Helpful Score: 16
This novel requires much suspension of disbelief, as it is written from the perspective of a child who had been brutally murdered, and who is watching what is happening to her family and friends from her own heaven. I couldn't put the book down, I was hooked from the first page.
Helpful Score: 16
This is a great book. It was difficult for me to read, because my sister died at the age of 14. Although she was not raped or murdered, it still gave an eerie perspective of the possibility that she may have watched us dealing with the grief and aftermath of her sudden and tragic death.
If you have lost a loved one at a young age, this is a difficult book, but you won't be able to put it down!
If you have lost a loved one at a young age, this is a difficult book, but you won't be able to put it down!
Helpful Score: 14
Though this story dealt with horrid violence, it may leave the reader feeling a sense of... peace. I'm not sure if peace is the right word, or if there is another word that could define the feeling exactly. Whatever the word, it replaces the anger,the unfairness,the heartache that bubbles up after reading the first couple of chapters. Sebold slowly takes you by the hand and leads you through a tragedy of a young student and how it affects her family and friends. More remarkable, she lets you see it through the victim's eyes and heart. Great book, soon to be a movie in 2009.
Helpful Score: 12
I cried, I cried, I cried some more!
The novel is about a young teenage girl who is raped and murdered by her neighbor. She spends the story watching her family from heaven as she narrates, and wishing that she could help them as they all move through separate periods of grief. I know, sounds depressing and awful, right? It's not! It's poetic and beautifully descriptive, and you get sucked right into the story. I would go so far as to say that it's an important book about grieving, but even so, it is a worthwhile read. Wonderful story. I won't be posting my copy, as I can't part with it.
The novel is about a young teenage girl who is raped and murdered by her neighbor. She spends the story watching her family from heaven as she narrates, and wishing that she could help them as they all move through separate periods of grief. I know, sounds depressing and awful, right? It's not! It's poetic and beautifully descriptive, and you get sucked right into the story. I would go so far as to say that it's an important book about grieving, but even so, it is a worthwhile read. Wonderful story. I won't be posting my copy, as I can't part with it.
Helpful Score: 10
Mesmerizing I could not put this book down. It takes a tradedy and makes into a personal quest of change. A beautiful book.
Helpful Score: 10
i have never had such a physical reaction to a book! i had to put the book down after the first chapters. actually felt phsyically ill. but once i was able to pick it back up it was a very unique and touching story. just not for the faint of heart
Helpful Score: 10
Well, this was different. I almost put it down, because the beginning was just a little too much, but I perservered - perhaps because I forked out the money for a hardcover book (which I rarely do) and I'll have to say that while being somewhat freaky, it was a pretty good read. Her characters were interesting.
Helpful Score: 10
A strange book about a disturbing topic. There is nothing uplifting or happy about this story. I know others rave about this book, but I'm going to be in the minority. I didn't like this story. No one really mourned Susie in the way I would have expected. The mother is barely described. Only the father is keenly drawn. The grandmother is a caricature. The worst part is the incredible hard to believe scene near the end of the story.
This book has a lot of hype around it. Perhaps in the hands of a better author it could have been something really great. The premise of the story while incredibly tragic is intriguing, and the story starts out with a very memorable beginning, but the plot and writing just don't deliver. The ending was so unsatisfactory.
[SPOILER ahead] Susie is raped, murdered, and dismembered. After several years in Purgatory, she has the opportunity to switch bodies briefly with her somewhat psychic school friend who is alive on Earth. What does Susie do? Instead of alerting the police to where her remains are (the remains were never found except for an elbow), instead of contacting her grieving family, instead of alerting someone to what exactly happened, instead of all those things she could possibly do to help her case and her family, she has sex with a boy she knew in school!! After having sex, she returns her friend's body back to her, and returns to Purgatory. That makes no sense at all. Susie's last sexual experience as a virgin was a brutal rape. So the first chance she has at communicating with people in the living physical world, she decides to have sex? She wants sex that badly after her last experience with a man? It's very unrealistic and very strange to say the least. I nearly gave up on the book at this point because it was so ridiculous especially considering the author's very public acknowledgment of her own rape during college.
