Parent reviews for The Cousins

Summary: The Storys are the envy of their neighbors: affluent, gorgeous, and close-knit, they possess the largest piece of land on their East Coast island. till everything breaks out. The mother of the four kids abruptly leaves them with just one sentence: You know what you did. She is never seen or heard from again. Years later, when Aubrey, Milly, and Jonah Story, all 18 years old, receive an enigmatic invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother's resort, they are forced to satisfy their curiosity and meet the lady who has been such a mystery their whole lives. You do realize that this entire family is based on secrets? The cousins is a great mystery book. Surprisingly, the book is not about murder like most of the books by Karen M. McManus. Karen wrote this book for tweens and teens and it isn’t very intense. She wanted to write a book that doesn’t really have to do with murder, but with family, friendship and family history. The book is lots of fun but parents should be concerned with a few things. The narrative doesn't show much drinking (but a character is said to have gotten drunk) , and characters use profanity (including "f—k" and "s—t") but not very frequently. For a mystery book, there isn't much violence shown/written. Still, expect a very brief shooting and suspense, plus murders and impostors are referred to, but not shown/ written or heavily described. The interactions between many families in the novel offer conversation points regarding family dynamics, particularly how to handle difficult family histories and other unsettling subjects. There are messages about working as a team and never giving up. Great book for 11-13 year olds!

there is alot of cussing and dark stuff i liked the book just had alot of bad stuff to talk about in the book other wise great story and plot