Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

6 reviews

evavstheworld's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Cursing, Blood, Dementia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Sexism

emily_mh's review against another edition

mysterious slow-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

3.25

This had a great premise and resolution but was told incredibly poorly with no sense of urgency and thrill in the present, no sense of tragedy and intrigue in the past, and no sense of atmosphere in either. The characters and romance were an improvement from Two Can Keep A Secret, however (though the romance was still a bit pointless in this one). Also,

I liked how the ending echoed Jonas' story so much in terms of the imposter and financial fraud elements

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Abortion, Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Colonisation, Dementia, Grief, Incest, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual content

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Buddy read with my friend Ale!!

Everything about this book was dramatic as hell, which as someone who has the tendency to also be dramatic as hell, I appreciated. "The Cousins" is a YA mystery about three cousins finally meeting their mysterious, wealthy grandmother over the summer while uncovering the reasons behind their parents being disinherited and cut off completely. Chaos ensues.

There isn't a lot I can say without dropping spoilers, but what I will say in the book's favor is that no matter what you think is coming next in this narrative, you're probably wrong. It is much more ridiculous than I ever imagined. I can't quite decide on whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I also appreciated that it was fast paced and easy to get through even when I was really frustrated with it. There was something I can't quite figure out that didn't hit for me when it came to this book, but I did like it, so it's a solid 3 star for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Dementia

Minor: Gore, Incest, Medical content, and Vomit

leahsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

 Even though I’ve only read one of Karen M. McManus’s mystery/thrillers, I was very impressed by her style, and this book solidified her status as one of my favorites in the genre. 

 

In The Cousins, she crafts a story with realistic and flawed characters, and then places them into a compelling setting full of dark, long-hidden family secrets and simmering resentment. The younger generation of the Story family is characterized by difficult relationships with their parents and a lack of relationships with other family members. So when the opportunity arises to visit their grandmother, they hope to make connections and learn more about their family history. But of course, things don’t quite work out as planned. 

 

“The longer Mildred goes without contacting us, the more convinced I am that there’s something off about this entire summer.” 

 

There’s a gothic feel to the island, and I really liked each of the cousins, who were so different in their own ways. Jonah was a jerk at first, but driven and focused with a good heart. Aubrey was sweet and seemingly well-adjusted, but a bit of a doormat. Milly was outspoken but closed off while simultaneously seeking approval from her mother. 

 

“Because surely, one of them has to know what happened twenty-four years ago to make Mildred Story sever ties with all four of her children and never look back. And maybe if I know that, I’ll finally be able to understand my mother.” 

 

I loved seeing the cousins really grow over the course of the book, and realize that just because family secrets have persisted, doesn’t mean that they have to keep things going the way they always have. Despite growing up the way they have, they learn a lot about their family, themselves, and each other. 

 

“There’s something dangerously seductive about Story secrets; they snake their way into your heart and soul, burrowing so deep that the very idea of exposing them feels like losing a part of yourself.” 

 

While a few of the plot twists were predictable, the majority were a total surprise. I quickly got sucked into the story, and read it in a day. I loved the story as much as One of Us is Lying, but I think the characters were even more well-crafted in this book. This was one of those hyped books that was on the nose. My only issue was that sometimes the voice sounded the same from character to character, and I’d have to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see which POV I was reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Grief, and Miscarriage

Minor: Racism

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