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paoakalani's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
stephxsu's review against another edition
4.0
Whoa, excuse me as my mind is f**ked after swallowing, gulping, inhaling, drowning in this intense book.
readerlatte's review against another edition
5.0
My Review: OMG this book was creepy good and I really wished that the author would release another one and make this a series. This one is so not for you if you don't like darker stories. It follows 17-year-old Che and his little sister Rosa who is 10 and I have to say that Rosa freaks me out to no end. This one I had picked up at the library bookstore for $2 bucks and it sat around forever. But I am so glad that I finally got the chance to read it.
So Rosa is a 10-year-old little girl who is VERY smart she can play chess, understand math that I SO cant do. And is so twisted and creepy that I am kind of surprised that I didn't have nightmares. She doesn't have empathy for anyone. She doesn't care who she hurts as long as she gets what she wants.
As for the main character Che, he is a normal 17-year-old boy that learns some very scary things during this story. He knows his little sister is a psychopath and records her when they talk about how she feels. I really have to say that I think the author turned into being a 17-year-old boy and did a fabulous job with the teens in this story.
The rundown of the story itself I think the author did a stellar job with the topic of a child being a psychopath. Rosa was so freaking creepy and I think this would make one killer movie! The pace of the book was perfect and I don't say that too much. It flowed very well while being fast enough to keep it interesting but slow enough to really let the story unfold and build with tension. I kept thinking of all the bad things Rosa could do and was so shocked as each one happened. I fully understand how parents don't want to think of their kids as being crazy but this family really needed a wake-up call. I felt so bad for Sally but really I think this family was very weird. As the kids called their parents by their first names instead of mom and dad. It made their family dynamics really feel off. Like the kids were separated from their parents. I mean for me I love being called mom and I wouldn't change that for anything.
While writing up this review I realized that the cast of characters in this book other than Che, David, and one other parent and an ex-boyfriend that shows up. The rest of the cast is all female. I think that really made this story even better. I mean I didn't really focus on everyone's gender. We have one character that doesn't prescribe to one at all, a few girls that are gay, and then Che and his family. I think there were a few guys at the gym that Che goes to but that's about it. The main cast was all girls.
Another thing this story did was have a character that was a boxer but also very religious. Sojourner was a full on Christian but she didn't hate on people. She was the daughter of two women (mom and momma) and I really kind of loved her. I do think that she should have been more understanding with the situation but in the end, I think she did what she thought was right to keep her and her family safe.
This book was so full of diversity that it just made it so much better!! I could not put it down and again I really need a book two to this one. We could watch Rosa grow up and hopefully be put in a mental hospital or something.
The twist at the end of this one was out of this world. It shocked and horrified me. There are two major twists by the end of this one and man I did NOT see those coming at all. And yes one made me cry.
Some other tidbits about the book:
*I really liked how the book was split up into the list that Che made.
*I think that it should have been touched on how obsessed Che was with Rosa. I think this family needed a major wake up call. That Che is not Rosa's parent and he needs to just be able to be a kid. Or ya know to get out of that house.
*At the end of this one its mentioned
Spoiler
that Lelaini's parents are of course paying for everything, this is mentioned all throughout the book. So Lelaini states that her parents wouldn't do something like this unless Che's parents had something on them. But this is never explained. I really think that this was set up to be a series but it just never happened.Go Into This One Knowing: Shocking!
4saradouglas's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh. It took me forever to read this. It was so slow and predictable that I nearly gave up on it (something I NEVER do), but all these reviews kept saying that the ending was amazing. I stuck with it and made myself finish and geez... that ending? What part of it was not predictable? What a waste of time.
simplyselicia's review against another edition
3.0
Creepy children? I'm down. Rosa is really messed up. It's interesting to see where the story will go. More discussion of religion and nature vs nurture than it makes itself out to be, but the arguments presented are interesting ones. Variety of strong characters, a nice quick experience.
esshgee's review against another edition
3.0
Creepy. And I didn't pick the twist, which is always good.
elisabeth_julia's review against another edition
3.0
My Sister Rosa is a YA contemporary horror-thriller. Also, there is a romance. It is about Che, a 17 year old teenager who moves to NYC with his family, where he has to build a new life, find friends and ideally love. Then there is his psychopath little sister Rosa he has put on himself to keep under control, which means - among other things - to stop her from killing people.
