Three Black Swans by Caroline B. Cooney (English) Paperback Book

Description: Three Black Swans by Caroline B. Cooney In this riveting, heartrending story by thriller author Cooney, the truth changes the lives of three families--as the bonds of blood must withstand the strains of long-hidden secrets that are at last revealed. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Lives are in the balance in bestselling author Caroline B. Cooneys newest young adult thriller, Three Black Swans. Missy and her cousin Claire are best friends who finish each others sentences and practically read each others minds. Its an eerie connection—so eerie that Missy has questions she wants to put to her parents. But shes afraid to ask. So when Missy hears an expert discussing newborn babies on the radio, it makes her wonder about her family.Missy just cant let go of those nagging questions, and decides to use a school project about scientific hoaxes to try to uncover the answers. She enlists Claire to help. As part of the project the girls perform a dramatic scene that is captured on video at school. After the video is posted on YouTube, Missy and Claire realize that theyve opened Pandoras box and much more than they ever imagined has come out. Not only are their identities called into question, but so is the future of everyone involved.In this riveting, heartrending story by thriller author Caroline B. Cooney, the truth changes the lives of three families—as the bonds of blood must withstand the strains of long-hidden secrets that are at last revealed. Author Biography Caroline B. Cooney is the author of many books for young people, including the bestseller The Face on the Milk Carton (an IRA-CBC Childrens Choice Book) and its companions, Whatever Happened to Janie? and The Voice on the Radio (each of them an ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults), as well as What Janie Found; If the Witness Lied; They Never Came Back; Diamonds in the Shadow; A Friend at Midnight; Hit the Road; Code Orange; The Girl Who Invented Romance; Family Reunion; Goddess of Yesterday (an ALA-ALSC Notable Childrens Book); The Ransom of Mercy Carter; Tune In Anytime; Burning Up; What Child Is This? (an ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults); Drivers Ed (an ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults and a Booklist Editors Choice); Among Friends; Twenty Pageants Later; and the Time Travel Quartet: Both Sides of Time, Out of Time, Prisoner of Time, and For All Time, which are also available as The Time Travelers, Volumes I and II.Caroline B. Cooney lives in South Carolina and New York. Excerpt from Book Chapter 1 TUESDAY October Missy Vianello and her mother were running errands. Mom was in line at the post office sending a package while Missy walked down the block to the dry cleaners. The front door was propped open. Missy entered a large hot space, full of clothing, empty of people. The old-fashioned floor fans rotated slowly on their heavy metal posts. A radio sat on a sorting table. It was small and black with a long cord, and probablyas old as her mother. It was tuned to a talk station. A doctor was chatting excitedly about babies. Missy did not care for talk shows. Politics and angry raised voices did not attract her. Gentler topics--gardens to visit; diseases to worry about--offered nothing to a sixteen-year-old. On the counter sat a small bell for customers to ring. Like the swirling fans, it was something from a schoolroom in another century. Missy had the odd sensation that she had fallen out of her own time. She tapped the little bell, which made a pleasingmusical ding. Missy was mildly impatient. Usually the couple who ran the shop were so attentive. The interview on the radio station continued. At first, the doctors remarks stayed outside Missy, hanging there like the clean clothes dangling from ceiling racks. And then the meaning of his statements penetrated Missys mind. If there had not been acounter separating customers from the workspace, Missy would have snatched up the radio and pressed it to her ear. She who had never given a thought to babies, who wasnt interested in babysitting, who hadnt even met any infants lately--she was stunned by what the doctor was saying. The fact that had kept Missy safe, the fact that had allowed Missy to laugh at her crazy guesses for the last few years--was that fact a lie? This doctor is an expert, she thought. He knows what hes talking about. Or does he? Can I trust him? A clerk she did not recognize hurried over, smiling, saying how are you, good to see you, but Missy, transfixed by the talk station, did not answer. The clerk took the small white ticket from Missys hand and went to find the clothes. The interview ended. A new voice discussed weather. Missy found herself holding a stack of neatly folded, plastic-wrapped sweaters. She handed over the cash and even managed to say thank you. She left the dry cleaners. On the sidewalk, she could no longerhear the radio, but the words had come outside with her. Missy Vianello had not fallen out of her own time. She had fallen out of her life. WEDNESDAY The following day Missy had not slept well. Every time she lay down, some internal engine propelled her back off the bed. Half the night, she stood in the dark, while the facts of her life sorted themselves like a pack of cards being dealt. In school, though, she was surprisinglyalert. The lines from the radio vibrated in her head, and yet she was able to participate in class and do her work. She felt weirdly multiplied by the new information. By the time it was third period and biology class had begun, Missys energy was fading. Mrs. Stancil discussed fake science, describing a hoax in which the perpetrators aged bits of human skull and jawbone, buried the bone fragments and then arranged forthem to be dug up. They convinced museums and anthropologists that these were the remains of an ancient humanoid. They called the "fossils" Piltdown Man and the world was enthralled by what seemed to be its new ancestor. Maybe what Missy had heard on the radio was also pretend science. Maybe her new "fact" was as silly as Piltdown Man. Mrs. Stancil adored classroom discussion. She was delighted when Graham argued with her. "I love archaeology," he said. "I read about it all the time, and that