JUSTINE LARBALESTIER My Sister Rosa. Reviewed by Chris Maher
The author of young adult novels Liar and Razorhurst crosses into an older readership with this disturbing story of a young man trying to protect his sister from her psychopathic tendencies.
I’m sure conservative moral guardians like MPs Corey Bernardi and George Christensen would be horrified to discover young Australians were reading books like My Sister Rosa. Not because of the psychopathic elements – that may seem run-of-the-mill in Canberra – but for the broad acceptance of sexuality as well as the swearing, blasphemy, underage drinking, explicit sex and recreational drug use.
As soon as the 17-year-old protagonist, Che, lands in New York City with his family, he makes friends with Leilani, a lesbian teenager, Elon, a teenager of indeterminate gender, and Sojourner, a black Christian with two lesbian mums – one of whom is wheelchair-bound and a preacher at a progressive church.
Che’s journey of self-discovery is one thread of this novel, leading him to enthusiastically explore sex, reluctantly learn about fashion, embrace competitive boxing and discover both a soulmate and a confidante.
That alone is a solid base for a reasonable coming-of-age story.
However, another thread is more disturbing: that Che’s Shirley-Temple-cute ten-year-old sister Rosa has an antisocial personality disorder. In other words, she’s a psychopath.
This novel, a reinvention of William March’s popular 1950s novel (and subsequent horror movie) The Bad Seed, sees wannabe psychiatrist Che grapple with the knowledge that his young sister has no ability to feel empathy and that she ticks all the boxes that would label her a psychopath.
Che alone appears to understand the seriousness of her condition, as Rosa teases him with select information about her worst desires and plans, and his parents won’t listen to his concerns. He is torn between his love for his sister, whom he has helped look after since she was a baby, and the real fear she will do something extreme.
This personal conflict, overlaid with the background of a young man discovering New York with all its eccentricities, and imbued with the mounting tension of his sister’s sinister behaviour, makes this novel intriguing enough to effectively cross over into an adult readership.
As Che arrives in New York, flying business class with his family, courtesy of his parents’ wealthy clients, he outlines what he wants. First is to keep his sister under control; second is to improve his boxing; third he wants a girlfriend and finally he wants to return home to Sydney, a city he hasn’t seen for years.
Each section of the book is roughly devoted to one of those goals, although they all tend to overlap, and his sister insinuates herself into Che’s every attempt to achieve them.
As well as being a borderline genius, Rosa is manipulative, fearless, callous, charming and absolutely unable to empathise with others; in other words, one of the millions of classic psychopaths who hide amongst us.
The most ominous incident prior to the family’s arrival in New York has been when she manipulated another child to kill her pet guinea pig. But what if Rosa goes further? Che agonises about whether to convince his parents to seek professional help for her:
Would I tell them about the research I’d done? Show them my journal? Tell them about typing Is my sister a psychopath? into search engines, desperately hoping she wasn’t?
If I said psychopath out loud, if specialists agreed with me that’s what Rosa is, what would happen?
I’d read that some specialists argue labelling a child psychopath is saying there’s no hope for that kid.
‘I promise,’ she said. ‘I won’t kill and I won’t make anyone else kill.’
I couldn’t see a loophole.
Since Apinya’s guinea pig there’s been nothing. As far as I know.
Rosa makes friends with Seimone, one of the twin daughters of her parents’ clients, and coerces her into isolating the other twin, Maya. She makes sinister suggestions to Che about Maya, as well as about Che’s nascent girlfriend Sojourner. The tension escalates as Rosa makes further revelations and Che realises how potentially dangerous she is, while he grapples with the conflict between his love for his sister and the need to protect those around her.
For adult readers the middle of the book may drag as Che’s relationships develop and teen romance blossoms, but the extra character depth pays dividends as the suspense builds towards the climax. Of those relationships, the most entertaining is with world-weary teen fashionista Leilani, thanks to their narky banter:
‘Going to ask me what I want to do when I grow up? What colleges I’m applying to? What my career plans are?’
Those questions have occurred to me.
‘I’m homeschooled,’ I say. ‘My social intercourse is sporadic.’
‘But your love affair with the thesaurus is for all time.’ She gives a small smile that says wanker as loudly as if she spoke the word.
My Sister Rosa is a suspenseful read for adults happy to accept the teen relationship passages, and should hold the attention of both male and female young adults. However, parents would be advised to keep it away from ten-year-old girls, especially if they have any anti-social tendencies.
You don’t want to give them any ideas.
Justine Larbalestier My Sister Rosa Allen & Unwin 2016 PB 416pp $19.99
Chris Maher is a Sydney writer and journalist who occasionally blogs at Not a Book Review.
You can buy this book from Abbey’s at a 10% discount by quoting the promotion code NEWTOWNREVIEW here or you can buy it from Booktopia here.
To see if it is available from Newtown Library, click here.
