with the relationship in this book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

Minor: Car accident and Racism

beanz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Miscarriage, Dementia, Toxic relationship, and Murder