Dealing with Loss

MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTELPIECE by Annabel Pitcher. Little Brown, 2012.

Jamie was only a child when his sister Rose was killed in a terrorist attack as they played in a park in London. Rose's twin, Jas, is the anchor in jamie's life as his father is too consumed with his own grief. The urn with Rose's remains (and Jamie observes there was not much left) seems to almost glare down from its place of honor on the mantelpiece. Jamie remembers almost nothing about Rose and longs for a father who would be more involved in the present than in the past. When Jamie becomes friends of sorts with Sunya, a Muslim girl in his class, he knows his father would disapprove. After all, as his father roars, "Muslims killed your sister." Bullies, loss, moving on, and so much more make this an unforgettable novel. <578>