My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece

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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. I stared up at the sky and raised my middle finger, just in case God was watching. I don’t like being spied on.” This child is brilliant. Jamie is a brilliant character. When he was five his sister died, but he does not mourn her, because he never truly knew her, nor does he remember her. How can his parents expect him to constantly suffer for someone who never had a chance to be a part of his family? Does he know it is okay to not feel sad over someone you don’t love? It is okay to cry for those lost, but it is also okay to not cry for those we never knew. How can his parents still think he is not “grieving right”? Apart from this he has to deal with his mother’s abandonment for someone else that “understands her,” as he is no longer part of her life. And his father’s ignorance, his fear and belief that all Muslims are evil bastards that commit terrorist acts. He battles this view since Sunya keeps befriending him. I won't write more about the important relationships in the books, because to me, a huge part of the story's magic relies on seeing them bloom for yourself. I quite liked how the author depicted most of the adult as well as the kids as complex characters, and how they interacted with each other. However, I wasn't a fan of the parts that took place at school because they featured some pretty horrible characters, but I think Sunya's presence made up for it. Autorka se citlivě dotýká spousty témat (alkoholismus, anorexie, rozvod, šikana, rasismus...) a zpracovává je vážně dobře. Jen mi vadilo, že zvlášť hlavní hrdina občas některé z nich ignoroval. My sister lives on the mantelpiece. Well, some of her does. Everyone kept saying it would get better with time, but that's just one of those lies that grown-ups tell. Five years on, it's worse than ever: Dad drinks, Mums gone and Jamie's left with questions that he must answer for himself

That's my rating if you consider everything. The plot and the writing and all of that stuff about which I care about when rating a book. Let's imagine, however, that my rating was only based on the range and depth of emotions this book made me feel. Then it would easily be a 10/5 stars read.

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. The parents also idolize Rose, to them she never did anything wrong, as if all she did no longer mattered, because she had died so tragically. It made me feel like the parents were not really in pain, but rather pretending that they were, because they did not have much to be proud of her, so they chose to ignore it, rather than see it as what it was, part of her personality. And this is not to say they did not love her, nor that they were not hurting, but that they felt somehow guilty, I din’t really remember where I am going with this, so make of it what you will. Ten-year-old Jamie hasn't cried since it happened. He knows he should have - Jasmine cried, Mum cried, Dad still cries. Roger didn't, but then he is just a cat and didn't know Rose that well, really.

when I walked past her parents' bedroom on the way to the loo, there weren't any signs of bombs... (as his father has told him all Muslims build bombs).Dura, muy dura, pero estar narrada bajo la voz de un niño hace que esa ingenuidad le reste crudeza (o puede que esa misma voz infantil lo haga más emotivo). Young Jamie Matthews: 7-10 years old to play a 7-year-old. An innocent little boy, reliant on his mother and father. But don't think this is a downer, though it did have me crying at one part. The voice of Jamie is so real, and so natural and so funny it kept be going, as was his friend Sunya, who knows that she is also the odd one out, as well, because she is Muslim and wears a hijab, in very white, Christian school. So even though his sister had been killed, his parents were getting divorced and he was feeling terribly sad and lonely, he still had to carry on and try to stay positive, no matter what. It's a great reminder that we often don't always know what's happening in our friends' lives and sometimes they might be feeling sad at school because of what's going on at home. Después de leer este libro me dan ganas de abrazar a Jaime, a Sunya, a Jas, a Leo e incluso al señor Matthews, que en ocasiones me dieron ganas de gritarle, sacudirlo y que de una puñetera vez reaccionase al ver como trataba en ocasiones a sus hijos... Pero no lo puedo culparlo y reprocharlo del todo cuando aún recuerda con dolor a Rose y no asume la perdida, especialmente bajo las circunstancias en que murió su hija.

Sometimes when I wake up, I forget that she's gone and then I remember and my heart drops like it does when you miss a step or trip over a kerb.” The family ambles on.... Jamie's father seeks solace in the bottom of a vodka bottle; Jas dyes her hair pink and pierces her nose and Jamie.... well, he starts his new school feeling alone and bewildered and even feeling guilty because he can't even REMEMBER Rose. He wears the same Spider man t-shirt day after day , telling himself that he won't change it or even wash it until his mother comes home. But as sometimes happens, Jamie's life takes an unexpected turn... he makes a friend... a girl named Sunya. What Jamie first notices about Sunya is that she wears a hijab; so he realizes she is Muslim. He also knows that his father would never understand or approve of his friendship with Sunya. After all, his father tells him repeatedly that Muslims killed his sister. But all Jamie knows is that in addition to their shared love of super heroes, this girl has the most amazing, expressive dark eyes.... they sparkle. And Jamie discovers that he can make her laugh and that making her laugh makes him happy... and it makes her eyes flash and smile. He knows that she looks at him with understanding and for the first time, in a very long time, he doesn't feel so alone. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece wins Branford Boase award". BBC News. 6 July 2012 . Retrieved 23 March 2013. I listened to the audio version of this book by Annabel Pitcher and it was narrated by David Tennant.Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-alpha-20201231-10-g1236 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9752 Ocr_module_version 0.0.13 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-WL-2000033 Openlibrary_edition Just before Jamie's 10th birthday, Jamie, Jas, their dad and Roger move to the Lake District and this is where the story starts. Jamie has to cope with starting at a new school and making new friends as best as he can without the help of either of his parents. His dad's too sad and his mum's not there. Throughout the book, all he wants is to have a happy family again. Stagehand: 12-16 years old to play a young man. A gloomy, angry and comedic character who steals the second act with his pessimistic attitude. While Jamie and Sunya's relationship is born of struggle, Jamie's relationship with his sister Jas is based purely on love. This is the relationship that made me cry. Jas is just a kid herself and she's lost her twin, but she refuses to let Jamie be hurt. She tries to do the job of two parents as best as her 15-year-old self can. Older sisters, be sure to drain the battery on your phone beforehand so you don't end up calling your mortified younger brothers.