While Jamie and Sunya's relationship is born of struggle, Jamie's relationship with his sister Jas is based purely on love. This is the relationship that made me cry. Jas is just a kid herself and she's lost her twin, but she refuses to let Jamie be hurt. She tries to do the job of two parents as best as her 15-year-old self can. Older sisters, be sure to drain the battery on your phone beforehand so you don't end up calling your mortified younger brothers. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is a very good story about the effects of an act of terrorism on a family. A lot of sad things happen, but there are good things too. This book was about a boy called Jamie who had twin older sisters. When he was five his family had a picnic and one of his older sisters, Rose, was blown up by a terrorist bomb. Jamie hasn't cried in the five years his sister has been dead. On his sister's birthday his mum walks out on them. A través de Jaime nos cuenta como es su vida junto con una familia destructurada, de su día a día en su nueva escuela, su esperanza de volver a ver su madre mientras todos los días se pone su camisa de Spiderman y de su amistad con Sunya. Es difícil no querer a Jaime. Su voz es tan fuerte que siempre he terminado poniéndome de su parte y querer ver todo desde su punto de vista. Aunque hay que reconocer que una vez en nuestras vidas hemos vivido desde ese punto de vista cuando eramos muy chicos. Mrs. Farmers:14-18 years old to play an adult. An inadequate and comedic 5th Grade teacher, who is oblivious to the goings-on in her classroom.

Ensemble: To be made up of Rose, Young Jamie, Stagehand, Nurse, Mrs. Farmers, Nigel, Daniel, and Aisha Al-Wasi. I recommend this book to people who like a sad story but that has some funny parts. If you like Jacqueline Wilson's Diamond Girls where the mum just lies in bed the whole time and doesn't take care of her four girls, you'll love this. Rose Matthews: 8-12 years old to play a 9-year-old. A twin of Jas, who Rose likes to tease. She doesn't, however, realize it's lowering Jas's self-esteem. She is always trying to out-do Jas to be the perfect daughter. Jamie grieves the loss of his family and his parents' marriage, but he doesn't cry over the sister he barely remembers. How can he? He was 5 years old when she died. His parents and various therapists, though, tell him it just hasn't hit him yet. His mother once made him change a school essay on a special person from a soccer player to Rose, and the story she made him use resulted in his being teased mercilessly by the other students. Poor kid. Over 20 years later and parents still don't understand. As much as I hated Jamie's parents, I loved this storyline because I wonder how many kids who've prematurely lost parents and siblings and relatives are acting how they THINK they should instead of how they actually feel. And I wonder how many kids know that it's okay to feel... nothing. Or close to nothing. How do you mourn someone you barely know or remember? I always hear kids being told that it's okay to cry, it's okay to cry, but it's also okay not to cry.Young Jamie Matthews: 7-10 years old to play a 7-year-old. An innocent little boy, reliant on his mother and father. Jamie's realationship with his parents is incredibly important in the book, and i really don't know how to talk about it without giving a lot away. It certainly contributes to the feeling of helplessness that lingers throughout the whole narrative, and makes you ponder about just how important family bonds are when you're Jamie's age.

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.

In fact she was quite bad and according to Jas she was naughty at school, but no one seems to remember that now she is all dead and perfect.” urn:lcp:mysisterlivesonm0000pitc_e0c5:epub:3b44c642-0bda-48dd-b64b-fe7f534df508 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier mysisterlivesonm0000pitc_e0c5 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t4kn0cr7h Invoice 1652 Isbn 9781780620299

