Cover art for My Sister Rosa
Published
Allen & Unwin, February 2016
ISBN
9781760112226
Format
Softcover

My Sister Rosa

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Reviewed by Rebecca De Aguiar

Rebecca is a member of the Boffins Books YA Club.

I'd heard of My Sister Rosa, but it wasn't until last week that I read a review convinced me I needed this book in my life. They were right; this book is amazing. I enjoy thrillers, but to be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read about a psychopath. But as you can tell by the shiny 5 stars, I thought Justine Larbalestier did a fantastic job at well, everything. The thing is, when you think of a psychopath, I doubt a 10 year old with the face of an angel - blue eyes, blonde hair, dimples - is what comes to mind. And that's what this so creepy and spine-tingly good. The characters, main or minor, have been written with so much depth and layers; fleshed out to make you deeply care - or deeply despise. I'm looking at you, Rosa - about them and their welfare. Che is such a great character and seeing how Rosa was slowly destroying him was sad to watch. The anger and frustration this book made me feel also goes to show just how I loved it. It's not often a book makes you feel so much, so deeply, but this book did just that. So much so, I had to force myself to stop reading last night and decompress with an episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfreind because of how worked up I was getting. The diversity present here is great and I feel is what helped further enhance the characters to feel so real and come to life on the page. I was such a fan of Leilani, who is also gay. She's fun, feisty and cares deeply for her sisters; I loved her spirit. Other diversity to note: Sojourner, Che's girlfriend, is black. A friend of Che, Elon, refuses to be categorised as a boy or a girl. All in all, My Sister Rosa was gripping and captivating. I caught on to some of the hints dropped and had my suspicions, which turned out to be right. But having said that, it didn't ruin the experience for me at all. Every page was interesting and I couldn't put it down. I'd even go as far to say it's the best thriller I've ever read. Not only due to how well-written and thought out it was, but because I deeply cared about characters, an aspect that can usually be put on the back burner as plot takes priority; that wasn't case here. We may only be in February, but OzYA is killing it this year.

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