My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher

 My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece 

by Annabel Pitcher

 

 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.

Everyone kept saying it would get better with time, but that's just one of those lies that grown-ups tell in awkward situations. Five years on, it's worse than ever: Dad drinks, Mum's gone and Jamie's left with questions that he must answer for himself.

This is his story, an unflinchingly real yet heart-warming account of a young boy's struggle to make sense of the loss that tore his family apart.

 Jamie, his sister Jasmine and their dad move house. Jamie's mother stays behind as she is divorced from his father and she is devoted to her new love Nigel. Jamie's sister-Rose- Jamsmine's twin- was killed by a bomb which exploded in a bin in a park in London. Following this Jamie's family is torn apart. He himself doesn't miss Rose as he doesn't remember her...Jamie soon becomes great friends with a muslim girl called Sunya. She is talented at art, has sparkling eyes and wears a hijab but complications arise as Jamie's dad claims"Muslims killed my daughter"...

 Jamie is a wonderful narrator as he tells his story honestly, his comparisons are so accurate and appropriate but are quite humourous also. Stories with a child as the narrator, are often powerful stories, if the author portrays the innocence, honesty and imagination of that child eg.'The Boy in the Striped Pjamas' by John Boyne. Jamie's story is not a fairytale but its realistic nature is very relatable and compelling. He is a character I want to craddle in my arms but that's thankfully why Annabel Pitcher created Jasamine to protect, comfort and support him.

 

Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- I really liked it.(4/5 cats)
Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/re...

It was a heart warming story, it did proclaim useful life advice but for some unseen, unexplainable reason I can't give it 5/5 cats... Perhaps, I may be just drawn to more exciting, page turning, addictive books but that is just my own personal genre preference. 
The book had a steady flow but it lacked an exhilarating twist which would of undoubtedly led to another cat on the rating.