My Sister Rosa

My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier (2016)

Che is from Australia, but his family has been moving around for years, and now they are going to New York. His parents start up socially responsible companies and sell them, and his ten-year-old little sister is a psychopath. Literally. Che has been trying to keep her in check for years, alone, because nobody else will believe him that she is dangerous. With her blond hair and dimples, she's a picture of innocence and knows how to charm everyone. But Che isn't fooled. He just hopes he can keep her under control before she really hurts someone.

Just released in November, I've had my eye on this book for a while. The premise is incredibly intriguing, and I'm happy to report that Larbalestier does an amazing job delivering on it. Rosa is creepy! Super creepy! And there's more going on in the family that makes it even more complicated than it seems at first. I loved everything about it.

This is supposed to be a book for teens, and it definitely has teen appeal. Che is seventeen, and in addition to his problems with his sister, he's going through some typical teenage boy issues. He's really into boxing, but his parents think it's too violent so they've made him promise not to spar. But he really wants to and knows it will improve his overall skill at the sport. He also desperately wants a girlfriend and has a huge crush on Sojourner, another boxer at his gym. But she's super religious and said up front that even though she likes him, she won't date someone who isn't also religious. So, typical teenage boy struggles on top of the atypical ones. But the writing is more dense than is typical in a teen book and it's not as quick to read. Still, I read the last 150 pages in one sitting because I couldn't put it down.

The way the story of Rosa progresses is incredibly well done. She manipulates everyone around her to her advantage and it was totally believable. Her conversations with Che, who she is pretty honest with about her peculiarities, were positively chilling. He tries to teach her to have empathy for other people, but all she is doing is trying to appear like a regular person and it's clear she's been honing her acting skills since she realized that she's different from most people. I was so worried for Che and the people he cared about, and wanted to smack his parents for being so disinterested, and so convinced that Rosa is just precocious.

I was very happy that, just like in Liar, Larbalestier included diversity elements, but even more so in this book. Sojourner is black and has two moms, another friend is gender fluid, and another is Korean-American and a lesbian. But none of this is a big deal, or even especially surprising to Che, though he is slightly confused about the gender fluid character. (Not confused in a bad way though, he totally likes Elon, he's just unsure what gender this person is and has to have it explained to him.) I hate to even mention these elements because it shouldn't be a big deal, but I think it's important to give a shoutout to books that normalize non-white-heterosexual-cisgender characters. In this book they are all just people who are well-rounded and have hobbies and interests and just happen to be a minority. There was a great conversation between Che's friend Leilani and her girlfriend about whether or not she is "really" Korean since she was born in America and doesn't look very Korean, and because her Korean dad was adopted by a white American couple. There are so many conversations like this in real life and it's so important to talk about this kind of thing.

In summary, you should read this right now! Just go immediately to a bookstore or library and get it as soon as possible.

Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies

Liar by Justine Larbalestier (2009)

“My father is a liar and so am I. But I’m going to stop. I have to stop.”

We are introduced to Micah when her boyfriend doesn’t show up at school one Monday…or Tuesday…or Wednesday. On Thursday the principal comes into her classroom to tell them that Zach’s body has been found. Nobody asks Micah how she is doing because they don’t know she was Zach’s girlfriend. Sarah was Zach’s real girlfriend, Micah was just for after hours. She continues to pretend that she barely knew Zach at all, and mourns alone.

The story flips back and forth between “Before” and “After” as Micah shares bits and pieces of her life. She relates that when she first started at this school she pretended to be a boy until she was eventually exposed. She reveals a bit about a family illness from which she suffers. She shares stories from her relationship from Zach. Meanwhile she is trying to cope with Zach’s death, reaching out to his girlfriend and his best friend. She also struggles with family problems as her parents try to convince her to go live with relatives on their farm.

And then we find that much of what she is sharing are lies. Clearly, Micah is having a hard time telling the truth, and possibly even distinguishing for herself what is truth and what is a lie. There is a twist about halfway through the book that is a complete game-changer and puts this book firmly in a genre that I didn’t realize it was. Had I known about this I probably wouldn’t have picked it up, but I’m glad I did.

There are some fun and unusual aspects to the book that added to its appeal. First, and most notably, the characters aren’t all white. Most young adult books are about white kids, so it was refreshing that Micah was of mixed race (her father is black and her mother white) and her boyfriend Zach was hispanic. It’s not integral to the story but she does mention some of the racial aspects of her high school, and it does make this novel stand out a bit from most YA fare.

I really enjoyed the settings as well. Micah’s family live in a TINY apartment in New York, so small that they store their bicycles suspended over the kitchen table. Micah’s escape was to go running with Zach in Central Park. In the summers Micah went to her family’s farm out in the country where they didn’t even have electricity, a big change from her life in New York. The way each of the settings was described gave the novel an unusual feel.

Micah was a difficult character to like. It’s hard to even get to know her because of her extensive web of lies about herself. Usually I like stories with an unreliable narrator, but as this book went on that aspect of it became a bit wearying, and there is so much that you never really know for sure. Ultimately, I didn’t love it but I liked it and I’d certainly try out another book by this author. If you are in the mood for an unusual book with many surprises, Liar might be right up your alley.