Scan barcode
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.
b00kluver's review against another edition
4.0
I rate this title about a 3.5. It was different from many other stories and had some good plot twists, but could have gone a bit further in creating suspense and would have been even better if the author had somehow made Che even more empathetic and lovable.
wondrwhy's review against another edition
3.0
I was expecting more of a psychological thriller. This book was rather mild, to say the least.
ashcash04's review against another edition
I think it's time to call it quits on this book. I'm so utterly disappointed, this was one of my most anticipated books this year! I wanted it to be a little more on the suspense side. I was so intrigued about a brother trying to keep control of his psychopath little sister, but this book is just so incredibly boring and I can't keep going when I've already been trying to for 2 weeks and I've only made it half way through. I also didn't like how it handled religion. I feel like a majority of main characters in YA are agnostic or atheist and I don't really care until it becomes a main point, then I'm just not interested.
pantsreads's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5
I liked the tension of the story, but there wasn't much in the way of plot.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
I liked the tension of the story, but there wasn't much in the way of plot.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
tearyeyedpupa's review against another edition
5.0
Another one of my top 5 favorite books ever. I felt tense reading it, it made me interested in the behavior of those around me... it was a very good story with a great plot. Definitely recommend it!
trayceebee's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't know what to expect of this book when I first received it (free, ARC). I assumed it was for young kids, maybe a YA book. After having read it, I'm thinking it could be for an older YA, or maybe just adults in general. There are some sort of explicit scenes where (only when I think of them from a youth's perspective), discussing a 17 year old's nocturnal emissions and first sexual encounter. Beyond that, the book is a bit dark.
That being said, I definitely think this would appeal to young adults and even (sexual content aside) older teens.
Seventeen-year-old Che and his sister, Rosa, and their family, have moved around a lot. His parents (whom he calls by name, or he calls them 'the parentals', as they're sort of hippies who feel that the titles of 'Mom' and 'Dad' imply a sort of ownership) often start up new businesses whose aim is always helping the less fortunate. Coming originally from Australia, Che's family lands in New York City. Che does NOT want to be there; and he's not only sick of moving around, but he's also sick of having to look after his ten-year-old sister. It's not just that Rosa is reckless or that she wanders off or gets into the same kind of trouble a free-spirited child might get into. Rather, Rosa is much more dangerous. She's actually a psychopath--Che has studied a check-list of characteristics, and Rosa has all but one of them. The problem is, Che's parents don't believe him. They know Che never lies, but they just think Rosa is spirited. How can Che protect the NYC (and the world, really) from his dangerous sister and still have a life of his own?
That being said, I definitely think this would appeal to young adults and even (sexual content aside) older teens.
Seventeen-year-old Che and his sister, Rosa, and their family, have moved around a lot. His parents (whom he calls by name, or he calls them 'the parentals', as they're sort of hippies who feel that the titles of 'Mom' and 'Dad' imply a sort of ownership) often start up new businesses whose aim is always helping the less fortunate. Coming originally from Australia, Che's family lands in New York City. Che does NOT want to be there; and he's not only sick of moving around, but he's also sick of having to look after his ten-year-old sister. It's not just that Rosa is reckless or that she wanders off or gets into the same kind of trouble a free-spirited child might get into. Rather, Rosa is much more dangerous. She's actually a psychopath--Che has studied a check-list of characteristics, and Rosa has all but one of them. The problem is, Che's parents don't believe him. They know Che never lies, but they just think Rosa is spirited. How can Che protect the NYC (and the world, really) from his dangerous sister and still have a life of his own?
lizchan's review against another edition
Not feeling another YA right now. Will try again later.