Scan barcode
njlanzetta's review against another edition
5.0
I had heard someone online talk about this book several times and it always sounded so interesting. I finally picked it up when it was on sale and I am so glad I did! I have never read anything like this before and I loved it! It's about a 17 year old Australian named Che who moves to New York with his disconnected parents and his psychopath 10 year old sister, Rosa. He is the only one who sees what Rosa truly is because she puts on a front of being adorable and innocent, and their parents are oblivious. She does some truly disturbing and questionable things throughout. The book follows Che as he adapts to life in New York while trying to control his sister. Apart from the fact that the sister is a psychopath, their family dynamic and situation is so interesting. The writing was really good and all of the characters were so diverse and so real. It was definitely an enjoyable read, if somewhat creepy. I recommend it to anyone who likes psychological novels.
fleurdujour's review against another edition
3.0
My Sister Rosa is a solid YA thriller, about Australian teen Che trying to keep his psychopathic younger sister under control. It's not as creepy as I was expecting, I was expecting a never-ending onslaught of psychopathic Rosa mentally and tormenting Che, the scenes featuring Rosa in her natural element were still great and sometimes spine-tingling. After the reveal of the climatic moment, I felt like the ending was pretty rushed, and some parts of it were unbelievable . The twist in the end is great! I completely didn't see it coming, but looking back now I can totally see all the hints that Justine Larbalestier dropped along the way. I'd recommend this for anyone who enjoys a well written YA thriller.
Spoiler
like just letting everyone go after Maya's death. While I believed that they probably wouldn't face any trial, I was surprised that there wasn't, at the very least, mandatory counseling for Rosa.wellingtonestatelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Rosa is a nauseating little piece of work! This book was mesmerizing and difficult to put down. There were a couple of characters who I didn't really care for, but others were completely relatable and quite likable. It's hard to describe this book; it's not a mystery, not exactly a thriller, but mostly a contemporary that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
diaadiary's review against another edition
3.0
Che Taylor is your average grumpy teenager who doesn’t want to move to another place. However, he has a creepy little sister who behaves and thinks rather abnormally.
I liked the concept of this book way more than the actual book. I liked that it was very diverse. And I liked how atypical this family was. However, I didn’t enjoy reading about the main character’s thoughts and feelings (he was boring tbh). I didn’t like how the book didn’t push boundaries especially because Rosa is a freaking child psychopath.
The entire first half of the book is dull yet interesting enough to continue reading until the end. Rosa makes weird comments that are definitely unsettling but not full on disturbing (which was what I was expecting). Che grumbles about not wanting to be in New York all the while obsessing over boxing and texting his friends. Tbh I didn’t give a shit.
The parentals infuriated me. Especially Sally. How do you ignore such an obvious problem?? I admit that Rosa’s behavior was subtle but they are her PARENTS??? How do you keep living life and expect your older son to deal with such a heavy issue?? Their behavior and solution ideas for “curing” Rosa seemed a bit unrealistic. As Rosa’s parents, Sally and David should have tried harder to do something.
The buildup of revealing Rosa’s psychopathy was nonexistent. I expected far more disturbing qualities from her behavior. Her manipulation was too thin. Everything about her was just too surface level and so the book had a lot of potential to be better.
I liked the concept of this book way more than the actual book. I liked that it was very diverse. And I liked how atypical this family was. However, I didn’t enjoy reading about the main character’s thoughts and feelings (he was boring tbh). I didn’t like how the book didn’t push boundaries especially because Rosa is a freaking child psychopath.
The entire first half of the book is dull yet interesting enough to continue reading until the end. Rosa makes weird comments that are definitely unsettling but not full on disturbing (which was what I was expecting). Che grumbles about not wanting to be in New York all the while obsessing over boxing and texting his friends. Tbh I didn’t give a shit.
The parentals infuriated me. Especially Sally. How do you ignore such an obvious problem?? I admit that Rosa’s behavior was subtle but they are her PARENTS??? How do you keep living life and expect your older son to deal with such a heavy issue?? Their behavior and solution ideas for “curing” Rosa seemed a bit unrealistic. As Rosa’s parents, Sally and David should have tried harder to do something.
The buildup of revealing Rosa’s psychopathy was nonexistent. I expected far more disturbing qualities from her behavior. Her manipulation was too thin. Everything about her was just too surface level and so the book had a lot of potential to be better.
arrielledesire's review against another edition
2.0
I picked up my sister Rosa because I had seen it recommended several times. To say this book was not my cup of tea would be an understatement. I picked up this book thinking it would be an exciting thriller about this boys psychopathic sister. It was neither exciting nor thrilling. The protagonist spends the first half of the book complaining about everything, mainly about his parents and his sister while doing nothing about it. The plot twist I saw coming from a mile away and the ending left me feeling disappointed and like nothing happened. The plot had no real resolution. The whole book is just the brother talking about his creepy psychopathic sister and after the "climax" in the plot it was just a let down as the whole story can be summed up as "a weird family goes on a business trip to New York. Few months later they go home." (Yes that is a very oversimplified version but it's pretty much the story). I gave this story 2 stars instead of just one because the initial idea for the book was really interesting. Unfortunately, the over all execution was underwhelming.
