Annabel Pitcher

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece

With his family still grieving over his sister's death in a terrorist bombing seven years earlier, 12-year-old Jamie is far more interested in his cat, Roger, his birthday Spiderman T-shirt, and keeping his new Muslim friend Sunya a secret from his father. 20,000 first printing.

Savindi Jinasena

Cover Gushing Worthiness: I believe this is the original cover for My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece 
  
 and I'm not a fan to be honest. Yes the boy on the cover is Jamie, but it doesn't capture the essence of the book.In my opinion the cover of the edition I have is much more suitable for the book. The cover is vibrant and the illustration of the urn the reader’s attention. The font used for the title is really awesome and stands out quite well.

Review


   My sister Rose lives on the mantelpiece. Well some of her does. Three of her fingers, her right elbow and her kneecap are buried in a Graveyard in London.


I don't remember how I came across this book, but I know I was drawn to the title. It’ just intriguing and an attention grabber. When I picked up this book I don't think I expected to discover a book about a boy trying to understand the tragedy his family goes through. I’m glad that I discovered this book because it really did touch my heart.

Taking place five years after the London bombings which claimed the life of Jamie’s sister Rose, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece follows the life of Jamie as his father and fifteen year-old sister Jasmine move to the lake district to start life afresh without their mother.

Ever since the events of 9/11, the Madrid bombings and the London bombings Muslims around the world have been unfairly vilified and face constant scrutiny unlike any other group of people. This is unfortunate and troubling, especially when children come across hateful rhetoric and start using racial slurs without understanding the consequences of using such language against other children of different ethnic groups. Recently I read a book called The Garden of My Imaan by Farhana Zia which follows the life of an American Muslim girl after the events of 9/11 and with the arrival of a Moroccan Muslim girl who wears the Hijab. I think both of these stories are important because we don’t want our younger generation to tolerate discrimination and be a part of racist attitudes. We want them to be empowered and treat everyone regardless of their religion and skin colour with dignity and respect. What I admire about both Zia and Pitcher is that they tackle difficult issues such as racism and bullying head on instead of beating around the bush. Some of the instances of bullying and racism were difficult to read because of how realistically they were portrayed and sometimes you couldn't help but fear for the characters. One of those instances was when Sunya (Jamie’s friend) was being bullied and called names such as ‘Curry Germs’ and ‘Paki’. I’m familiar with the term ‘Paki’ because my dad told me about the connotation behind the word and I’ve heard it being used on campus grounds when I was in University. It really bothered me that students would use that term and I used to wonder if they actually knew how it was used or not. One of the scariest incidents for me in the book was when some of the students at Jamie’s school ganged up on Sunya and tried to forcefully take her Hijab off. I found it scary and uncomfortable to read because the very same attitude towards the Hijab was prominent under the Shah’s regime in Iran prior to the Revolution. It also reminded me of something one of my professors told me in University. In my Women in Asia history course we talked about Footbinding and under the Qing Dynasty footbinding was forbidden for Manchu women and when the anti-footbinding movement came into being women were forced to remove their bindings and many admitted that it ‘felt like rape.’ I imagine the same feelings may apply to those who are forced to remove their veils.

The plot of this book is about so many things: grief, betrayal, death, racism, friendships, bullying, family etc. Told from Jamie’s point of view, Pitcher captures his innocence and wonder so well. It asks so many questions such as “How can you ask a child to grieve over someone they don’t remember?” “Why do people become the epitome of perfection in death?” and “How do you cope with losing a child and live on for your other children?.” When a family grieves all those questions come forward and maybe the truth is there is no right or wrong answer. Grief is personal and people grieve in different ways albeit putting others in hurtful places because of those methods.The book is also about hope. Hope that tomorrow will be better, hope that life will be lived the best way possible, hope that something called ‘normal’ will eventually return to life. I admit that I had a few qualms with the ending because it left me a bit unsatisfied. I felt like some of the familial problems in Jamie’s family were left unresolved and that bothered me somewhat. Also the fact that Jamie’s dad didn't really change his views left me a bit bothered as well.

It is of course the characters who bring this story to life. Jamie’s voice is wonderful and refreshing. As Master Yoda said in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones “Truly wonderful the mind of a child is” and that is true of Jamie. His innocence and his view of the world was captivating. His wonder, especially when it came to Sunya and her family was beautiful. His struggle to not let his father down, his hope for his mother’s return was poetic in a way. Sometimes yes he could be a little annoying, but then have you met a ten year-old boy who didn't annoy you sometimes? His relationship with his sister Jasmine was sweet and touching. What I admired about Jamie was how he tried to get Jasmine to step away from Rose’s shadow and be her own person. Jas too was a great character. I felt like she took on the role of mother for Jamie while their mother was absent from their lives. She took care of him and often times she was the parent in the family because of their dad’s alcoholism and their mother’s abandonment. As a reader you wanted her to have a bright future because she deserved it after all the pain she had been through.

