10 must-read new YA book releases to make your December merry

The Cousins – Karen McManus

The latest book from the author of such twisty thrillers as One of Us is Lying and Two Can Keep a Secret, The Cousins is the story of a privileged family with more than their share of dark secrets.

When a trio of cousins – Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah – receive a letter from the rich, reclusive grandmother that none of them have ever met inviting them to work at her luxurious Gull Cove Island resort, none of them are terribly excited. After all, they don’t exactly know one another and they have little interest in the grandmother that actively disowned each of their parents decades prior.

Why? Well, that’s a mystery that no one seems to be able to solve. Even the parents claim to be in the dark about why Mildred eschews all contact, having only received a mysterious letter long ago that simply read “You know what you did.”

Forced by their parents to attend against their wishes, the cousins soon discover that their family’s past is darker than anything they could have imagined.

The official synopsis describes the story as follows.

"Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised . . . and curious. Their parents are all clear on one point—not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious—and dark—their family’s past is. The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over—and this summer, the cousins will learn everything"

The Cousins is available on December 1.