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Recommended by Natasha Raheem (@NRaheem06)
Form and genre: Novel
Length: 256 pages
Summary: 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 (Wikipedia).
Age recommendation and challenging content:
Year 8
Offensive language
Bereavement
Terrorism
Notable reasons for recommending this book: Cultural value- diversity and empathy. It’s funny in parts and very moving.