Bibliography: Cooney, Caroline. (2010). Three Black Swans. New York: Delacorte Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-0385738675
Plot Summary: Tasked to perpetuate a scientific fake for a class assignment, Missy calls best friend, cousin, and look alike Claire to come to her high school as a long lost twin. In an interview for the school morning news, both girls start to realize there is no hoax, and when the story goes viral, three different families are forced to face the choices from their pasts.
Critical Analysis: A black swan is an event that is hugely important, rare and unpredictable, and explicable only after the fact. This idea forms the core of Cooney’s compelling plot. It hooks you and keeps you reading through some improbable scenes to the satisfying conclusion. Multiple viewpoints take some sorting out, and the writing, well, it could be tighter. But the story of cousins for whom discovering they are actually twins is only the beginning of uncovering a series of secrets about themselves and their families somehow hits most of the right notes, and teen girls will speed through the pages and hope, that as with Janie (from The Face on the Milk Carton) there might be another chapter to this saga.
Companion Read: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Taleb. If teens find the idea of “black swans” intriguing and they can get past Taleb’s arrogant tone, they may enjoy his explanation of how black swans are responsible for most things in our world.
Review Excerpts: ”Cooney’s psychologically probing story darts among multiple characters, forming a complex web of mistrust, economic stress, and parental sins that will keep readers guessing.”–Publisher’s Weekly
“The story moves at breakneck speed, successfully walking the fine line between over-the-top melodrama and realistic fiction.”–VOYA
“Cooney devises copious explanations to give her tale credibility, but it’s a hard story to swallow. However, the ending, full of good intentions yet unresolved and uncomfortable feelings, is thoughtfully realistic.”–Kirkus Reviews
“Far fetched? Perhaps, but for any girl with a best friend who seems like a sister, this will be a riveting read. Although less tightly constructed than the classic, and similarly identity-based, The Face on the Milk Carton (1990), the entwined stories…will attract and hold Cooney’s many loyal fans.”–Booklist
Reviewed from public library copy. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.