This book has a lot of hype around it. Perhaps in the hands of a better author it could have been something really great. The premise of the story while incredibly tragic is intriguing, and the story starts out with a very memorable beginning, but the plot and writing just don't deliver. The ending was so unsatisfactory.
[SPOILER ahead] Susie is raped, murdered, and dismembered. After several years in Purgatory, she has the opportunity to switch bodies briefly with her somewhat psychic school friend who is alive on Earth. What does Susie do? Instead of alerting the police to where her remains are (the remains were never found except for an elbow), instead of contacting her grieving family, instead of alerting someone to what exactly happened, instead of all those things she could possibly do to help her case and her family, she has sex with a boy she knew in school!! After having sex, she returns her friend's body back to her, and returns to Purgatory. That makes no sense at all. Susie's last sexual experience as a virgin was a brutal rape. So the first chance she has at communicating with people in the living physical world, she decides to have sex? She wants sex that badly after her last experience with a man? It's very unrealistic and very strange to say the least. I nearly gave up on the book at this point because it was so ridiculous especially considering the author's very public acknowledgment of her own rape during college.
Helpful Score: 10
"The Lovely Bones" is a beautiful story. Hard to read, heart-wrenching in parts, but well worth it. The emotions it subjects you to are honest and true, and that is a rare thing. I highly recommend it
Helpful Score: 8
This is a very unusual story of a girl who was murdered, from her point of view. She is in "her heaven", looking down on her family, friends, and even her murderer - watching how each of them deals with her death, and seeing how it affects each person in a very different and special way. It keeps your attention, keeps you wondering how things will or won't resolve themselves in the end. Very good book.
Helpful Score: 8
Written from the view of a dead girl in heaven looking down on her family. I actually read this book while in a Living, Death and Dying class. It was a WONDERFUL book!
Helpful Score: 7
Found this book to be dark and troubling, even though I usually love mystery novels. Perhaps because it involves a child it was unsettling.
Helpful Score: 7
This is one of my all-time favorite books. I was really moved by this story told by the victim of a rape and murder. It's very well written.
Helpful Score: 7
A young victim of murder comments on the lives she left behind on earth from her perch in heaven. Terrifying, sad and uplifting at the same time.
Helpful Score: 7
Sebold's novel has become a staple of bookshelves and reading groups everwhere, because it really is that good. Her elegant prose is engaging and fluid, and the plot is intruiging.
Sebold is a gifted storyteller and even those who did not like the book often praise her imaginative storyline. Finally, her novel is so cleverly written that it makes one forget it's fiction, which is exactly what a good novelist aims for. If you have not read this thought-provoking book, take a chance on it. I highly recommend it.
(Those who have lost a child in a crinimal manner and/or those who are particularly sensitive to sexual crimes may want to avoid this book due to certain images. While not shockingly gruesome, they are somewhat perverse--which fits directly into the plot.)
Sebold is a gifted storyteller and even those who did not like the book often praise her imaginative storyline. Finally, her novel is so cleverly written that it makes one forget it's fiction, which is exactly what a good novelist aims for. If you have not read this thought-provoking book, take a chance on it. I highly recommend it.
(Those who have lost a child in a crinimal manner and/or those who are particularly sensitive to sexual crimes may want to avoid this book due to certain images. While not shockingly gruesome, they are somewhat perverse--which fits directly into the plot.)
Helpful Score: 6
Perhaps it was all the hype about the book that made me expect something more from it. I felt it was flat and the characters just didn't seem fully developed. Maybe because it is written from the perspective of a 14 year-old and her lack of maturity colors the way she views her family as she looks at them from heaven.
Helpful Score: 6
I could not put this book down!! The kind of book that helps you to appreciate what you have in life.
Helpful Score: 6
This is one of the best books that I've read in a very long time. It makes you think about the loved ones that you've lost and the little "chill" that you feel so often. I recommend this book to anyone who has lost someone
Helpful Score: 6
One of the best books I have ever read. A true picture of human relationships and the meaning of love and commitment. I have this in hard back. I read it every year and cry.
Helpful Score: 5
Loved it until the last couple of chapters where it got really stupid. The ending seems too easy. Sebold can do better.
