A purely innocent yet realistic outlook. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece should be read for Jamie's voice alone. The title alone is a little off-putting, which I was personally drawn to to tickle my morbid tastebuds. Don't let the title trick you; Annabel Pitcher's prose is just quiet enough to handle the delicacy of a deceased sibling/daughter. The logic and comprehension of a 10 year-old reads as authentic.
I'm a tiny-bit cross about this novel - it's "young adult" themed, though flat-out expressed through a middle grade voice. It's hard to place a novel of this nature. I felt the same way while reading Jo Knowles' See You At Harry's. The Tragedy of My Sister Live on the Mantelpiece is offset by Jamie's passive and simpler attitude/maturity level. I recall Fern being slightly older, though she is clearly more mature, mentally.
Jamie's parents were distraught to the point where they were no longer parents. To me this lack of parental/emotional support felt grounded, but incredibly depressing. Whenever his father would peek out from his bottle, I would think how would I have gotten through this? I most certainly would have shriveled up, or needed a significant amount of counseling, but that's just how I couldn't relate to Jamie. 4/5 stars.
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