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Three Black Swans

Caroline B. Cooney

3.49 · Rating details · 1,696 ratings · 267 reviews

Lives are in the balance in bestselling author Caroline B. Cooney's newest young adult thriller, "Three Black Swans."
Missy and her cousin Claire are best friends who finish each other's sentences and practically read each other's minds. It's an eerie connection--so eerie that Missy has questions she wants to put to her parents. But she's afraid to ask. So when Missy hears ...more

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Hardcover, 276 pages

Published August 24th 2010 by Delacorte Press (first published January 1st 2010)

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Sep 26, 2012 Linda rated it really liked it

I read many reviews about this book. Many people didn't like it. When I first started to read it I was a bit confused and I thought that it moved too slowly. But I like Caroline Cooney so I mustered on. And I'm glad I did! The book turned out to be rather phenomenal- one of those books that keeps you thinking about it for a long time after you finish reading it. After a slow beginning the book sped into overdrive and I couldn't put it down. Missy and Claire are first cousins who seem to feel a l ...more

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Jan 25, 2011 Logan rated it liked it

The last half of this book, "Three Black Swans," by Caroline B. Cooney, was very suspenseful. I really enjoyed it. The differences in how the characters felt about their situation was very clear.

However ---
1. The delayed introduction of a main character, Genevieve, until page 73 was very disconcerting. I stopped reading the story, thinking some mistake had been made. I closed the book three times. I looked at the page numbers thinking that the binding somehow misplaced a number of pages. It thr The last half of this book, "Three Black Swans," by Caroline B. Cooney, was very suspenseful. I really enjoyed it. The differences in how the characters felt about their situation was very clear.

However ---
1. The delayed introduction of a main character, Genevieve, until page 73 was very disconcerting. I stopped reading the story, thinking some mistake had been made. I closed the book three times. I looked at the page numbers thinking that the binding somehow misplaced a number of pages. It threw me completely off the story line to have a story about Missy and Claire go on for 72 pages, and then be completely dropped in order to tell the story of Genevieve. It was only after I slogged through the next 15 pages that the link back into the plot became clear. This is one good example why Blake Snyder, in his book "Save the Cat," recommends introducing all the main characters in the first act. Unless we are writing an epic novel, a story like this should introduce all the main characters in the setup part of the story. The first two scenes about the relationship between Genevieve and her parents (and grandmother) could have been folded into the first part of the whole story, avoiding the complete break in the plot that happens when Genevieve is finally introduced.

2. Some of this story was told in a style that seemed like an author's summarization of the story. It was written like backstory notes, rather than in a description and depiction of events and dialog. Half of the story does an excellent job of showing the emotions and feelings of the characters, but some of the other half is written in flat statements of how they felt, rather than showing it in the events and dialog of their lives. Part of this is due to the constant use of editorial flashback to fill in what happened in the past. The flashbacks are necessary because the events of the character's birth(s) and adoption(s) must be covered. But it seems to be mostly covered in a narrator's dialog rather than through the recollections of individual characters.

I think this book could have gone from good to great after a careful rewrite.
Logan ...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Spypigeon rated it did not like it

