When we were leaving London, Dad spent about an hour trying to push his wardrobe through the bedroom door. He turned it on its side. He tried it upside down. He tilted it one way and then the other but it just would not fit. Words like "Mum" and "Affair" and "Dad" and "Drinking" were just like that wardrobe--too big to get out. No matter what I did, I couldn't fit them through the space between my teeth.” Daniel Crawford: 12-16 years old to play a 12-year-old. A bully who likes to prod anyone who's different. He is horrible to both Jamie and to Sunya, which draws the two of them together as friends to rise up against him.

Two days later, something changes his mind. What happens and what was so special and exciting about it? I also think it would make a great film or television series, but only for older children. If it was for younger children, many of the serious bits would have to be taken out of the story. A middle grade book dealing with terrorism and death? Needless to say, I had my doubts. However, Annabel Pitcher confronts issues like hate, loyalty, and loss in such a straightforward way that its simplicity belies its depth. Even more impressive, she confronts the pressure to grieve.

Mom (Eve Matthews): 14-18 years old to play an adult. A mother who left her family after her husband became too controlling in the aftermath of their daughter's death. She felt constricted, and had an affair with another man. She leaves her family behind and moves to Chicago with her boyfriend, Nigel. Seeing her kids again after months makes her wonder if she made the right decision. The sibling relationship was one of the strongest points of the book. After their child-abandoning-mother and their alcoholic-Islamophobic-father basically abandon their children, Jas, the sister, takes care of Jamie and becomes the parent figure. Their mum could not stand Jas no longer looking like an exact replica of Rose and ran as fast as she could, then their father moves them to a small town where he is going to work, but instead spends his time drinking himself into oblivion while staring at Rose’s ashes. There is also a cat in this novel and though it does not talk, it has as much presence (if not more) than a person. You have to admire authors who can make you react that way to an animal that is presented throughout the whole novel through someone else’s eyes. It's sad to say that a book like this is timely and necessary, especially for a younger audience, but it is. It's also hopeful and surprising. A very strong debut by first time author Annabel Pitcher. His mother leaves, his father turns to alcohol, and faced with the daunting prospect of their new school in the Lake District, Jamie and his sister Jasmine are left to fend for themselves.

Yo no veo qué tienen de sagrado un montón de muñecas viejas, un edredón rosa maloliente y un oso de peluche calvo.” In this book I like how Annabel Pitcher writes through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy. Jamie is a normal boy whose family is traumatised. The author has done an exceptional job of displaying the emotions of the characters, it is this and Jamie's hopeful outlook that make the book flow brilliantly and make you want to read every last word. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is one of the best books I've ever read and I really, really hope it is translated into French so that all my French friends can read it, as well! And this line, which reminds me of Lilo and Stitch (which also made me cry by the way), the part where Stitch "This is my family. I found it, all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.", but in this case Jamie says:Sometimes Mrs Farmer said it’s too cold for rain and that’s how Dad’s face looked. Too sad for tears.” Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2021-05-19 09:01:10 Boxid IA40116622 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier

Jamie Matthews: 10-14 years old to play a 10-year-old. Naïve and unassuming. He doesn't realize anything is wrong in his dysfunctional family because it is all he's ever known. He loves Jas more than anything in the world because he feels she's the only person who cares. He still wants to believe his mother is coming home, even though she's not. Fifteen-year-old Zoe attempts to come to terms with a dark secret by writing letters to a murderer awaiting execution on Death Row. Ensemble: To be made up of Rose, Young Jamie, Stagehand, Nurse, Mrs. Farmers, Nigel, Daniel, and Aisha Al-Wasi.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