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Mi Hermana Vive Sobre La Repisa De La Chimenea (2012)

by Annabel Pitcher(Favorite Author)

4.03 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

8498415446 (ISBN13: 9788498415445)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

Siruela

review 1: This is the warm and tender story of a family's grief told, often humourously, through the perspective of the ten year old son, Jamie. My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece is the exploration of how tragedy impacts on individual family members and how each member of the family learns to grieve and move forward. Although the premise of this story is tragic, it is hopeful and beautiful. Annabel Pitcher's writing is subtle and descriptive, often saying a great deal in a simple fashion. The story is set in England, with both the family home and Jamie's school featuring as important locations for developing ideas about relationships and personal identity. This is an ideal read for above average Stage 4 readers, probably better suited to Year 8 than Year 7. It is a completely engag... moreing story, gentle but confronting. It is highly recommended.
review 2: I listened to the audio version of this book by Annabel Pitcher; it was narrated by David Tennant.When we meet ten-year-old Jamie Matthews, he is living in London with his family... his mother, father and fifteen year old sister, Jas... oh yeah, and his other sister, Rose.... Rose lives in an urn on the mantelpiece. What we first notice about Jamie is that he is a sweet, average 10 year old boy... he loves his big orange cat, Roger; he loves super heroes and especially loves Spider Man and he loves his family. But it's also quickly apparent that Jamie's family has become completely unglued. You see, five years prior, Rose (who is the identical twin to Jas), was killed in a terrorist bombing. Since that time, the family has been falling apart in its grief.Finally, unable to find solace in her husband and family, Jamie's mother finds comfort in a man she met in a support group and she leaves her family behind. Jamie's father, wishing to get away from London, takes Jamie and Jas and moves to the countryside... to a little village by the sea called Ambleside. Jamie's father assures them that they will have a fresh start; but upon arriving, he once again deposits the urn on the mantelpiece; and Jamie and Jas realize that this change in scenery will NOT be a fresh start after all. For the past five years, on the anniversary of Rose's death, Jamie's father has attempted to take her ashes to the beach and scatter them at sea.Each time, he is unable to let go and returns her urn to the mantelpiece. 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.Perhaps this story seems a bit simplistic and childish in the solution it presents to this boy's grief and loneliness; but I have thought a great deal about this book since I finished it and I think that sometimes the best solutions are INDEED the simplest ones; and sometimes that simple answer can be seen only through the eyes of a child.... a child who isn't bogged down by a lifetime of prejudices and outdated ways of looking at the world. This story was told in Jamie's voice and it was one not only of loss and grief but also one of an unlikely friendship, which allowed him to cope and heal and which inspired him to hope that his family would survive. Through Jamie's friendship with Sunya, he was able to see with his heart and through her compassion and understanding he came to believe that the strange and wonderful ties which had pulled his family apart might one day pull them back together again. This story was heartbreaking but also incredibly hopeful. It explored the power of human connections and human beings' capacity for compassion.David Tennant did a wonderful job in giving Jamie a voice. less

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