One of the worst books I have ever read in my entire life, And trust me- I've sat through the Twilight series.
I mean, kudos, the idea was actually pretty original. This book is basically about cousins Missy and Claire. When Missy is given the assignment to create a hoax, she plays her cousin off as her long-lost identical twin. Which brings me the the point that if she's her cousin, then why did everyone fall for it? I mean, the author spends a good chunk of the book talking about how they spend One of the worst books I have ever read in my entire life, And trust me- I've sat through the Twilight series.
I mean, kudos, the idea was actually pretty original. This book is basically about cousins Missy and Claire. When Missy is given the assignment to create a hoax, she plays her cousin off as her long-lost identical twin. Which brings me the the point that if she's her cousin, then why did everyone fall for it? I mean, the author spends a good chunk of the book talking about how they spend every weekend together, and how they spent their entire childhoods right next to each other! yet, apparently, no one knew of Missy's cousin because Missy never talked about her. Why is that? The author plays her off as this social butterfly( or at least compared to Claire she seems to be), yet she never talks about her best friend who happens to be her cousin? Anyways, back to the story, Missy takes Claire to her school and they both appear on the school's morning annoucement together. While Missy is explaining about her twin with vigor, Claire just breaks down crying. Thus, the boy who does the morning annoucements( which are for some reason filmed; oh, that's where the tax money goes)decides to put it on Youtube without asking the girls. Woah, he's so nice. And thanks to him, all the drama begins to unfold. And that's where the story starts into the second act.
The second act is poor. I mean, the introduction was pretty decent. A few weird character problems, but they can pretty much fly. In the second act, Claire starts to come to the realization that Claire and her may actually be twins. And for some reason she starts crying over it multiple times. She tells Missy and Missy is like 'woah' (God, these characters make me want to jump off a cliff). Also, the reader is introduced to a new character about half-way through. Now, I'm not counting this as a spoiler, because if you didn't see this coming, then your IQ may be dangerously low. But, woah, there's another girl! And guess what? She looks just like Claire and Missy! Man, I thought this book called 'Three Balck Swans' would only have two characters; that's why they used the number three in the title. Now, I find the third girl (Genevieve) pretty likeable. She's nice, and her parents are pretty harsh, which makes you feel for her. Anyways, Genevieve finds the video of Claire and Missy on Youtube( since the video went viral from word of mouth), and discovers that they're all triplets. This leads us to the third act where Genevieve gets the idea to get the three of the girls together. All while they discover about their past and realize who the birth family is.
Now that the basic idea of the story is out of the way, now comes one of my biggest problems with the story- it's that the author doesn't get the whole twins/triplets thing. She describes them as looking exactly alike, having the same laugh, features,weight, etc. Now, my brothers are twins( who are like the ones in this story(( meaning they look alike in most features)) ), and they're nothing like this! One of them is taller than the other, a lot of their facial features are different, one is certainly heavier than the other, and their laughs are completely different. Now, not a lot of people can pick out the differences between twins unless they lvie with them( like myself), so it makes sense if everyone else thinks the girls all look like clones( in fact, they describe the girls as twins so much, I kept thinking this was going to turn into a sci-fi book). But the girls all think they look exactly alike, as well! They keep saying 'it's like looking in a reflection'. Either the author was too lazy to actually design three, different, individual characters, or these girls are extreme triplets.
Also, another issue, is that the characters react to things weirdly. Like the principal finds out what Missy did was a hoax,a nd she actually gets mad at her. She even says 'you tricked us'. Well, it's called a hoax. That's what it's supposed to do- trick people. I can understand the principal saying to the teacher 'that hoax project was a complete waste of time', but not the principal snapping at Missy. Also, after Missy declares it was a hoax all of her classmates are like 'cruel, feelingless, monster- a pox on you!'. Well, how would they like it if everyone shuns them for their lame hoax? Lastly, at the part when Genevieve confronts her parents, her mother actually grabs a knife out of nowhere and puts it to her wrist. I cannot even cover that, it's just so stupid.
So forget this book, I'm going to go read bad Harry Potter fanfiction! ...more

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Sep 28, 2012 Saru (Queen of Bookland) rated it liked it

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Jul 06, 2017 Cecilia London rated it liked it

Meh. Cooney's writing isn't nearly as good as I remember but...the last time I read her was over twenty years ago. ...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Sarah Sammis rated it it was ok

Recommended to Sarah by: Ms Yingling Reads

Shelves: borrowed, exwishlist, read-in-2012

Three Black Swans by Caroline B Reiner takes its title from The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Basically, a black swan is a highly improbably event that actually has happened. Taleb describes these events as: unpredictable, with a massive impact, and something we want to explain to make them seem less random or unpredictable.

