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A review by cewhisenant
My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier
4.0
"I'm not sure I understand what love is. It's like 'good'. No one's explained it clearly. I love ice-cream. I love chess and mathematics. I love getting what I want. I love getting away with things. But not people. They're either useful or they're not.”
Actual rating: 4.5
Ever since I was a young child, I’ve had a morbid fascination with psychopaths. Maybe it’s an American thing, but I read every book and watched every movie I could get my hands on. I was entranced by the idea of people who didn’t feel or think the way the majority of people did.
This was the perfect novel in ode to middle-school me.
"She promised to be good. She wasn’t."
There are very few psychological thriller novels that manage to keep me anxious and on my toes from start to finish. There are only so many ways for a writer to inject tension into a novel and I’ve read most of them many times.
My Sister Rosa was terrifying. Teen Che’s younger sister, Rosa, is a ten-year-old psychopath. For years, he’s been forcing her to make promises to ensure she doesn’t hurt or kill anyone. However, she’s begun to find loopholes in these promises.
Every time Rosa spoke, walked, or even breathed near Che, I was filled with an inaudible sense of dread. Eventually, I decided to listen to this novel primarily while at the gym in order to relieve the tension every chapter built up.
"Killing things shouldn't make you happy, Rosa. That's why they're worried."
Just when you think you’ve figured out where this novel is going, another layer of build up is added. I was so invested, I’ve now been consistently going to the gym for over a month, multiple times a week. Nothing like a psychological thriller audiobook to get you to regularly go to the gym.
After the wondrously suspenseful Here Lies Daniel Tate that I had the pleasure of reading over the summer, I am beginning to delve further into the blossoming goldmine of YA psychological thrillers.
If you’re looking to get a solid case of emotional and mental whiplash or want all the pleasures of a horror movie with a side dish of teenage drama, look no further. My Sister Rosa has you covered.
"You want to pass for a normal person? Don’t tiptoe into people’s bedrooms at night! Ever!”
“I can be creepy in front of you.”
“No, you can’t! You need to go now.”
“I’ll go watch the parentals."
Actual rating: 4.5
Ever since I was a young child, I’ve had a morbid fascination with psychopaths. Maybe it’s an American thing, but I read every book and watched every movie I could get my hands on. I was entranced by the idea of people who didn’t feel or think the way the majority of people did.
This was the perfect novel in ode to middle-school me.
"She promised to be good. She wasn’t."
There are very few psychological thriller novels that manage to keep me anxious and on my toes from start to finish. There are only so many ways for a writer to inject tension into a novel and I’ve read most of them many times.
My Sister Rosa was terrifying. Teen Che’s younger sister, Rosa, is a ten-year-old psychopath. For years, he’s been forcing her to make promises to ensure she doesn’t hurt or kill anyone. However, she’s begun to find loopholes in these promises.
Every time Rosa spoke, walked, or even breathed near Che, I was filled with an inaudible sense of dread. Eventually, I decided to listen to this novel primarily while at the gym in order to relieve the tension every chapter built up.
"Killing things shouldn't make you happy, Rosa. That's why they're worried."
Just when you think you’ve figured out where this novel is going, another layer of build up is added. I was so invested, I’ve now been consistently going to the gym for over a month, multiple times a week. Nothing like a psychological thriller audiobook to get you to regularly go to the gym.
After the wondrously suspenseful Here Lies Daniel Tate that I had the pleasure of reading over the summer, I am beginning to delve further into the blossoming goldmine of YA psychological thrillers.
If you’re looking to get a solid case of emotional and mental whiplash or want all the pleasures of a horror movie with a side dish of teenage drama, look no further. My Sister Rosa has you covered.
"You want to pass for a normal person? Don’t tiptoe into people’s bedrooms at night! Ever!”
“I can be creepy in front of you.”
“No, you can’t! You need to go now.”
“I’ll go watch the parentals."