ANNABEL PITCHER AUTHOR. My Sister Lives On The Mantlepiece by Annabel Pitcher. Five years ago, Jamie's sister, Rose, was killed in a terrorist attack in London.
Rose's twin sister, Jasmine (Jaz) survived as did the rest of the family but the tragedy has utterly devastated all of them. His parents fought over the remaining ten body parts of Rose, with his mother burying part of Rose in a cemetery while Jamie's father placed the ashes from Rose's body parts in an urn. Eventually, Jamie's mother left his dad for another man, Nigel, from the support group his mom was attending. His father now drinks and doesn't work. Jaz, tired of being dressed like her sister Rose for the past five years, arrived home on her fifteenth birthday with pink hair and a nose ring.
Jamie's father, unable to cope with the death of Rose and the break up of his marriage moves the family to the Lake District where he believes there are no Muslims and the English way of life rules. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher - TheBookbag.co.uk book review. Ten-year-old Jamie Matthews has moved to the Lake District because his dad says they need a Fresh Start.
With him are his sister Jas, who doesn't eat much, is painfully thin, and who has multiple piercings and hair dyed bright pink, his father, who should be starting a new job on a building site, but who is too hungover to make it to breakfast, let alone into his car and out to work, and his cat, Roger, who relishes the new hunting opportunities and who is the only one of the foursome to be completely happy in his new surroundings. Jamie's mum isn't there. She has Run Off With The Man From The Support Group. But Jamie's other sister, Rose, is there. She's on the mantelpiece. Something has to give. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is sad and it's funny and it's sweet and it's many, many things, all at the same time.
Through Jamie, Pitcher is able to be brutally honest about the darkest moments for families in crisis, but she's able to do it without cruelty. My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher - review. The subject matter of this book is so completely different to any other book I have read.
It is rather complex, as it is about love, death, murder, racism, friendship, bullying and growing up. This is narrated by a boy called Jamie, whose older sister, Rose, lives on the mantelpiece – literally. She was killed by a terrorist attack and her ashes are on the mantelpiece. Jamie's whole family life is completely messed up. His mum ran away with another man and abandoned him and his family. Jamie's sister, Jasmine, also struggles with the death of her twin sister and she deals with her grief in a different way to Jamie. This book is a whirlwind of adventure and emotions. . • Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop Want to tell the world about a book you've read? My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher: review. The heavy-drinking father, who you sense intentionally is never fully fleshed out, is mired in racial prejudice, blaming Muslims for all the ills of Britain.
You take on trust that being mad with grief has created this sodden and sorry excuse for a father. Even he is not beyond redemption and he certainly fares better in the story than the uncaring, absent mother. We are shown little about her to arouse sympathy. She is just someone who has abandoned her children. The father's racism clearly appals but the twist comes in the way that 10-year-old Jamie finds companionship, solace and even love from his only friend at school, a smart, crafty and witty Muslim girl called Sunya. Pitcher handles Jamie's sad plight very well. "Summer's a bit too bright for me . . . This is a book which could easily have sunk under the weight of sentimentality.
Annabel Pitcher: My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece (Orion Books)