In the case of Three Black Swans, the title is a spoiler unto itself — three identical sisters separated at birth with shenanigans involved in their adoptions. The rev ...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Jennifer Rayment rated it liked it

The Good Stuff

Story is fast paced with plenty of cliffhanger type moments
Some interesting ethical questions could be brought up for discussion
The three young heroines are likeable and there is some nice character development
Liked the relationship between Genevieve and her grandmother
Good little mystery, makes you keep guessing what is actually going on
I want Genevieve's grandma to be my grandma
The Not So Good Stuff

Story jumps arount in terms of point of view which was very confusing
One of the m ...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: teen-family-issues, teen-foster-adoption, teen-girl, teen-realistic

Author of numerous suspenseful novels, Caroline Cooney does it again in this fast past family drama. Yes, you read that correctly, fast paced family drama. Short chapters with cliff hanger endings will keep even the most reluctant readers turning the pages. When sophomore Missy Vianello's teacher uses famous hoaxes to inspire her biology students, Missy sees a perfect opportunity to use her uncanny resemblance to her cousin Claire, a Junior at another school, to play a hoax on her classmates, an ...more

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May 28, 2011 Tiffany Neal rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult-mystery, 2011

I noticed that there were lots of 2-3 star reviews on this one. I really can't be sure why because I picked up the book yesterday and was so intrigued by the story line and plot that I tore through the pages trying to figure out what was going on. I loved the back cover with the explanation of what black swans are, and I never read the inside cover, so I had no idea what the book was about.

There were some places that felt ingenuine or slightly unbelievable - the fact that no one noticed how muc ...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Jill rated it liked it

Shelves: realistic-fiction

Not my favorite Caroline Cooney book. This realistic fiction book tells the story of two cousins, Missy and Claire, who are very close and have a "strong family resemblance" in their appearance. Missy receives a Science assignment that she needs to research a hoax and present it to the class. She decides to bring her cousin to her school during the morning announcements and declare to the entire school that she found her "long lost twin." During her third hour Science class she tells everyone th ...more

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Aug 11, 2013 Vivian rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, reviewed

This was quite a good book! Although it was a little slow in the beginning somewhere along the way it started to pick up and get really interesting! The story was slightly confusing but as you read it more everything makes sense. I really want a sequel or something so I know what happens next! It was good but I didn't like how the author introduced a significant so late into the story.

Missy and Claire have always been close from the beginning. Even though they're cousins they've always been eer ...more

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Dec 13, 2010 Chrissy rated it liked it

Shelves: ya

Whenever I pick up a Caroline Cooney book, I'm reminded of what it was like to be 15. There's just something about her (and Lois Duncan for that matter) that takes me back to my high school days. I was surprised to see that she had a new book out, so I decided to give it a whirl. Cooney has made an effort to stay current - YouTube and Facebook are prominent fixtures in this book about separated sisters who reunite courtesy of social media. By the way, no one quite captures the emotions of hyster ...more

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Nov 05, 2014 Savannahdennis1 rated it really liked it

This book was a great book, it had such a entreating story. It started out from one girl listening on the radio about separated twins, then she found her separated twin, then they found the last piece to the puzzle, their triplet. The story kept getting better and better, the different girls living their own lives then they finally meet. This book however, kept getting repeated, how each of the three girls kept going back to the video of the "twins." All in all, I give this book a 4 out of 5. ...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Riya Shah rated it it was ok

Honestly this book disappointed me very much. When I picked up the book, it was mainly because I love Cooney's works and was excited to read another book by her. But the beginning of the book starts out very slow an unfortunately it doesn't get any better. I thought the whole bool was very predictable, and it was a bit of a waste of time to read. ...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Dorer002 rated it it was ok

I used to love Caroline Coney's books when I was younger (probably Jr high aged), and thought I'd enjoy this as a guilty pleasure YA novel. It just didn't draw me in like I thought, it seemed silly and totally unbelievable. Too many cutesy coincidences and too much talking about texting. No thanks. ...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Barbara Maguire rated it liked it

Three Black Swans didn't engage me the way some of her other work has done. It seemed rather predictable, without the twists and turns of plot I expected. ...more

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May 31, 2018 Claire Nicole Blackmore rated it liked it

This story takes place in New York and areas around it. Two cousins, Claire and Missy, start to question whether their close “family resemblance” is really just a coincidence or not. Missy needs a subject for her hoax project in biology, so who better to call than her identical cousin Claire. The two girls decide to pretend that Claire is Missy’s long lost identical twin sister, but what happens when a video of the two “sisters” is put on YouTube for the whole world to see? Will families crumble This story takes place in New York and areas around it. Two cousins, Claire and Missy, start to question whether their close “family resemblance” is really just a coincidence or not. Missy needs a subject for her hoax project in biology, so who better to call than her identical cousin Claire. The two girls decide to pretend that Claire is Missy’s long lost identical twin sister, but what happens when a video of the two “sisters” is put on YouTube for the whole world to see? Will families crumble? Will the two girls’ lives change forever? The truth is revealed in Caroline B. Cooney’s Three Black Swans.