Helpful Score: 5
I really liked this book.You could say that the subject matter was disturbing about a 14 year old girl who is murdered.I thought the author did a wonderful job showing us what a family goes through when they lose a child.I also liked the way the murdered girl describes what heaven looks like to her.I also liked how she could look down from heaven and could see what was going on without her being alive.you could really feel for the characters in this story.The book had me hooked and I read it every chance I got.
Helpful Score: 5
This is about a young girl, raped and murdered - written by her as she settles into heaven, looking back at her family & friends and how they are affected by her murder. This is such a wonderful book. It tells of how a family copes, or doesn't, with the horror of such a thing. It is hard to explain, I'm sure this sounds like a horrendous book, but it isn't. It is most definitely worth your time.
Helpful Score: 5
I know this book has major hype and I have friends that didn't think it was that great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a beautifully written story about a family and the tragic after effects of the murder of a 14 year-old daughter, sister, friend. The author artfully describes how the survivors cope with their loss. This book is a touching account of a family torn apart by one evil act.
Helpful Score: 5
We read this last month in our high school book club, and the students were about 50/50 on liking or disliking this book. It made for a very interesting discussion! Most of the boys did not like it. It is a well-written book, with the subject speaking from "her heaven." There were a few parts that were a tad unnecessary, but mostly, it was a "can't put down" sort of book for me.
Helpful Score: 5
When I had read the blurb on the back of this novel, I had mediocre expectations...the story of a teenage girl, murdered, watching her family from her custom built heaven, narrarating their, and her, story? It sounded sickly sweet, almost contrived, but, seeing raving reviews, I decided to give the book a try. What I found was Alice Sebold has created a beautiful, poignant story that touches the heart and soul without being sappy or preachy or even judgemental about her demise. It simply "is." The writing style is refreshing, the novel flows well and the character development is impressive. Highly recommended!
Helpful Score: 4
I read half way through this book before I put it down - it was boring, the characters were flat and the story dragged on and on. I kept reading chapter after chapter hoping that the something worthwhile would happen - it never did.
Helpful Score: 4
One of the best books I have read this year. This is a painful book about the tragic death of a child. A young girl is murdered in a shocking tale filled with suspense. Not always tragic, this story is often humorous and full of life in spite of the subject. Told in first person, the book has the murdered child telling her story of adjusting to life in heaven while watching her friends and family continue their lives on Earth. Slowly the mystery unfolds and you are unexpectedly handed clues to her death and murderer. You cannot read this book without being affected by the horrific story. I found the most fascinating aspect of the book was the way the tragedy touched so many lives and how those individuals coped with the loss of the child. A very good novel and one that will not disappoint you. Don't let the subject of death put you off of this book. It is surprisingly uplifting. I highly recommend you read this one!
Helpful Score: 4
Alice Sebold hooked me with her first paragraph, the penguin snow globe, and didn't let me go until the end. I can look back and remember that I skipped and skimmed bad descriptions but was never tempted to put the book down. I'm a fan of murder mysteries and thrillers so I didn't find the initial violence gory or difficult to read.
Plenty of people wonder what the dead would say to them if they could give advice. Some also wonder if the dead have a hard time letting go, especially victims of violent crimes. I believe Alice Sebold shows every characters reaction to Suzie's death in an accurate, realistic way, including the much argued about ending which I won't spoil here.
This is truly a story of family and how they deal with and move through their grief over losing a loved one way too soon. I hope you enjoy this book.
Plenty of people wonder what the dead would say to them if they could give advice. Some also wonder if the dead have a hard time letting go, especially victims of violent crimes. I believe Alice Sebold shows every characters reaction to Suzie's death in an accurate, realistic way, including the much argued about ending which I won't spoil here.
This is truly a story of family and how they deal with and move through their grief over losing a loved one way too soon. I hope you enjoy this book.
Helpful Score: 4
I wanted to like this book...and at times I did. The author was excellent at describing a family torn apart by grief, and how the death of a family member echoes through the lives of the living. The story lacked flow at some points as it alternated between heaven and earth. This is the only instance where I have enjoyed a movie more than a book!
