Rosa is ten years old. Rosa is a psychopath. Her older brother Che is the only one that can see it, and is therefore tasked with protecting the world from Rosa. This novel is amazingly, stunningly well-written but not at all for the faint of heart. It’s suspenseful and thrilling and almost too perfectly tense to handle. I actually couldn’t handle it and read the end before going back to my place which shows how stressed out Larbalestier made me! The characterisation is full and detailed, and the story is an interesting take on nature versus nurture.

Isobel Moore is the Children’s Book Buyer at Readings St Kilda.