What if the most terrifying person you know is your ten-year-old sister?Seventeen-year-old Aussie Che Taylor loves his younger sister, Rosa. But he’s also certain that she’s a psychopath—clinically, threateningly, dangerously. Recently Rosa has been making trouble, hurting things. Che is the only one who knows; he’s the only one his sister trusts. Rosa is smart, talented, pretty, and very good at … pretty, and very good at hiding what she is and the manipulation she’s capable of.
Their parents, whose business takes the family from place to place, brush off the warning signs as Rosa’s “acting out.” Now that they have moved again—from Bangkok to New York City—their new hometown provides far too many opportunities for Rosa to play her increasingly complex and disturbing games. Che’s always been Rosa’s rock, protecting her from the world. Now, the world might need protection from her.
“Beats The Silence of the Lambs for suspense—it’s the kind of book that had me literally gasping aloud as it rattled to its incredible conclusion.”
—Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Homeland
From the Hardcover edition.
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This book was provided to me as an uncorrected digital proof by the publisher, via Edelweiss.
I can’t remember ever finishing a book, putting it down, and just thinking “Wow” over and over again, but that is exactly how My Sister Rosa affected me. I have never read a book like this before, and I’m feeling really blown away right now. The main character, Che, has an incredible load to bear. On top of all the things that come along with being a teenager, he also has to worry that his sister may hurt or even kill someone if he can’t find some way to control her. This idea pervades every nuance of the story. It is so rare for Rosa not to be the center of Che’s thoughts that it’s actually stated within the story when he is allowed a few brief moments to just enjoy life. The supporting characters in the story are vivid, diverse, consistent, and real. The dialog flows naturally, and the foreshadowing does an excellent job of keeping the tension heightened. There is love, horror, heartbreak, and even a bit of mystery. I would label this book a psychological thriller, and would recommend it to teens 15 and older who can enjoy a good twist.
3.5
Justine L. is one of my fav YA authors. Her earlier works are my favorite, but I did enjoy this book. The writing was beautiful, but I felt like it dragged in the middle. It also felt a bit preachy. I loved the NYC setting and the twist at the end.
I saw the premise for this book and had to snatch it up and start it immediately. The idea of a 10 year old psychopath whose older brother knows she likes to harm things and mess with people so he has to try and protect the world from her even though nobody believes him, seemed amazing. The thing is, a lot of this book absolutely nothing happens. Nothing. It just follows along in the lives of everyone in the family and who they’re connected to and while it does manage to build some suspense because you know there must be a climax coming, it’s also hard to stay involved in when there’s so much introspection and little actual action. The twists were mostly foreseeable but that didn’t take away from the reveal of them. I actually really liked the “twist” ending and that’s what prompted me to give it four stars instead of 3. It’s a good read if you can stick with it, even when it gets a little preachy at times.
Strange
Needs serious editing. A great deal of repetition. Also wondered exactly what age group was targeted? Not a total waste of time but finished last page thinking…meh?
Great story with a twist
This is going down as one of my favorites,that I would read again!
Loved the characters! Was surprised by the ending. It was just a frighteningly good read! Would love to read a sequel with these characters.
Although this excellent book had a very engrossing plot, the thing I liked best was the characters. There were so many intriguing characters, and I was fascinated by them.
i think the dialogue was a little difficult to connect with, as well as the flow of the overall piece. I was quite disappointed in this book, especially since it was one of my top picks to read for battle of the books. But somehow all the characters to me seem quite 2 dimensional. Che calls his sister Rosa: a monster, then states that he still loves her, but “must protect her from the world” there was mild confusion on each characters roles, motives, and desires therefore, having a disconnect in relationship with each other. it seemed around the middle of the story, the plot wasn’t being taken anywhere, and the author had me running around in loops of fillers until we got to the twist at the end.
The story was a bit strange. I had to keep reading just because I had to see where the story line was going.
This was an amazing story. Very original. Great character development. This isn’t my typical genre and I’m glad I took the chance on this book. Totally worth it!