My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece - by Annabel Pitcher (Paperback)

About the Book

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 Spider-Man T-shirt, and keeping his new Muslim friend Sunya a secret from his father.

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

* "[A] striking debut. Realistic, gritty and uplifting."--Kirkus (starred review)

* "Compelling and believable...by turns heartbreaking and hysterically funny... This is an important book that could be used in classes and book-discussion groups. Don't let it fall through the cracks."--School Library Journal (starred review)

* "In this powerfully honest, quirkily humorous debut novel...Pitcher tackles grief, prejudice, religion, bullying, and familial instability."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

* "Straddles that fine line between funny and tragic... As a study of grief's collateral damage, it deals with the topic realistically without losing sight of hope."--Booklist (starred review)

About the Author

Annabel Pitcher is the award-winning author of My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece and Yours Truly. She graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in Yorkshire, England, with her husband, son, and dog.