Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: My Cousin's Keeper

Author: Simon French

Narrator: Todd Haberkorn

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-09-14

Publisher: Candlewick on Brilliance Audio

Genres: Kids, Ages 8-10

Publisher's Summary:

Eleven-year-old Kieran wants to be part of the in-group at school. He wants to be on the soccer team. He wants to fit in. But then his weird cousin Bon turns up, both at school and at home. Bon's mom hasn't taken good care of him, and he knows nothing about fitting in, with his long blond braid, babyish hand-knit hat, and funny, precise voice. Bon doesn't play sports and likes to draw imaginary maps with stories about "Bon the Crusader" and "Kieran the Brave." No wonder the boys call him Rapunzel and throw his stuff around! With unflinching honesty, My Cousin's Keeper takes on childhood jealousy, family secrets, unexpected kindness, and the turning moments when the path diverges between being popular and doing the right thing.

Members Reviews:

Four Stars

Seemed to end abruptly; left hanging with a few of the secondary storylines.

Lessos for Young and Old

The main characters in this story are like many of my middle schools students. They want to fit in, and be accepted by others in school. Looking and acting different make that difficult. Associating with someone who is different is just as bad. The main character Kieran has been trying to be part of the âin crowdâ since his best friend moved away. He is always on the fringe as if he just isnât quite good enough. It is usually these kids who get into trouble by going too far to fit in. In Kieranâs case, his difficulty fitting in just got harder. His cousin Bon, whom heâs only met once before and doesnât really like, shows up at his school and his home. Kieranâs friends Mason and Lucas make fun of Bon for his long braid and his not as nice clothes. Bon seems unfazed. He doesnât care about fitting in. Things get tougher when Julia the new girl that Kieran has a crush on, starts hanging with Bon. Kieran really feels betrayed. He joins in the bullying of his cousin.

Things arenât always what they seem, and this author did a wonderful job of showing that. Bon is a character I not only felt so sorry for, yet admired. He had his eyes set on where he wanted to go in life and kept his head up as he headed that way. He was a true friend and cousin. We learn more about Julia and her secrets as the story progresses and see how and why Bon and Julia became such good friends. We have all had that one black sheep in the family that we didnât want to acknowledge. This book made me look back at when we were younger and how I treated that cousin. My treatment of them may not have gone to the extremes that Kieranâs did but I was just as guilty. They are someone I now look up to and admire.

I think one of the reasons I liked this book so much is because I can see the value of reading it to my students and having it on my shelves at school. I also love books that take me back to my own childhood and show me how I was not much different than the character,s and teach melessons I should have learned long ago. Yes I can say I learned a lot. I am currently dealing with one of those black sheep in the family and realized I was headed the wrong way. This book was a great reminder. It is a great thing when a childrenâs book can teach a lesson to an adult. Because after all, we all want to fit in. This book looks at the dynamics of âfamilyâ, bullying, and jealousy.