It is not the most exciting plot but still is enough to hook some attention. I really got drawn by the art of the spine and cover then really by the story. Another factor that I’m not ashamed to admit was that reading a book where a main character has the same name as I made me curious, so of course I had to read the book. Near the end the names of the characters did nothing for me so I have to say that overall there was nothing special about this book.

I didn’t have very strong feelings for this book. I’ll tell you right now, it is slow. Things do not get going for a while into this book and I found that after I finished reading it I felt like I just read a way shorter book then I actually did. I am not angry at the way this novel ended at all, it was a pretty satisfying ending. Only thing is, can you force enough will power to plow through story developing to get to the juicy stuff. Don’t get me wrong though, it was a good read, with characters you hate, love, and hate even more. I will say that you don’t get a lot of personality out of the characters though, you just get a scratch on the surface of how deep their personalities could have been.

Really not much to say about this book it was pretty average, and I don’t look back on it now and say ‘wow, what a waste of time’. One thing I do have to say before I finish this review is that this book switches through just about every characters point of view. Through every child, every parent, and even some random guy who associated with the girls. If you are just looking for a book to add to your shelf of “read just to say I read it” then I say that Three black swans will not be a waste of a read, and deserves a spot on that shelf. ...more

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Nov 18, 2018 Kayli rated it it was amazing

Missy and Claire are so close they can practically read each other's minds and seem to intuitively know the other's feelings even hundreds of miles away. In fact, Missy believes their bond surpasses the cousins-turned-best-friends speech their parents have been giving them since they were young. After all, if that were the case then why is her mother always pointing out their differences and acting threatened when people mistake them for twins? Missy decides her science class's hoax experiment i Missy and Claire are so close they can practically read each other's minds and seem to intuitively know the other's feelings even hundreds of miles away. In fact, Missy believes their bond surpasses the cousins-turned-best-friends speech their parents have been giving them since they were young. After all, if that were the case then why is her mother always pointing out their differences and acting threatened when people mistake them for twins? Missy decides her science class's hoax experiment is the perfect opportunity to test out how close they really are. Claire reluctantly agrees to dress the same and go live on Missy's school TV show where Missy drops a truth bomb (or the hoax) that she found her long lost twin, Claire. Since they live in separate states and have never met Claire, people truly believe that the girls are twins, leaving Claire emotionally distraught and wonder 'what if we are?'. Things take a twist for suspense when the video goes viral and draws the attention of a girl named Genevieve. Caroline B. Cooney takes you for an emotional ride of suspense, thrill and wonder as all three girls search for the truth of their identities.

Cooney is definitely one of my favorite authors of all time, even though I don't read her nearly enough. Thriller/Suspense is not usually a genre I frequent but since I know Cooney's work I was excited to give 'Three Black Swans' a try. The plot is really well thought out and in a similar vain as 'The Face on the Milk Carton' though in the beginning it was a bit slow but once you meet Genevieve you're hooked. The perspectives and reactions are intense in each of the characters, especially with the three main girls, and the lingering metaphor of 'a black swan' intensifies the journey. One thing I love about Cooney's work in this novel is how she doesn't stray from portraying the unpopular and negative selfish tendencies of others. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a good thriller, realistic fiction or a book when the past comes back to haunt the present. ...more

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May 19, 2020 Kylie Barragan added it