breakerofspines's review against another edition
DNF: half way and nothing happens. It’s just Che going on and on about his teenage troubles and his sister. Nothing thrilling, nothing to keep me reading.
sassyykassie's review against another edition
5.0
THIS IS THE WORST BOOK EVER BUT IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.
someonetookit's review against another edition
5.0
After finishing this, I feel that numb eating in your stomach you get when the final 100 pages has blown your theories out of the water. Well and truly worth the read.
spookysoto's review against another edition
3.0
Read as a readalong 👭 with Gleidis, Dahiana y Radha
Emotions: 😊Intrigued, annoyed with the YA aspect of this book, apathy and disappointment for the love story, satisfacción.
Recommended if you: Like psychological thrillers and coming of age stories.
This is the story of Che’s little sister Rosa, he thinks she may be a psychopath. We follow Che’s family as they move to New York to start a new chapter of their life.
I was disappointed with the story because it focused too much in Che’s love life, boxing and making friends, and it didn’t devote more time to Rosa and her behavior. It suffered from telling and not showing, and that annoyed me. I wish this was more an adult book than YA.
The book drags a lot in the middle, it was a bit boring. If you like diversity, there’s a lot in here.
I hated Che’s parents and their newagy way of raising their kids. I was intrigued with Rosa and wanted more of her. I liked the way the story wrapped up, and the things we learned at the end..
Overall I liked it, it was fast paced, interesting and intriguing, but I needed more Rosa and less of Che’s angst and love storyline. I recommend it.
Emotions: 😊Intrigued, annoyed with the YA aspect of this book, apathy and disappointment for the love story, satisfacción.
Recommended if you: Like psychological thrillers and coming of age stories.
This is the story of Che’s little sister Rosa, he thinks she may be a psychopath. We follow Che’s family as they move to New York to start a new chapter of their life.
I was disappointed with the story because it focused too much in Che’s love life, boxing and making friends, and it didn’t devote more time to Rosa and her behavior. It suffered from telling and not showing, and that annoyed me. I wish this was more an adult book than YA.
The book drags a lot in the middle, it was a bit boring. If you like diversity, there’s a lot in here.
I hated Che’s parents and their newagy way of raising their kids. I was intrigued with Rosa and wanted more of her. I liked the way the story wrapped up, and the things we learned at the end.
Spoiler
I wasn’t shock to find out about David, I saw it coming, and I also knew that Che probably had some of the same psychopath traitsOverall I liked it, it was fast paced, interesting and intriguing, but I needed more Rosa and less of Che’s angst and love storyline. I recommend it.
asimilarkite's review against another edition
4.0
I've only read two books by Justine Larbalestier (this and Liar, which is one of those books that I couldn't decide if I hated or loved and still, all these years later, can't get out of my head). Ms. Larbelestier is so great at creating unreliable characters. People you just do not trust.
Trust me, you do not want to trust Rosa.
Here's the review I wrote for my library's Facebook page:
On the surface, seventeen-year-old Che has the perfect nuclear family. Loving parents. Athletic son. Charismatic curly-haired daughter. But Che knows something the rest of the world doesn’t. There’s something about Che’s charming, genius, 10-year-old sister that is not right. There’s something wrong with her. She’s manipulative, and disturbingly smart, and emotionless, and completely lacking empathy.
And she does terrible things. Not directly – she convinces OTHER people to do terrible things. Che has made it his duty to keep Rosa under control. If no one else will do it, he will. But when the family moves to New York, things start to unravel. Can Che keep Rosa from manipulating people? Or from doing something worse?
In My Sister Rosa, Australian author Justine Larbalestier has written a contemporary version of The Bad Seed for teens that takes the reader deep into a family afflicted by anti-social personality disorder. Be careful. Don’t let yourself be taken in by Rosa. Things are not right with her.
Trust me, you do not want to trust Rosa.
Here's the review I wrote for my library's Facebook page:
On the surface, seventeen-year-old Che has the perfect nuclear family. Loving parents. Athletic son. Charismatic curly-haired daughter. But Che knows something the rest of the world doesn’t. There’s something about Che’s charming, genius, 10-year-old sister that is not right. There’s something wrong with her. She’s manipulative, and disturbingly smart, and emotionless, and completely lacking empathy.
And she does terrible things. Not directly – she convinces OTHER people to do terrible things. Che has made it his duty to keep Rosa under control. If no one else will do it, he will. But when the family moves to New York, things start to unravel. Can Che keep Rosa from manipulating people? Or from doing something worse?
In My Sister Rosa, Australian author Justine Larbalestier has written a contemporary version of The Bad Seed for teens that takes the reader deep into a family afflicted by anti-social personality disorder. Be careful. Don’t let yourself be taken in by Rosa. Things are not right with her.