80 Books No. 37: My sister lives on the mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher

And so back into teen fiction...

Actually, I didn't know this was teen fiction when I bought it in a charity shop. I just liked the title; it sounded weird and off-beat, and I like those kinds of books. It was only when I'd read about two pages that I thought 'ah, this is aimed at teenagers'. Which, as we've seen before, is no bad thing when it comes to me.

So this particular novel explores the ever-cheerful world of being a child when.... your sister has died in a terrorist explosion and your family has imploded as a result. Teen books are super depressing. But then being a teenager can be quite depressing so at least these books don't alienate them by making them think everybody else is living the 90210 lifestyle. Some children have to grow up in the Lake District with frankly one of the most hideous teachers I've ever seen depicted in literature (not including Miss Trunchbull, but then she is pretty unbelievable. The teacher in this one is all too truthful.).

The narrator of this book is 10-year-old Jamie who won't admit that he doesn't actually miss his sister Rose. It's likely deliberate that so much of the novel is obvious to an older reader but missed by him as he is, after all, only ten. I'm being very unfair in grumbling about it, but grumble I will anyway; it's my blog.

The characters were perhaps slightly 2D - his mother deserved a massive slap, his father a slightly less harsh one cause at least he was actually there in body if not in mind. Jasmine, Rose's twin sister was, for me, the most interesting character, but then I always like reading about teenage girls cause I was one once. The bonus story told from her point of view at the end of the novel was ten times livelier for me than Jamie's narrative.

Yet despite all of this it made me cry. I've probably spoiled this story completely for anybody who really wants to read it, but I'll hold off on what actually made me cry. Suffice to say, it's not the death of Rose which upsets me, or Jamie's longing to see his mum. I'm twisted like that.

Coincidentally, a thread on TES forums named this as a book their school study and I am looking for fresh texts for Key Stage 3. However, I'll be steering clear of this one: the amount of times it uses the word 'dickhead' just opens too many cans of worms for my liking.