My sister Rose lives on the mantelpiece.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Simply...'Wow'
By Helen Simpson
The central character is 10 year old Jamie and through him we see how the whole family is coping (or not) after the death of one of his sisters. The story captures the depth of feeling brilliantly and you really 'live' it along with Jamie, cheering him on one minute and willing him to do the right thing in another. However, even though it has a potentially sombre subject matter it's definitely not depressing. Because of that straightforward commonsense attitude children have it's actually quite humorous. It's rare I laugh out loud when reading a book but I did at this.It captures childhood remarkably well with a good story that tackles grief, but also acceptance, prejudice, bullying, family loyalty and friendship.A young adult novel that is probably aimed at the over ten's, but definitely recommended for adults because there is so much to connect with, especially with the added bonus of life experience.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful.Heart-felt novel that is worth reading
By Amanda Welling
First Impressions: I'm not going to lie. My first impression of My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece wasn't very good. I didn't know what I was walking into. I was assigned the book to read by my wife. I hadn't read the synopsis. I didn't know anything about the book. The book was handed to me with nothing more than a cover. Don't judge a book by its cover because that saying is true. I completely thought this was going to be an Indian in the Cupboard kind of thing. I hated that movie. I didn't have high hopes for the book.In retrospect, I kind of wish the book cover was a bit different. I don't know why the cover gave me an Indian in the Cupboard impression. There is no logical reason for it. But I'm not a very logical person sometimes. I feel bad thinking this now. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is a very loaded book that deserves good recognition for its writing style and content. It's nothing like The Indian in the Cupboard. In fact, I didn't even fall asleep, which I did while watching that horrid movie.Character Impressions: My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece revolves around Jamie. Jamie is a ten year old boy whom some might describe as confused or lost. But he really isn't given his age. Jamie is very honest and down to earth for a ten year old boy. Children have very straight-forward viewpoints. At this age they have not learned the ability to read in between the lines and psychoanalyze the crap out of everything like us adults do. Children are much more simplistic. The attitude Jamie has throughout the book reflects this.Jamie is mostly raised by his older sister, Jasmine. Jasmine is the twin survivor of the sister that lives on the mantelpiece. Their sister, Rose, was murdered during the London bombings. Their father, who becomes a disassociated, prejudicial drunk, isn't handling the family death well. Their mother kind of disappears and abandons the family. So, that leaves Jasmine to raise Jamie. Jasmine still acts out a bit which is to be expected. She lost her twin sister and is losing her parents. But through the book, through her turmoil and teenage angst, she is able to keep it together for Jamie and to start parenting her father.Review: My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is a brilliant book. The story is told through the eyes of this ten year old boy. Obviously, writing through the view of a young child poses challenges for any author. The writer would almost have to dumb-down their language skills and understand the world through a much more inexperienced, untouched, simpler view. Pitcher does an absolutely fabulous job portraying this view point. As we become adults, our experiences tend to shape the way we view the world. Children aren't marred by those experiences yet. Children have a tendency to view the world in its simplest truth.Pitcher further illustrates this point with Jamie's fathers prejudice towards Muslims after the bombing and Jamie's new friendship with Sunya. Sunya is a Muslim girl around Jamie's age. Jamie understands that Sunya can't be blamed for his sister's death just because she is Muslim. Jamie's father invites the friendship with an acidic tongue and harsh views. At times Jamie's father can come across kind of overbearing. Sadly, this isn't uncommon in America today. I see this same attitude spread among many individuals. But Jamie understands the world from a much more innocent perspective where not every Muslim is vilified because of the actions of a few, but where the individual is vilified such as those bullies that pick on Jamie in school.This book is riddled with interesting perspectives such as this. Looking at the world through the eyes of a child can be such an interesting exercise. Another example would be that Jamie doesn't feel overly upset about his sister's death. This isn't because he is a cruel psychopath. This is because he was simply too young to really understand it and he doesn't remember his sister that well. Tying these interesting perspectives together in a perfectly replicated child-like writing style brings together a very interesting read.Final Thoughts: My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece may not be a book for everyone. It is not because this is a horribly written book nor does it have a crappy plot-line or subject matter. The opposite is true, actually. I thought the book was excellently written and very well done. Not only is it entertaining and interesting, but it offers a very simplistic profound thought to ponder. I say it may not be a book for everyone because of the content material. To this day, after 9/11, Americans are still touchy on the subject. It's understandable. But the subject matter may still put some readers off or bring back some emotional pain.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Flawless prose, fresh voice and dark content
By Sab H.
This is a very unique story told by the very unique voice of a 10 year-old, who deals with issues way beyond his years. I'm not sure if it's shelved as middle grade or not, but it felt more for teens or adults. It has a lot of dark and sad content with a level of maturity higher than the character's age.Jamie's older sister was the victim of a terrorist attack when he was just five, so he barely remembers Rose. And his family has fallen apart. His father's hate and sadness is most of the darkness in the book. To be completely honest, while I really enjoyed the originality of the story, it felt heavily depressing at times. I struggled with the situation til the very last page, I felt I needed to reach out and pull this poor kid from his awful life.The prose was flawless, and the voice was very fresh and the characters were vivid and utterly believable. The story itself was extremely believable, and that's part of what depressed me a bit, that I know that kids live like this and worse, and I'm not sure I want to be reminded of that. But then came the last chapter and the very last words and the joy of those moments made it all worth it.Overall, I would recommend this for the older crowd, Young Adults. I think it might be too much to deal for a middle grader. But it is a very compelling read, very well woven, and enjoyable for those who enjoy darkish stories.