This book starts off with a teen girl named Missy and she lives in New Jersey. One of her closest friends is her cousin Claire, the funny thing is that they look very similar and could pass as twins, this comes in handy later. One day at school while she was in one of her classes she has a project where she has to develop a hoax, with this she decides to create a fake scenario where she meets her long lost twin, who would be Claire because they look so much alike. Once they plan it out they mee This book starts off with a teen girl named Missy and she lives in New Jersey. One of her closest friends is her cousin Claire, the funny thing is that they look very similar and could pass as twins, this comes in handy later. One day at school while she was in one of her classes she has a project where she has to develop a hoax, with this she decides to create a fake scenario where she meets her long lost twin, who would be Claire because they look so much alike. Once they plan it out they meet at school wearing the same outfit and hairstyle and pretend to meet each other for the first time in front of the whole school on the schools TV. After all this time the parents finally tell the girls that they are twins but got separately adopted by each family members just so that they can stay close. When a girl named Genevieve watches the video she realizes they look exactly the same and that they could possibly be triplets. In the end they discover the truth that Genevieve parents are their actual parents and they all got separated at birth because the mom didn't want three kids at once. In the end though they end up staying in contact and want to stay close as well as friends.
I think the author somewhat uses foreshadowing in this book. Mainly because in the beginning the girls say they are so similar and alike that they could pass as twins. Eventually after giving multiple hints throughout the book it ends up coming true even with the third twin as a plot twist. Another way he gives foreshadowing is with the title itself since it is called Three Black Swans, this could be a reference to the 3 twins.
I think overall this book was really good and kept me entertained. I like how it started off with 2 girls who were already suspicious that they could be twins and eventually found out. Then it carried on as if that couldn't be the story itself, by adding another plot twist with the third twin. I like how detailed the author was describing the girls. She showed how they may be identical on the outside but each had separate personalities. One thing I dislike was how sometimes the book would be a little slow but in general the book was great to me and i'd recommend it. ...more

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Oct 31, 2017 Doan Nguyen rated it liked it

"Three Black Swans" by Caroline B. Cooney was an enjoyable but at some parts confusing read. This book is a young adult mystery/thriller.

The main characters Missy and Claire start noticing how they really resemble each other, they both look identical and have similar personalities. They both believe there is more to them being so similar. Not too far away, a girl named Genevieve finds a video of Claire and Missy and also notices how they all look so alike. The three girls start digging into the ...more

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Sep 25, 2018 Jacqueline Rodriguez added it

Shelves: 13

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Oct 07, 2012 Heemin rated it really liked it

Three Black Swans
by Caroline B. Cooney
Realistic Fiction
276 pages

Three Black Swans is a book on the story of two people that begin to question their identity, and bring in a third person that they haven’t even heard of before. It begins with two people named Missy and Claire, who are supposed to be cousins. However, everyone insists that they both look the same and they thinks the same thoughts at the same time, the highlights of their weeks are when they have a sleepover with each other every we Three Black Swans
by Caroline B. Cooney
Realistic Fiction
276 pages

Three Black Swans is a book on the story of two people that begin to question their identity, and bring in a third person that they haven’t even heard of before. It begins with two people named Missy and Claire, who are supposed to be cousins. However, everyone insists that they both look the same and they thinks the same thoughts at the same time, the highlights of their weeks are when they have a sleepover with each other every weekend, causing Missy to think otherwise. When Missy convinces her entire high school that they are long-lost identical twins for a science project on the morning announcements, no one even beings to question them, and Missy is accused of lying when she tells them that they are not twins and it was a hoax for an assignment. During all this, the book shifts to a third girl who is shown the video of the morning announcements from a friend. This brings a significant change as the third girl looks exactly like both Missy and Claire, making them not potential twins, but potential triplets. The girl, named Genevieve, or Vivi for short, contacts both Missy and Claire. First they want to ignore her, but then notice the facebook pictures and see that they look alike in every way, and they arrange a way to all meet. When they finally do, they learn that Vivi’s parents were the biological parents and they put up two of their three triplets up for adoption because they did not believe that they could take care of all of them.

