I Found the Perfect Girlfriend for Damien!

TITLE: My Sister Rosa
AUTHOR: Justine Larbalestier
PUBLISHER: Soho Teen
PUBLISHING DATE:  November 15, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: What if the most terrifying person you know is your ten-year-old sister? 

Seventeen-year-old Aussie Che Taylor loves his younger sister, Rosa. But he's also certain that she's a psychopath--clinically, threateningly, dangerously. Recently Rosa has been making trouble, hurting things. Che is the only one who knows; he's the only one his sister trusts. Rosa is smart, talented, pretty, and very good at hiding what she is and the manipulation she's capable of. 

Their parents, whose business takes the family from place to place, brush off the warning signs as Rosa's -acting out.- Now that they have moved again--from Bangkok to New York City--their new hometown provides far too many opportunities for Rosa to play her increasingly complex and disturbing games. Che's always been Rosa's rock, protecting her from the world. Now, the world might need protection from her.  

MY THOUGHTS: I'm pretty sure this has been sitting on my Kindle for at least 2 years.  I wanted to read it when it came out, grabbed it when it was on sale, and then let it disappear into Kindle oblivion.  When I needed a book for Monsterathon that someone had unhauled, this one came up and honestly, I'm glad it did.  I really enjoyed it and wish I had read it sooner.

Che Taylor, his sister Rosa, and his mother and father are Australian natives who have moved around the past 6 or 7 years for their parents work.  They eventually land in New York where the Taylors are assisting some very rich old family friends with a business.  However, none of this is the main problem.  The main problem is 10 year old Rosa.

Ever since Rosa was born, Che has basically been her caretaker.  His parents are abusive and they mean well, but they are kind of negligent in the care of their children (insist they call them by their first names, more friends than parents, etc).  And Che has noticed some troubling things about Rosa which lead him to believe that she is rather dangerous and he has to protect those he cares about, as well as himself, from Rosa's wrath.

So let's get this straight - she may look cute, but I believe Rosa is the devil incarnate or close to it.  I have read several reviews discussing how Rosa was gifted and maybe socially inept and that her parents' lack of involvement made her the way she is.  While it all could have contributed, none of these things made her smile while she convinced her friend to kill her guinea pig  just to prove how good a friend she was or make her new best friend a peanut butter smoothie - despite her peanut allergy.  And Rosa is just so callous about everything.  At one point Che, always the voice of reason, asked her what she learned after running off to play chess with bums in the middle of the night in New York and she replied:

“I need to lie better. I should have pretended to be sorry straight away. Next time I’ll burst into tears as soon as I see the police.”

I really liked Che and it was nice to have a male MC.  He was 17 and wants what I imagine most teens want - a girlfriend, friends and a normal family.  I didn't care much for their mom and dad and it's kind of funny.  YA books are notorious for not mentioning the parents.  The Taylors have quite a prominent role in "My Sister Rosa" and they still suck.  I also think the author did a good job of throwing some religion into the novel yet I didn't find it pushy or preachy.  I think it helped offset the whole good vs. evil concept.  Of course, the biological argument of nature vs. nurture is also quite relevant.

If any of this interests you, then definitely pick up this book.  It is a standalone and while not a blood, gore, things that go bump in the night scary, it is very human nature scary and only supports my belief that humans are often more scarier than anything the mind creates.

RATING: 5 PAWS

ANIMAL TRIGGER WARNING:  guinea pig and ant colony deaths.