Erin

Whitney Cousins #3

by Jean Thesman

After her parents are killed by a drunk driver, embittered Erin is shuttled among her relatives for years until she comes to live with her cousin's family, where she is challenged to love despite her hostility

Genres: Young Adult

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1990

About the author

Jean Thesman was a widely read and award-winning American author known for her young adult fiction, with a career spanning over 25 years. Her novels often explored themes of family, identity, and belonging, frequently featuring heroines who find their place in the world by uncovering truths about their families and forming chosen connections. “I loved telling the story,” she once wrote, “because I really believed that families were made up of the people you wanted, not the people you were stuck with.”
Born with a passion for storytelling and literacy, she learned to read before starting school and recalled having to wait until she was six years old before being allowed her first library card. Throughout her career, she authored around 40 books, most under her own name but a few under the pseudonym T.J. Bradstreet.
Thesman published a wide range of novels for teens and middle-grade readers, including stand-alone works such as The Rain Catchers, Calling the Swan, and Cattail Moon, as well as series like The Whitney Cousins, The Birthday Girls, and The Elliott Cousins. Her lyrical style, emotional depth, and strong female characters earned her a loyal readership. Notable works like The Ornament Tree and In the House of the Queen’s Beasts remain particularly admired for their nuanced storytelling and emotional resonance.
She was a longtime resident of Washington state and an active member of The Authors Guild and the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Jean Thesman passed away in 2016 at the age of 86, leaving behind a significant legacy in young adult literature.

Reviews

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never read this one as a kid though I wanted to. I'm guessing the library either never had a copy or I always missed it or maybe it went missing. Who knows. In any case, it's been something like twenty years of wondering what happened in the other Whitney Cousins books, so I might have rounded up on this one. Still, Erin's book is pretty nifty as it is, and while some part of me is a little disappointed that she's still very much an outsider in her family, it also makes sense. I love the friendships she does make and when she's called out on some of her more questionable behavior.

[Andie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute as always! i wish these Whitney Cousin books were not out of print, for I want my daughters to read them (once I have children of course).

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was a kid, and loved it. Ahhh, memories.