This story was powerful and it kept you engaged, as if part of the story. The reasons for this are hard to explain. The author’s way of getting your attention was different from many other books I’ve read. The book would get tense, and stay tense, when the tension became boring, the tension just rose again, even faster this time, and at the end, the tension just plummeted. It was tense, and then even tenser, then tenser, until in the course of about three pages, everything just died out, the book is all happy again. Another great part of this book is that they give major plot twists, and you are just waiting till the character’s notice. One of the most major parts of this is when Vivi watches the video and we realize there is something else going on. We want to know if they are triplets, if so, who are the parents, are they clones? We are just waiting for her to either contact Missy and Claire, or for either of them to notice the other. When Vivi send both of them a friend request, everything gets more pent up as Claire and Missy notice the pictures. Seeing themselves in them causes Missy to start just begging to all meet up somewhere, and they finally decide on a plan. The many very big complications, including the story on what actually happened from Vivi’s parents, just add up to the big moment when Missy and Claire just knock on the door on Vivi’s house. And during all this, the tension very slowly unravels, and when Missy and Claire’s parents come, the rest of the tension just dies out very quickly, and the story ends on Missy note. She says that life is balanced, if Vivi has parents not willing to pay much attention to her, it was balanced with a grandmother who had made sure there was someone to give Genevieve the attention that she deserved.
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Oct 03, 2010 Stephanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I am not afraid to admit this – I am a huge book cover judger. I judge books by the cover and I don’t ever regret it. I was mildly hesitant to pick up this book mainly because the cover just looks absolutely atrocious and boring. It just screamed “not interesting – retreat immediately” to me. However, I picked it up because I read the synopsis and it was relatively interesting. After a slow start, just a chapter or two, it picked up super quickly and I could not put it down. I am so glad I read I am not afraid to admit this – I am a huge book cover judger. I judge books by the cover and I don’t ever regret it. I was mildly hesitant to pick up this book mainly because the cover just looks absolutely atrocious and boring. It just screamed “not interesting – retreat immediately” to me. However, I picked it up because I read the synopsis and it was relatively interesting. After a slow start, just a chapter or two, it picked up super quickly and I could not put it down. I am so glad I read this book.

Like I mentioned, the start was a little slow. The first few chapters built up the book and once the ball started rolling, it did not stop. I mean, I stayed up late to read as much as I could before I was too tired and had to call it a night and this morning, I skipped the gym because I wanted to finish the last 50 or so pages or the book. I just needed to know what happened. The plot itself was certainly interesting – cousins who were remarkably similar to each other and for their entire lives, told everyone that they just had a very strong family resemblance until the day Missy could no longer deny it.

Missy, grew up with her cousin, Claire, who she was incredibly close with. They even finished each other’s sentences and did weekly sleepovers every day for their entire lives. It was to the point that they both secretly wondered if they were twins but then they would’ve had to face the fact that either one of them was adopted or both were and if that was the case, who was the birth mother? I really liked her outgoing personality as well as Claire’s shyness. It was definitely interesting to see how they were portrayed as cousins then as twins and then finally, the spoiler/plot twist.

I don’t think the book touched too much on them individually – it was more about the plot and the suspense, which is certainly different than most other books but I actually really enjoyed it. Of course, you got the sense that Missy was the bubbly, confident, outgoing one while Claire was the shy, book smart, focused one but other than that, it was more of a surface characterization.

I personally did not really enjoy the writing style – I thought it was a bit dry and very third person. It was as if I was just an onlooker looking in as I saw the scenes unfold in front of me. It wasn’t a style I typically prefer but I think for this book it worked really well and it didn’t even really matter because what drew me in and made me finish the book in less than one day was the storyline. It was just so interesting.

Overall, surprisingly really, really good book about identity issues especially for twins, long lost twins, and whatnot. A lot of good points were drawn in this book: family, love, biological family, etc. Once you find out a long lost twin or whatever, a lot of questions are raised: who is everyone? I also really enjoyed Missy and Claire’s individual parents. While they were a little clueless about the twin factor, it was obvious that they loved their girls and would do anything for them. There is a third important character in this book but I don’t want to draw too much attention to him/her otherwise I might end up spoiling it. Though, to be perfectly honest, the title kind of spoiled it for me.
...more

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Dec 15, 2009 Jennifer Wardrip rated it it was amazing

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, read-by-other-reviewers, trt-gold-star-award-winner

Reviewed by Breanna F. for TeensReadToo.com

"Black Swans: events that are hugely important, rare, and unpredictable, and explainable only after the fact."

