My Sister Rosa
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The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that My Sister Rosa, by Justine Larbalestier (Team Human, LIAR), is a thriller about a teen boy who watches over his psychopathic sister. Che and Rosa's family moves around a lot for their parents' work. Between the frequent moves and the need to keep an eye on Rosa's worrisome tendencies, Rosa and Che are close and he feels bound to protect the world from her. The book has interesting discussions on what makes someone good or evil. Are these traits hardwired? Can they be learned or unlearned? Minority, multiracial, gay, and gender-nonconforming teen and adult characters populate the book. The teen characters have a frank discussion about ethnicity and interracial dating. The content is on the suspenseful side of intense (as opposed to gory or scary) because Rosa's behavior gets increasingly worse as she pushes to see how much manipulation and cruelty she can get away with. There is some violence, but little of it is described graphically. Che's love life is a big plot point, and the book has a little graphic sexual content and discussion of his longing for one girl in particular. The characters swear but not frequently. Some of the characters drink in a couple of scenes and smoke pot once, and Che has an honest, open conversation with his dad about the consequences of using drugs and alcohol.
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Good storyline ruined by inappropriate sexual scenes
What's the story?
In MY SISTER ROSA, 17-year-old Che and his 10-year-old little sister are uprooted frequently as their parents move from one start-up job opportunity to another. Rosa has never been "normal": She is late-developing in the area of social traits but off-the-charts brilliant academically. It's her fascination with hurting and controlling people and animals that freaks out Che. He tries to convince his parents that something is seriously wrong with Rosa, but they downplay his concerns. Because of this, Che ends up taking on the responsibility of looking after Rosa, keeping her from causing too much harm and teaching her how to be good. When the family ends up in New York City, she has a bigger landscape in which to mess with people, and her actions lead to some interesting and unnerving situations. How far will she go? Will it be Che's fault if she seriously hurts or kills someone? He starts to feel that anyone he cares about is not safe. He has his own life and future to think about. His worries about how much more dangerous Rosa gets as she grows up is amplified by the notion that he has to get on with his schooling, dating, and friendships. How can he grow up to live his own life while looking after Rosa?
Is it any good?
A teen boy tries to protect the world from his sociopathic little sister in this gripping, suspenseful thriller. My Sister Rosa opens with Che's family on their way to New York City so his parents can pursue yet another business start-up. While being moved to a nice apartment in Manhattan might be cause for celebration for most 17-year-olds, Che is filled with dread, and rightly so. His 10-year-old sister is a budding psychopath. Che has kept close watch over her for her entire life and worries how much harder that will be in a city as big, busy, and anonymous as New York. The suspense in the story comes from not knowing what Rosa's going to do next. Che's feeling of responsibility for her is heartrending, especially because his parents either don't see Rosa's problematic behavior or won't let themselves admit it.
The story is told from Che's point of view, and he's a smart, engaging narrator. He has to battle being a shy teen with a huge burden in a big city. As he makes friends and starts dating, and as Rosa gets craftier, looking after her becomes difficult and could lead to serious consequences, all of which ratchets up the story's tension. The book poses lots of interesting ideas and discussions, including big questions around what constitutes good versus evil behavior and whether empathy can be taught. The medical information on human behavior is fascinating and is well-woven into the story without being heavy-handed. Author Justine Larbalestier does a good job of keeping all the plot points moving without dropping any or giving any short shrift, although Che's ongoing talks with Rosa about her behavior get repetitive. There's a good twist that would have been even more effective had more groundwork been laid for it.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about the depiction of evil in My Sister Rosa. Is it realistic? A lot of the book deals with Che trying to teach his sister, Rosa, to be good. Do you think it's possible to teach someone to be good?
Why are some lies OK and others aren't? Do you think we can be 100 percent honest all the time? What are the benefits and consequences of living like that? What are the morals involved in deciding when to lie and when to be honest?
Boxing is a way for Che to channel his frustrations in a controlled way. Do you have sports or other activities that help you get your frustrations out and help you focus?
Book details
- Author: Justine Larbalestier
- Genre: Contemporary Fiction
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Soho Teen
- Publication date: November 15, 2016
- Number of pages: 320
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: June 19, 2019
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