Three Black Swans

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 revelation of this long kept secret starts when Missy, the runt of the litter, uses her "cousin" Claire as part of a science class project (create a hoax and report on it).

Now here is where I step aside from the book to explain why I wasn't as show more impressed with the story as I might have been. The problem is this: it's a cut and dry twins separated at birth (except its triplets) story and it follows all the twists and turns this sort of story usually takes. Here, too, since Missy and her siblings are underage, Cooney has to pull some strings to make their coming together at all plausible. She begins, of course, by stacking the deck by making two of the sisters "cousins."

I hadn't really thought about how formulaic this type of story is until I listened to Carl Reiner's NNNNN which lampoons the twins separated at birth story to epic proportions. Ultimately the problem with Three Black Swans is that it takes this trite plot line completely seriously, whereas Reiner takes it to the most outlandish of extremes — well beyond even the most melodramatic telenovela, and then adds in a healthy serving of blasphemy. show less

I would not have anticipated this being a suspenseful read, but it is. Being adopted myself, I also found that it deals well with the topic of adoption. I haven't personally had any negative thoughts or experiences relating to my own adoption, but I believe that to be a result of having known of it my entire life. Had I been surprised with it, I can very well imagine my reaction being similar to that of the girls in this book (minus the whole triplet angle, of course).

A black swan in the context of this novel is something unexpected that changes everything. The black swans in this instance are three teenaged girls: Missy, Claire, and Genvieve. The novel begins with Missy, who was, in my opinion, totally unlikeable. She is something of a spoiled brat. It is her self-centeredness, however, that allows for the events of the novel to take place. Before long, Cooney's trademark suspense kicks in and the reader is drawn to continue until the end of the book.

Despite a far-fetched premise, this book will appeal to teenaged girls.

Not my favorite Caroline Cooney, but the story is serviceable. Missy and her cousin Clare are best friends. Even though they are six months apart in age and a year apart in school, the girls are often mistaken for sisters. Then one day, Missy's teacher suggests a project that is to include scientific research where the student makes up a fact and then develops the research to prove it. Missy has read about twins separated at birth and decides this will be her "prank." She gets the idea to bring Clare to her school and announce that they were twins separated at birth. When she does this, the problem is that Clare reacts poorly and the girls look so much alike that no one believes Missy when she tries to make amends with Clare by show more admitting they are just cousins. Could they really be twins? The more the girls investigate, the more tangled their story becomes... show less

It felt like it was taking me forever to get through this book. The whole thing was just much to dramatic and overwrought for me. I couldn't deal with the triplets separated at birth storyline on top of the awfulness that was Genevieve's parents. For me this should have been a quick read but it really just took forever. Melodramatic is not for me.

"The future isn't a hat full of little shredded pieces of the past. It is, instead, a whirlpool of uncertainty populated by... Black Swans: events that are hugely important, rare and unpredictable, and explicable only after the fact." Missy Vianello lives in Connecticut with her family, and hangs out with her cousin Claire every weekend. Both only children, Missy and Claire are as close as sisters, and they have a strong family resemblance: same thick black hair, thin eyebrows, pointy chins and more. A science class-inspired prank leads to an internet video of the two of them together, announcing that they are identical twins, and the video goes viral. What Missy and Claire don't know is that they are both adopted, and the video causes show more an enormous family uproar. They don't entirely understand the depth of the family problems until Genevieve appears... and she looks exactly like Claire and Missy. Adoption, privacy, and drastic family choices that have been hidden for years surface in this drama from Greenwich's own Caroline B. Cooney. 6th grade and up show less

Three Black Swans by Caroline B. Cooney was a book filled with family secrets and hidden identities. Three girls who were born to the same mother and are identical triplets who get separated at birth. Luckily, two of the triplets are placed with two different families that happen to be related. When the two, Claire and MIssy, realize they're identical, they don't even consider that they have another identical sister. One day, Genevieve discovers the video of Claire and Missy on Youtube and realizes that she's staring at herself. She then contacts Caire and Missy via Facebook and the three girls plan to meet in Times Square, New York City. I thought this book was a good read, but I would've enjoyed it more if there was more story after show more the three girls and their families meet eachother. All and all, I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes mysteries and unknown secrets! show less