The genre blend between YA contemporary coming of age and horror-thriller in “My Sister Rosa” did not work here. Granted, this rather curious concept is actually what intrigued me to put this novel up, but the execution was lacklustre. The creepy horror-thriller element suffered because romance and “I want a girlfriend” took a front-seat for most of the time. The creepy atmosphere couldn’t build up in between wet teenager dreams. Vice versa, the in itself well done coming of age story about the main character, Che, couldn’t be focused on and enjoyed as much as it deserved to be, because of the always somehow present horror-element of the story, in the form of Che’s little sister Rosa.
Even so, I flew through the pages and finished the book in less than a day. Its fluent writing and entertaining quality plus my fascination with antisocial personality disorder helped with that.
Reading about Rosa’s twisted morals and thoughts made me shiver, but in a good, entertaining way. Rosa isn’t portrayed as a caricaturist “over-the-top” evil psychopath. The author did a great job carefully drawing each layer of Rosa in a subtle way, which makes her so much more believable and therefore way too real…
All the characters in this novel are well portrayed – and they are interesting too. I found the family dynamics in this book very fascinating. From Che’s parents to his friend Leilani, I enjoyed reading about every little side character, which is quite rare.
A plus point is also the diversity in “My Sister Rosa”, although it did feel a bit forced.
Although it didn’t necessarily bother me too much, the pacing in “My Sister Rosa” is extremely off: The first three quarters of the book are very slow and besides the main character trying to find a girlfriend not a lot happens. This rapidly changes during the last quarter. From that point onward the plot feels very rushed. Everything is a blur and suddenly the last page is there and so many things stay unresolved. I’m assuming the ending is set up for a potential sequel.
If YA Contemporary is more your cup of tea than it is mine, you probably would love “My Sister Rosa”. I primarily enjoyed the reading experience, which is why I’m giving this book a more generous rating than my review might suggest.
The genre blend between YA contemporary coming of age and horror-thriller in “My Sister Rosa” did not work here. Granted, this rather curious concept is actually what intrigued me to put this novel up, but the execution was lacklustre. The creepy horror-thriller element suffered because romance and “I want a girlfriend” took a front-seat for most of the time. The creepy atmosphere couldn’t build up in between wet teenager dreams. Vice versa, the in itself well done coming of age story about the main character, Che, couldn’t be focused on and enjoyed as much as it deserved to be, because of the always somehow present horror-element of the story, in the form of Che’s little sister Rosa.
Even so, I flew through the pages and finished the book in less than a day. Its fluent writing and entertaining quality plus my fascination with antisocial personality disorder helped with that.
Reading about Rosa’s twisted morals and thoughts made me shiver, but in a good, entertaining way. Rosa isn’t portrayed as a caricaturist “over-the-top” evil psychopath. The author did a great job carefully drawing each layer of Rosa in a subtle way, which makes her so much more believable and therefore way too real…
All the characters in this novel are well portrayed – and they are interesting too. I found the family dynamics in this book very fascinating. From Che’s parents to his friend Leilani, I enjoyed reading about every little side character, which is quite rare.
A plus point is also the diversity in “My Sister Rosa”, although it did feel a bit forced.
Although it didn’t necessarily bother me too much, the pacing in “My Sister Rosa” is extremely off: The first three quarters of the book are very slow and besides the main character trying to find a girlfriend not a lot happens. This rapidly changes during the last quarter. From that point onward the plot feels very rushed. Everything is a blur and suddenly the last page is there and so many things stay unresolved. I’m assuming the ending is set up for a potential sequel.
If YA Contemporary is more your cup of tea than it is mine, you probably would love “My Sister Rosa”. I primarily enjoyed the reading experience, which is why I’m giving this book a more generous rating than my review might suggest.