Hardcover, 309 pagesRelease Date: November 15, 2016Published by: Soho Teen
Read from: December 16-20, 2016Stand-aloneSource: Edelweiss/ LibraryFor fans of: Contemporary, Dark & Stabby, Thriller, Diversity, Realistic Fiction, Romance, YA
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 diagnosable 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 violence 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. Alone, Che must balance his desire to protect Rosa from the world with the desperate need to protect the world from her.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Y'all already know, anything dark and twisty is right up my alley. Add on to that the fact that I have a little sister, I knew I needed to get this book in my hands. I loved that there was so much diversity and the thrilling parts actually had me wondering just how bad thigns were going to get.
Rosa is not your typical little girl. Her older brother Che loves her, but he's convinced that something just isn't right with her. She hurts things and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Now they've moved to New York and Rosa has changed..... But not for the better.
When I go in to psychological thrillers I want them to make me close the book like WITAF just happened? When I closed this one I had guessed who had done it and it wasn't that big of a surprise. It lost a whole star for me because I was able to guess the big plot twist at the end. Had it turned out to be anyone or anything else I would have enjoyed it more.
And then there was the creeper factor in the book. For me it just wasn't there. Maybe I've read too many thrillers and have come to expect what might happen, but for whatever reason, it just wasn't there, I mean when Rosa was being weird, it creeped me out, but it was few and far between. Things didn't really get good until the last 40 pages or so which threw the pacing off. The only reason I continued it was so many people had told me how creepy everything got at the end so I wanted to know. It wasn't anything to write home about though.
I did however like the character portrayals. Sid was amazing and I loved her family. I also loved Che and his family. For him to have the most unobservant parents ever, they were still well developed and I could see why it was so easy for them to be walked over. I also loved the look into Che's head. As a boxer it was so interesting to see What he was thinking inside and outside the ring. It was a great way to learn more about him and boxing too.
I did like it, I just feel like a bit more could've been added to give it that spark that it needed. There's so many expectations I had and they didn't quite meet them. But even still, I DO want to learn what happens to their family. I really want to know what happens when she gets older. That seems like a whole nother creepy story!
Overall, I give this
There will be no quotes from this to prevent spoilers.