Thursday, March 08, 2018

Five books starring adorable teenage sociopaths

Jeff Somers is the author of Lifers, the Avery Cates series from Orbit Books, Chum from Tyrus Books, and the Ustari Cycle from Pocket/Gallery, including We Are Not Good People. At the B&N Reads blog he tagged five books starring adorable teenage sociopaths, including:
Rhoda Penmark in The Bad Seed, by William March

Rhoda is eight years old, and the absolute definition of an adorable child. She’s pretty, polite, and obedient, she does her schoolwork, and she treats adults with respect. The fact that her classmates keep their distance and that people (and sometimes cute puppies) occasionally die when they irritate her (or when their deaths benefit her in even minor ways) doesn’t take away from the fact that if you were googling for stock photos of “adorable little girl,” Rhoda would show up every time. Using her cuteness and youth as a shield, Rhoda literally gets away with murder, and even when her own mother attempts to put an end to her tiny reign of terror, her age and appearance save her. Awww.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue