Cousins

Cousins

Hamilton, V. (1990). Cousins. New York: Philomel Books.

Genre: Multicultural/Realistic Fiction

Age: 12-14

Summary: Cammy lives in a rural Ohio town with her mother and brother.  She hasn’t seen her father in a long time since her parents are divorced but she is none too short on family having many cousins, aunts, and uncles living near as well as an old grandmother living in a nursing home that she visits very often.  Cammy’s mother works days so she is left in the care of her 16-year old brother whom she often slips away from.  One day after being caught in a thunder storm, she is forced to seek shelter at the home of her cousin Patty Ann whom she sees as the enemy.  After the girls exchange insults, she rushes out into the storm once more, but quickly finds her brother and jumps into his pick-up truck. The reader discovers here that although the father isn’t present much in their lives, he still helps with their financial situation.  During the week, many kids without supervision are taken to day camp with other kids to do activities, go swimming, and socialize.  Cammy, Patty Ann, and their third cousin Elodie all go but they all share different levels of fondness towards one another. At this camp is where the climax of the story takes place. One of the cousins makes a life changing decision and it is the turning point of the story.  How will the others deal with this?

Reflection:  Virginia Hamilton is a world renowned author and shows it with her story-telling and writing style in her book Cousins. This multicultural book was a more difficult read than others I’ve read recently because the style in her writing mirrors the language style of the African American culture displayed in this novel. Hamilton uses phrases like “wouldn’t never know how” and “coo-el” to show the speaking style of the characters in the book. It took a while to understand the rhythm of the language, but once I did the story has a good flow. Hamilton uses imagery to describe the environment of the area especially the day camp Cammy attends. Hamilton writes, “They’d go to another part of the State Park, down dusty roads that were so hot, the air above them seemed to bend in the light. Mirages of water lay on the gravel roadbed.” Being from Oklahoma and experiencing dramatic heat, I can easily picture this in my mind as could a reader who hasn’t seen much of this. She also gives very detailed descriptions of the characters by describing their clothes, hair, and attitudes at many points in the book. If you like to read books about how having loving family members can help mend a broken heart and save one from despair then this is the book for you.