My Sister Rosa

Justine Larbalestier
Aug 4, 2017

Che is trying to be normal. He has a list, even. Of things he wants to accomplish soon, after moving to New York with his family.
However, Item Number One is: Keep Rosa Safe.

Seems normal right? After all, Rosa's just his five-year-old sister. Completely normal. Except she's also a diagnosable psychopath. Rosa has a long trail of seemingly innocent acts of killing on her small hands, and it's only a matter of time before he kills again, maybe this time a person.

Che has to protect his sister from the world- but he may need to protect the world from his sister.

This was a gripping, suspenseful novel, and I - cliche alert - couldn't put it down. The story was incredibly original, and I loved the premise, because I ADORE villains that look cute and harmless. And Rosa is such a well-written antagonist that i just couldn't get enough of her. There were some iffy bits too, though. I usually am not a fan of the romance in any YA novels, and this fell with that. His love interest, Sojourner, seemed at times to be taken as an object rather than a real character. Some of the other background characters were also a bit 2D at times, and felt like they were only there to further Che's character. But in all, this book was astounding. I read it so quickly, and loved it all around.

Fans of any type of 'psych thriller/horror" would probably enjoy this, as would people who like really unique and well-written antagonists.

Written by
Ellie from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC

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