I just finished My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher and I it is so hard to write a review for this book. It was definitely unlike any other book I have read before.



Likes:

The book is written through the POV of a ten-year-old boy named Jamie. It was really interesting to look at life through his eyes, especially after the death of his sister, Rose.

Rose’s death was so current with the daily acts of terrorism in the world. I have read stories about families affected by terroristic acts in the US, but not any other part of the country. There are bombings on the news all the time and it was really moving to read a story where the random act of terrorism really broke apart a family.

Jamie’s character was so pure, he didn’t want to discriminate against Muslims and he really didn’t understand death. It was neat to see through his eyes and feel his pain as his mother and father broke up because of the death of Rose.

The writing style in this book was amazing. It was so unique and interesting. The book seriously starts with “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.“



Gripes

Instead of quotations Annabel chose to use italics. It was sometimes hard to distinguish who was talking and I had to reread sentences a few times.

I believe it is aimed at as a young adult book, at least that is how my library categorized it, but I think it was more middle school or lower. I think younger adults could definitely understand the themes in the story.

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A Flurry of Ponderings