Two days later, something changes his mind. What happens and what was so special and exciting about it? 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. Aisha Al-Wasi: 14-18 years old to play an adult. The loving mother of Sunya, who befriends Jamie, but who has a blow out with Jamie's father when he reveals how racist his family is. She is protective of her daughter, and won't stand anyone treating her with disrespect because she's different. Ten-year-old Jamie Mathews and his family, consisting of his sister, Jasmine, who is 15, and his father, an alcoholic, moves to the Lake District from London after Jamie's mother has an affair and leaves. Sitting on the Mantelpiece in their new home is the ashes of Rose, Jas's twin sister, who was killed on September 9 in the London Bombings, five years earlier. Jas has been deeply troubled by the death of her sister, yet it doesn't bother Jamie since he was too young to really know Rose and thus he hasn't cried since. At his new school, a Church of England school, Jamie befriends Sunya, who is a Muslim. Jamie knows his father wouldn't approve of their friendship, as he hates Muslims and blames Rose's death on the entire Muslim population.Sunya is another brilliant character. She is too young in my opinion to wear a hijab, but she wants to, and she doesn’t let other’s opinions of this and her culture stop her bad-assery. She goes by Girl-M, her superhero name, and is very witty and kind, and ever so clever when it comes to taking revenge on the bullies. (Her hijab is an important part of the book later on, so pay attention, so sad and good I want to cry.) Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2021-05-19 09:01:10 Boxid IA40116622 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier je veľká pravda, že táto kniha nie je megagigadokonalá. Ale čo koho do toho? Pre mňa osobne sú najlepšie knihy také, kde si zamilujete postavy a ste rozhodnutí ísť s nimi na koniec sveta. Prežívate s nimi všetko, čo oni a vnímate svet ich očami, ste odhodlaní za ne bojovať. To preto som dal Súboji kráľov jednu hviezdu, pretože aj napriek tomu, že štýl Martina je skvelý a jeho svet nemá najmenšej chybičky, postavy so mnou nič nerobili, nič mi nehovorili a bolo mi úplne jedno, či ich Martin v danej kapitole odbachne. I was almost finished writing a review for this when I pressed a button that made it all disappear. SO now I'm mad. I won't write more about the important relationships in the books, because to me, a huge part of the story's magic relies on seeing them bloom for yourself. I quite liked how the author depicted most of the adult as well as the kids as complex characters, and how they interacted with each other. However, I wasn't a fan of the parts that took place at school because they featured some pretty horrible characters, but I think Sunya's presence made up for it.

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. But mostly, it's about a family crumbling under the strain of losing a child. Jamie's mother has left the family. His father drinks and is so caught up in his memories of his dead daughter that he can't really see his living children. Jamie's lovely sister, Jasmine, is trying so hard to give Jamie the love, support, and nurturing that he needs. But she's fifteen, and she has issues of her own. It's Jamie's bland acceptance of his family situation as is that's so heartbreaking. At one point, his father hugs him, and he somewhat proudly refers to it as the first ever hug from his father in his life. My heart felt a little more dented after that. It's also about friendship and loyalty, revolving largely around Jamie's friendship with the absolutely delightful Sunya. She's smart, bubbling with energy, clever, and wonderfully confident. And she's a Muslim girl who wears a hijab. This isn't a problem for Jamie so much as it is for his father. Because, as he says so often, Muslims killed his daughter. So yes, there's a thread of bigotry here, as Jamie struggles with his warring impulses to be a good son and a good friend.

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The narrator of the story is a ten year old boy and if you think the complexity is compromised by the young age of the narrator and protagonist, please think again. The best thing about using such young mediums to tell a grown up story is that there are so many chances of saying the profoundest of things in the simplest of ways. You know the saying…”from the mouths of babes…?” Yeah. Jamie’s portrayal of his life, of his longing for his mother, of his inability to steer through the shark infested waters that is elementary school rife with bullies and biased teachers is so on the point that you cannot help but be drawn immediately into the story. His voice is fresh, wondering and perhaps, a little intentionally, cheeky. His observations are pertinent and at times may, again unintentionally, make you snort out with laughter. His relationships with his parents and his remaining sister are also shown in a beautiful manner. Dad (Robert Matthews): 14-18 years old to play an adult. A father who's wife left him after the death of one of his daughters. He is a drunk, constantly hung-over, and a terrible parent. He doesn't care about his current children because he's too caught up in the grief of losing Rose. He feels neglected by his wife, and misses her. He is extremely racist towards Muslims because he believes Muslims were the ones who planted the bomb that killed his daughter. My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece is a 2011 novel written by Annabel Pitcher. It won the 2012 Branford Boase Award, [1] and received at least 25 other award nominations. [2] 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.