My Sister Rosa was released on the 27th of January. I was intrigued then, when I picked it up at the bookstore to read the blurb. It’s a psychological thriller, and I’ve been wanting to read more in that genre. I’m so glad I bought this book. The beginning of this book is spoiler free, I will clearly mark where the spoilers begin so be warned.
The following is from GoodReads:
What if the most terrifying person you’d ever met was your ten-year old sister? A spine-chilling psychological thriller from one of Australia’s finest YA authors.
‘I promise,’ said Rosa. ‘I won’t kill and I won’t make anyone else kill.’
I can’t see the loophole. Since the guinea pig there’s been nothing. Months now without Rosa killing as much as a mosquito.
As far as I know.
Che Taylor has four items on his list: 1. He wants to spar, not just train in the boxing gym. 2. He wants a girlfriend. 3. He wants to go home. 4. He wants to keep Rosa under control.
Che’s little sister Rosa is smart, talented, pretty, and so good at deception that Che’s convinced she must be a psychopath. She hasn’t hurt anyone yet, but he’s certain it’s just a matter of time. And when their parents move them to New York City, Che longs to return to Sydney and his three best friends. But his first duty is to his sister Rosa, who is playing increasingly complex and disturbing games. Can he protect Rosa from the world – and the world from Rosa?
My Sister Rosa will have you on the edge of your seat from the very first page to the last.
Oh my god this book is fantastic. I didn’t know what I was getting into when I started, only that the blurb sounded interesting and thrilling. That’s an understatement. I started the book tired and sleepy, eyes sore and dry but now that I’m done, I’m wide awake and reeling over this book. I wrote this at 4:10am; I started the book at 1am because I was sleepy but I wanted to get a couple of chapters in just so I know what I’m getting into. 100 pages later, my eyes was so sore and dry – I literally had my left eye shut, and my right squinting while I was reading the book. Another 100 pages later, I was wide-awake and truly enjoying the book but also I was terrified of what’ll happen next, I knew then I had to go to sleep because I have to wake up early the next day but there was only a quarter left to read and it didn’t make sense for me to stop then. At 4am, I finished the book and there were no traces of my earlier sleepiness; I loved the book and I’m glad I finished it. It was late, sure, but no regrets because that’s what I do: I value reading books more than my own sleep.
This book is like a roller coaster. If it was a movie, I’d be squinting or covering my eyes because I’m scared of what’ll happen next. If it’s an event at the next corner, I’ll be slowing down as much as I can and creeping upon it bc I don’t know what I’ll find. When starting a new chapter, I start it with caution because I have no idea what’ll happen.
This book is about Che, and his 10-year old sister Rosa who he believes is a psychopath because she doesn’t empathise, amongst other things. Rosa creeps the hell out of me. Rosa is not only not able to empathise, she enjoys killing ants, bugs, she even made someone kill their pet guinea pig bc she wanted to see the animal fight to live. She’s so curious about everything that she will do anything to see something she hasn’t seen before. She’s ten years old yet she’s so smart. That’s what scares me the most I think – she’s so smart that she can do just about anything and she’s good at manipulating people into seeing and thinking what she wants them to think. You know the movie The Orphan? The not-so-much-a-kid kid there is what Rosa makes me feel. Like honestly, this is not a horror/ghost book but I have to pee right and I’m kinda scared of leaving my room. Seriously, this book made me feel like this.
All the big reveals near the end? Wow, just wow. Did not see it coming – the ending made me drop my jaw because just wow. I’m so scared for Che, and for everyone else because Rosa. Rosa!
I know I didn’t really go into detail about the book – more like went into a bit of detail as to what I’m feeling bc I’m just full of feelings over this book.
I need more books to read into this genre – psychological thriller. I love how it made me feel: scared, excited, intrigued, exhilarated, thrilled.
I may, or may not, edit this post to add my summary of what happened. I started already but it’s proving longer than I thought it was going to be. I may, or may not, add it here later.
TheBookishCentral 