hoax wouldnt work, Mrs. Stancil. Youd test the bones for fluorine, uranium and nitrogen. Youdknow immediately how old those bones were." "Now you would. But this was 1912," explained Mrs. Stancil. "Those testing techniques were unknown." The class had only six weeks experience with Mrs. Stancil, but they knew already that she preferred projects that were "outside the box," and quickly tired of projects that were "in the box." In Missy Vianellos mind, a hoax blossomed. She could see the entire hoax from start to finish. It would be cruel. But it would work. She said softly, "What hoax would you do, Mrs. Stancil, if you could pull one off? A science teacher would be so goodat hoaxes. A scientist like you could offer a string of lies, but package them so believably that the public would accept your story as fact." The kids were on board immediately. "Lets do a class hoax," said Anthony. "We could pretend that a lamb bone from somebodys dinner roast is the shin of a pterodactyl." "And get very scientific about it," agreed Kelsey. "Buttress our claim with bone details, like porosity, and present the measurements of real pterodactyls, or pretend to, and establish that we have a match." "I think the hoax should be more trendy," said Carlotta. "How about a fake alternative fuel for cars? We could print pages of chemical testing we havent done, and convince people we can make fuel from, say, pond scum." Mrs. Stancil was excited. "People! This is truly outside the box. If we format our project so that our research provides us with a deep understanding of the truth, it will be a fun approach. I like Carlottas idea. Corn is being used for ethanol, so itsnot outrageous that we too could create a vegetable fuel." "Thats not my kind of hoax," said Zach. "Id rather have a murder victim and convince people it was suicide and get away with murder." If Missy shouted her own idea out loud, the class would be impressed. But a hoax worked only when nobody suspected. Nobody, thought Missy, already feeling guilty; already aware that her hoax might destroy instead of reveal. "I wouldnt actually have a corpse," explained Zach. "Id just pretend to. Ive seen at least a thousand TV shows with this plot, so Ive pre-researched and Im ready to go." "Lets do hoaxes in groups," said Emily. "People who like bones can be in the bone group, people who like murder can be in the corpse group and people who like fuel can be in the pond scum group." In science, what mattered was truth. But in life? wondered Missy. What mattered most in life? EVENING The same Wednesday Claire Linnehan was doing her homework. Only six weeks into the school year, Claire loved all classes and all study. The textbooks still felt like treasures in which fascinating topics were waiting. Usually this feeling lasted through Thanksgiving. By December, when it got cold and dark earlyin the day, and she began hoping for snow and ski weekends and wanted to shop for more sweaters, the books felt used up; Claire would have mined the vein of gold that had been so promising and shed be ready to move on. Her cell phone rang. The ring tone was her cousin Missys, but Claire would have known who was calling anyway. She and Missy could practically read each others minds. "Hi, Missy." Claire settled in for a long talk. She and her cousin texted on and offall day long, but also had to hear each others voices at least once every twenty-four hours. "Hey, Clairedy." Missy had a very chipper voice; very upbeat. People said that Missy and Claire sounded exactly alike, but Claire disagreed. Her own voice was slower and deeper. "Listen," said Missy. "I need an identical twin." Claire laughed. "Even on the Internet, Missy, there arent that many identical twins being auctioned off." "In biology," said Missy, "weve been assigned to pull off a hoax." "Like filming Bigfoot? Or finding Paleolithic writing on a stone in your backyard?" "Exactly. Heres what Ive decided for my hoax. Out of nowhere, like an asteroid in the night falling through my roof, I will suddenly meet my long-lost, totally unknown identical twin. Everybody will believe my hoax because I will bring my identical twinto school." Claire was giggling now. She never giggled with anybody but Missy. "When I took biology," said Claire, who was a junior while Missy was a sophomore, "we learned facts. A hoax assignment is pointless. Guess what, Missy? This morning when Aiden and I happenedto enter the building at the same time, he said hi to me. And then he smiled." Arriving at high school at the same moment as Aiden had not been accidental. Missy had been part of the planning. Discussion of boys was a major portion of the cousins nightly talks. "Nobody cares about Aiden right now," said Missy. "We care only about my assignment. You have to be my identical twin, Claire." There was a strong family resemblance between the cousins. When they were little, maybe seven or eight, Missy and Claire used to dress the same, wear their hair the same and loudly pretend to understand each others thoughts and finish each others sentences."Were twins!" they would lie to anybody paying attention. People didnt fall for it, because Claire was taller and heavier, but the girls thought they had a great act. Their parents tired of it and put an end to the fake twin thing. Even now Claires mothercould get bent out of shape if she perceived Claire copying Missy or the other way around. "There is a strong family resemblance," agreed Claire. "But Id need plastic surgery to be a perfect match, even if I wanted to look exactly like you. I think you should have the surgery and look exactly like me instead." "There isnt time for surgery," said Missy. "The project is due." A phone c Details ISBN0385738684 Author Caroline B. Cooney Short Title 3 BLACK SWANS Language English ISBN-10 0385738684 ISBN-13 9780385738682 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY FIC Residence Westbrook, CT, US Pages 288 Year 2012 Publication Date 2012-03-27 Imprint Ember Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2012-03-27 NZ Release Date 2012-03-27 US Release Date 2012-03-27 UK Release Date 2012-03-27 Audience Age 12 Publisher Random House USA Inc Audience Teenage / Young adult We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:44034338;

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