As for Jamie’s parents I can't say I liked either one of them and it surprised me that authorities would allow Jamie’s dad to have the children considering he’s an alcoholic. It is obvious why he turned to alcoholism and it is sad, but I can't help feeling that he took the coward’s way out instead of facing the reality of what happened. I only say this because my dad lost his second older sister to Cancer when she was 18 years old. He always says my grandparents were never the same afterwards and the only reason my gramps continued to practice Law was because he had two other children and a wife to look after. Yes grief is personal, especially when it involves a child, but don’t parents owe it to their remaining children to face the tragedy as a family? I don’t know if there is a right answer, but I can’t help the way I feel. I think I was more angry at Jamie’s mother for running off with another man from her support group and abandoning her children. I just couldn't understand how she could even not send a present for her own child’s birthday and the fact that she felt like she was suffocating in the presence of her living children was sad. It truly was. I felt sorry for the entire family at that point, but like Jamie’s father I felt like she didn't try to be there for her own children. I understand having problems with your husband, but I felt she failed as a mother as well because she left her children.

Sunya was the Ying to Jamie’s Yang. She provided a different perspective for Jamie and the fact that she tried hard to be Jamie’s friend was admirable. And I loved her answer to when Jamie said it was sad the Koran made her cover up her hair with the Hijab.


  I don’t cover up my hair because it is bad. I cover it up because it is good. Mum saves her hair for Dad. No other man can see it. It makes it more special.
.

Even though Jamie’s grandmother wasn't physically present in the story, I loved how Jamie remembered her little anecdotes. They made me laugh because he would remember them at the most awkward moments. As for some of Jamie’s schoolmates, they weren't necessarily likable and I’m sure they weren’t supposed to be, but their presence and actions were what allowed Jamie to find his inner strength and speak up. I really liked that aspect of the book towards the end. This passage at the end made me tear up. I can’t imagine what it’s like for an older sibling to have their younger brother or sister look up to them and I thought this was really touching.


  I want to tell you something. Something important. You know the song you sang onstage. That’s how I feel about you. Your strength gives me the courage to fly.


Overall My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece was a beautiful book and I don't have enough adjectives to describe how much I adored it. It was written well and the characters were all so realistic. Jamie made you laugh, think and left you wanting to see the world from the eyes of the child to capture the enchantment you felt for it at a younger age.

My Recommendation: 5/5

Would I recommend it? Yes

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97% 

Wow This book has been a complete discovery! I bought it at a second-handed store and I didn't know anything about it. I just saw "children's novel" and "funny" on the cover and I bought it, thinking it would be a really light novel. But...

Well, let's just say that I have never read a book more impactful and complex. I absolutely loved this book. Although it's for and from the point of view of a child, I believe that adults can read it and enjoy it more than a child, as it touches really deep themes, such as death, assassination, racism, bullying, abandonment, and much more. 

This book will forever have a place in my library and I recommend it to everyone. However, I'm not very sure if I would classify it as a "children's novel".

sarina

This book was both saddening yet heartwarming at the same time. I especially love the fact that the book was written in the perspective of a child. The extremely descriptive narration made this book so much better. Check TW’s before reading!! 

My sister Rose lives on the mantelpiece. Well, some of her does. A collarbone, two ribs, a bit of skull, and a little toe. To ten-year-old Jamie, his family has fallen apart because of the loss of someone he barely remembers: his sister Rose, who died five years ago in a terrorist bombing. To his father, life is impossible to make sense of when he lives in a world that could so cruelly take away a ten-year-old girl. To Rose's surviving fifteen year old twin, Jas, everyday she lives in Rose's ever present shadow, forever feeling the loss like a limb, but unable to be seen for herself alone. Told with warmth and humor, this powerful novel is a sophisticated take on one family's struggle to make sense of the loss that's torn them apart... and their discovery of what it means to stay together.

Holly Jones

For a children's book it includes quiet mature ideas regarding terrorism and islamiphobia. This may be considered offensive by some readers

Scarlett 

Marie 🕊

Andrea Pozo

Marta Costa 🐰

Libby Kingston

Ten-year-old Jamie Matthews has just moved to the Lake District with his Dad and his teenage sister, Jasmine for a 'Fresh New Start'. Five years ago his sister's twin, Rose, was blown up by a terrorist bomb. His parents are wrecked by their grief, Jasmine turns to piercing, pink hair and stops eating. The family falls apart. But Jamie hasn't cried in all that time. To him Rose is just a distant memory. Jamie is far more interested in his cat, Roger, his birthday Spiderman T-shirt, and in keeping his new friend Sunya a secret from his dad. And in his deep longing and unshakeable belief that his Mum will come back to the family she walked out on months ago. When he sees a TV advert for a talent show, he feels certain that this will change everything and bring them all back together once and for all.

Shannon Tuck

Ana Cob

My sister lives on the mantelpiece. Well, some of her does. Everyone kept saying it would get better with time, but thats just one of those lies that grown ups tell. Five years on, it.s worse than ever: Dad drinks, Mums gone and Jamies left with questions that he must answer for himself.

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece

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