One day, Missy Vianello hears someone on the radio talking about babies, and she starts to wonder about her family. Missy and her cousin, Claire Linnehan, have been best friends since they were little. They choose the same type of clothing most of the time, and they can even finish each other's sentences. It's so weird to Missy that she has so m Reviewed by Breanna F. for TeensReadToo.com

"Black Swans: events that are hugely important, rare, and unpredictable, and explainable only after the fact."

One day, Missy Vianello hears someone on the radio talking about babies, and she starts to wonder about her family. Missy and her cousin, Claire Linnehan, have been best friends since they were little. They choose the same type of clothing most of the time, and they can even finish each other's sentences. It's so weird to Missy that she has so many questions she wants to ask her parents, but she's afraid to ask. Not that anything could be possible anyway, since Claire is eight weeks older and Missy was always so much smaller than Claire up until a year or so ago.

When Missy's biology teacher suggests that the class comes up with a sort of hoax, it leads Missy to a brilliant idea. She and Claire will get in on the morning announcements (which are done on TV for the whole school to see) and "pretend" that Missy has just found her long-lost identical twin, Claire. Of course, Claire doesn't like the idea, but she ends up going along with it. Well, it's so believable to everyone it soon ends up on YouTube for the whole world to see.

Genevieve Candler goes to a completely different school and knows nothing about the video until her friend mentions it. He is so anxious for her to see it that she immediately does. A girl pops up on the screen. "That's me," Genevieve thinks. Then another girl appears and Genevieve has the same thought yet again. These girls are identical to her - but how?

This book was incredible. From the very first page, I was hooked. I couldn't fathom the thought that cousins could even think about being identical twins, and then a third identical girl was introduced! The story jumps around from Missy to Claire to Genevieve and even to the three sets of parents that are involved. What really kept me hooked was not knowing who was going to be talking next and what those person's thoughts were going to be.

Caroline B. Cooney has such a way with words and comes up with such great stories. No wonder she has written so many books! I would highly suggest picking up a copy of THREE BLACK SWANS. Around halfway through the book I could start to figure out what was going to happen next, but that didn't make the story any less exciting at all, and to me that is what made the tale so amazing. ...more

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Oct 08, 2017 Leah rated it it was amazing

SO GOOD

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May 11, 2016 Jada rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Caroline B. Cooney wrote the book “Three Black Swans.” Caroline was born on May 10, 1947 making her 69 in a medium size town of Geneva New York. Smaller than Redwood falls with a population of 3,291. She graduated from Greenwich High School. She was given the ALA best fiction for young adults and she was nominated for the Edgar Award for best young adult. She has written 45 plus books and the best selling author of “The Face on The Milk Carton.” She mainly bases her stories off of suspense,roman Caroline B. Cooney wrote the book “Three Black Swans.” Caroline was born on May 10, 1947 making her 69 in a medium size town of Geneva New York. Smaller than Redwood falls with a population of 3,291. She graduated from Greenwich High School. She was given the ALA best fiction for young adults and she was nominated for the Edgar Award for best young adult. She has written 45 plus books and the best selling author of “The Face on The Milk Carton.” She mainly bases her stories off of suspense,romance, horror and mystery.
Some of the main events in the book. Are when the main characters Missy and Claire did a school project at Missy's school over the morning announcements doing a hoax saying that they were twin sister but actually they just have strong family resemblance their moms are sisters making them cousins. Claire was iffy about the hoax because she has been to Missy's house at sleepovers with the sum of Missy's school friends so they would never believe that they were twins sisters but Missy didn't care because she only needed the hoax to last a few hours. later in the book they find another girl that looks similar to that making them think they were triplets. They then make an assumption that their parents put them at birth and that one of them were the biological parents and the others were adopted parents.
I recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a little bit of family drama and suspense. it wasn't my favorite book but it wasn't the worst either. The type of genre and theme this book had wasn't appealing to my taste but I feel if you were that type of person you actually love this book. Examples I can give is that there wasn't enough suspense or anything pulling me to keep on reading. It's a little confusing figuring out all the different characters and where they belong in the story but until you figure out the basics it's pretty explainable by itself. again the ending wasn't that surprising or exciting to me. Just because it kind of gave it away throughout the middle of the book. my favorite part of the book was when they were figuring out if they were triplets or twins or not. Connections that I making with my own life or that I see is that when people are close to each other they want to think the best and when you have a best friend close in age is you if there is any possibility that you are sisters is amazing.
...more

