My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece by Annabel Pitcher

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Publication date: 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 211
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 12+

Jamie's family has been orbiting around the urn on their mantlepiece for five years. Then Jamie's mother leaves them and Jamie and his sister, Jas, move out of London with their father. Jamie is forced to face the truth of his dad's drinking, his sister's death, and his mom's new life.

This is Pitcher's debut novel, and while nominated for several awards, I found Ketchup Clouds to be a more superior read. Jamie is the narrator, and at ten years old, I found it hard to read. Then there was the way that there was no conversation--anytime Jamie recorded when someone spoke, it was written in italics. This ended up being draining on my brain. I just wanted conversation, set in a familiar way.

Other than that, the story is really interesting. The trials of a family still reeling from a child's death, how that effects their actions and thoughts, and what it does to Jamie who doesn't remember his sister. The end was hopeful, but honest, which seemed to make up for the frustration I felt while reading the book.

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