50 pages • 1 hour read
Karen M. McManusThe Cousins
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 20-23Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 20 Summary
Milly still won’t talk to Jonah, although Aubrey understands where Jonah was coming from and doesn’t believe that he is a bad person. Aubrey’s mother texts her to say that Aubrey’s swim coach has gone public with her pregnancy, and Aubrey promises to be there for her mother from now on. Aubrey receives an unexpected phone call from Thomas, and they finally break up. Milly applauds Aubrey for standing up for herself. At Catmint House, Theresa turns Milly away, reminding her that “this invitation was for Aubrey only” (373). Mildred explains to Aubrey that it was a mistake for her to allow her grandchildren into her life and that “the ties [she] severed with [her] children twenty-four years ago are absolute” (376). She stresses that the Story children and grandchildren are not welcome on the island. Aubrey realizes that Mildred chose to talk to her not because she likes Aubrey best but because she expects Aubrey to be docile and easy to control, unlike Milly and JT. Aubrey asks about Kayla’s death, and Mildred is visibly perturbed. Aubrey accidentally knocks over the coffee, and the hot liquid hits Mildred’s gloved hands. She quickly “rip[s] off the gloves” (378), and Theresa runs into the room to help. Theresa tells Aubrey to leave, and Aubrey steals a key card for the gate on her way out.
Chapter 21 Summary
At Archer’s place, the kids are having a cookout. Oona joins them to look at the autopsy report for Kayla that Dr. Baxter left behind. Oona notices that this report is different from the one given to her family 24 years ago because it states that “Kayla had lorazepam in her system” (384), a sedative. Oona is confused because her sister was a drinker but not a drug user. Milly suggests someone might have given Kayla the drugs, and Dr. Baxter covered it up. Oona remembers how her sister went to visit Anders at Harvard one Thanksgiving, then came back saying that she “[had] to talk to Mrs. Ryan” (385), Theresa. Oona adds that Kayla used to date Theresa’s son, Matt, but that Matt died “the year before Kayla” (385), supposedly by accidental drowning at Cutty Beach. Oona is disturbed at the thought that someone might have drugged Kayla, and she feels guilty for “[getting] angry with [her sister] for drinking too much” (387) when she knew she had a problem.
Chapter 22 Summary
After the cookout, Milly and Aubrey decide to stay the night at Archer’s place. The girls admit that they will miss each other when it’s time to part ways again. Jonah asks to join them, and Milly relents, because “[her] subconscious isn’t mad at Jonah anymore. And maybe [she’s] not, either” (389). Aubrey shows them the key card she stole from Catmint House, although she admits that she has no plan for it. The three think about how Anders and Theresa keep coming up as they try to piece all of this together. Jonah wonders if Theresa and Mildred had anything to do with Kayla’s death. Aubrey goes to bed, and Jonah and Milly begin to flirt. Jonah tells her that he remembers everything about meeting Milly and how he regrets not telling her about his plan to take down Anders. Milly decides that it’s time to forgive Jonah, and the two pick up where they left off on the night of the gala.
Chapter 23 Summary
Unable to sleep, Aubrey decides to call her father. She informs him that she is angry with him for cheating on her mother with her swim coach, and she calmly requests that he apologize for it. He refuses, stating that she “has no idea the complexity of the situation” (397) and tries to make excuses for his behavior. Aubrey quickly shifts gears to talking about Matt and Kayla. Her father is stunned momentarily but tells her to stop bringing up their tragic deaths. He insists that he did nothing to anger Mildred, but Aubrey decides that “[he’s] lying” (399). The next morning, Aubrey has a sudden revelation: the day she spilled hot coffee on her grandmother’s hands and forced her to strip her gloves, Aubrey remembers that her grandmother’s hand was missing its signature port-wine birthmark. Her phone starts to die, but she decides to sneak into Catmint House to “get what [she] need[s] to prove that [she’s] right” (402).
Chapters 20-23 Analysis
Aubrey, who has described herself as someone who hates conflict, has always had trouble standing up for herself. Her father criticizes her for not being “proactive,” and she learned to stay quiet and accept his controlling behavior over the years. Even Mildred seems to know that Aubrey is the easiest of her grandchildren to control, so she insists on meeting with Aubrey instead of Milly. However, Aubrey reaches her breaking point. She stands up for herself, breaks up with her boyfriend, defies Mildred’s expectations by stealing a key card, and tells her father that he was wrong and should apologize. Aubrey has changed dramatically during her time at Gull Cove Island, and her newfound boldness will propel the plot into the final chapters of the Story family mystery.
Forgiveness is explored in Chapters 21 and 22. Archer encourages Oona to forgive herself for not helping her sister all those years ago. Aubrey offers to forgive her father if he simply admits that what he did was wrong, but he can’t even do this to heal his relationship with his daughter. Milly learns that she has to forgive Jonah for withholding information. Milly, who has privately struggled with feelings of inadequacy her whole life, knows that Jonah thinks the world of her and wants to be with her, just the way she is. Jonah and Milly find comfort in one another, and they break down the last wall that kept them apart by accepting responsibility for their actions at the Summer Gala. Archer tells Milly that the Story family could use a little more forgiveness, and Milly decides to embrace this idea instead of holding on to old hopes of being “good enough” for her mother or Mildred.
As the novel rapidly careens to its dramatic conclusion, Mildred—or rather, the woman who has been posing as Mildred for over 20 years—seems to sense that her web of lies is unraveling. When Anders uses the word “imposter” at the Summer Gala, Mildred shows panic and runs away. At the time, the reader assumes this is because Mildred didn’t want to see her estranged son because she was still angry with him. With Aubrey’s revelation at the end of Chapter 23, however, McManus reveals that “Mildred” was afraid that she had been caught impersonating a woman who had been dead for over 20 years. The imposter is being backed into a corner, and thanks to Aubrey, her lies will finally end.
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By Karen M. McManus