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Aug 22, 2010 Julia B rated it liked it

My Thoughts: What has happened to Caroline B Cooney? When did she get all sentimental and happy ending-y? When did it become not enough for the main character to just survive? Man main characters are spoiled these days. the main characters (that's right, plural) in this story
*spoilerz!!!*
a) survive the ending
b) are never in physical or emotional danger at any point
c) come out of the experience with two triplets each that they didn't know existed
d) have wealthy, loving families that never doubt My Thoughts: What has happened to Caroline B Cooney? When did she get all sentimental and happy ending-y? When did it become not enough for the main character to just survive? Man main characters are spoiled these days. the main characters (that's right, plural) in this story
*spoilerz!!!*
a) survive the ending
b) are never in physical or emotional danger at any point
c) come out of the experience with two triplets each that they didn't know existed
d) have wealthy, loving families that never doubt or abandon them.
*end of spoilerz*

So yes, as you can guess I wasn't all that impressed with this story.

Why I picked it up: In the past I have read and loved books by Caroline B. Cooney, from The Face on the Milk Carton to Flight #116 is Down. Being a devoted fan, I decided to read her latest.

Good Premise?: Missy decides to pass her cousin off as her long-lost twin for a school assignment on hoaxes. This book goes into the deep spiritual connection between twins, which I had problems believing in. I have siblings who are twins (fraternal not identical, but none the less) and I have never thought they had any kind of deep connection, but maybe I'm wrong. In any case, the premises didn't interest me very much, and had it not been for my appreciation of Caroline B. Cooney's previous work, I probably wouldn't have read this.

Characters:The main characters of Missy and Claire were fairly one-dimensional. Claire annoyed me more than Missy, as she kept trying to keep the plot from progressing. Genevieve, another one of the characters in this book was my favorite. I can't explain much about her though, without ruining the plot. (Hint: the book is about 3 black swans, not 2). The parents were pretty much left if the background without much character development.

The Story: The writing is designed to keep the reader attentive and the story moves quickly. The story is not complex, and is easy to follow. The plot, though okay in the originality department, was lacking in the unpredictability department. About 100 pages before the reveal, I had everything figured out.

I Recommend This Book For: Young people (or old people) who want a fast book to read for a few hours. ...more

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May 04, 2014 Emi Guzman rated it it was ok

Like Molly by Any Other Name, I chose Three Black Swans because of it's cover. There are three silhouettes of black swans, and it came across as mysterious to me. I totally felt like reading a mysterious book, but when I started reading it, it was nothing that I would've ever expected. The story begins with "cousins," Claire and Missy, putting on a big hoax in front of Missy's school by pretending to be long lost twins who've finally found each other. It occurs to both girls that what they thoug ...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Dana rated it did not like it

Shelves: attempted-to

2.5

UGH. FINALLY FINISHED. I had to tie myself into a chair and force myself to finish it though.

Well, it wasn't THAT bad, I suppose.

I thought this book could've been so much more. And the whole concept of twins(!) is cool. But this book just dragged it out. And the characters really annoyed me. -__-

For example, Claire. UGH. She's just so stupid. She is so determined that she and Missy aren't twins, but it's so obvious that they are! And she just keeps on going, NO. I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR TWIN M ...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Vivian rated it did not like it

Black Swans: events that are hugely important, rare, and unpredictable, and explainable only after the fact."

This story is about two cousins, Missy and Claire. The girls have been best friends since they were little. They would finish each others sentences, pick out the same clothes without knowing it, and even get asked if they were more than just cousins. One day, Missy hears someone on the radio talking about twins, and she starts to wonder about her family. But there's no way it could be tr ...more

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About Caroline B. Cooney

Caroline B. Cooney

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Caroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with rem ...more