Helpful Score: 4
An okay book. A bit slow through the middle but you trudge through to find out the ending. All in all a worthwhile read.
Helpful Score: 4
Picked it up on a whim at the airport and so glad I did. I had absentmindedly put my book for the weekend in my checked bag, so there I was, with hours to kill and no book. I could not put this down once I started. This story punches you in the gut from the get-go and then takes you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. Touching.
Helpful Score: 3
This book is well written and easy to read. It has a unique spin in its POV character which I shan't give away. There is violence (rape) towards the beginning of the book--which is heartbreaking. Overall though, I liked the concept of the story and the main character's views on life. Excellent read if you can get past the rape--it'll be well worth it!
Helpful Score: 3
This is a heart-wrenching weeper of a story that manages to uplift you. It has the most lovely sense of peace surrounding the tale.
Helpful Score: 3
This is an interesting book, but rather dark. The accounts of the afterlife are somewhat strange and disturbing.
Helpful Score: 3
The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow."
Helpful Score: 3
It truely is lovely.... although I thought it bordered on cheesy at the end. All in all though it was a great read.
Helpful Score: 3
I found many parallels between Sebold's TLB and Lisa See's Peony in Love. Both stories are of girls who die tragically before they have come of age. Each girl watches the world below from her heaven as they try to understand thier life and death. As others have said, a haunting and beautiful story. Excellent book club selection.
Helpful Score: 3
I love this book, plain and simple. It's one of the most beautiful coming of age stories ever written with the twist that the main character, a teenage girl, narrates the ongoing saga of her friends and family in the aftermath of her disappearance and death from the vantage point of her version of heaven.
Grab a box of tissues and prepare to stay up all night reading this one. The beauty and heartbreak of this relatively short, unassuming book will stay with you long after you put it down.
Grab a box of tissues and prepare to stay up all night reading this one. The beauty and heartbreak of this relatively short, unassuming book will stay with you long after you put it down.
Helpful Score: 3
I just finished reading Sebold's first novel, "Lucky", and must admit that she has become one of my favorite authors after having read only two books. She writes with such truth and emotion in "The Lovely Bones" in was hard not to become emotionally connected to the story. Sebold is a great memoir writer (Lucky) as is she a story teller (The Lovely Bones). The Lovely Bones is an interesting story and Sebold has told it with great detail and care, its a story I will never forget and a book I will share and re-read time and time again.
Helpful Score: 3
This book was exhausting and I couldn't through it. I couldn't get over a dead narrator talking about the afterlife in a way like she went to live at boarding school, but looked in on her family to catch her killer from time to time.
Helpful Score: 3
I loved this book.. it was a very touching story that urged me to hate certain characters just when my heart was being warmed by others. It's been placed among the favorites on my bookshelf.
Helpful Score: 2
How can you say a book about child abuse and murder is good? Well just read this one. Susie Salmon is already dead when we meet her. She watches from above, watching her family deal with, and come to grips with, their grief. She watches as they attempt to track down her murderer. And while doing this she also comes to grips with her own idea of "heaven".
This book was recommended to me by a 14 year old girl - the same age Susie is when she leaves us. She raved about it.
This book was recommended to me by a 14 year old girl - the same age Susie is when she leaves us. She raved about it.
Helpful Score: 2
this book left me unsettled for a few days after reading it. it so beautifully done and yet the horror of what happend..yikes. you will be glad you read it.
Helpful Score: 2
Amazing. Will make you cling to your family.
Helpful Score: 2
One of the top ten books I have ever read. Once started I COULD NOT put it down.
Helpful Score: 2
I read this book in two nights. It was so good I wanted to stay up all night and read it. I wish it ended a little different, but overall one of the best books I have read in a long time.
Helpful Score: 2
In the over 2,000 books I have read, I would have to say without a doubt this is the best one. It moved me and took me on a ride with Susie. Alice Sebold is an up and coming writer for a reason, I have no doubt she will surpass some of the best authors of our time. She writes almost passively, but in a way that you feel as if you are discovering something with the characters in her book, the way you might look at a best friend and together the two of you are thinking the same thing at the same time, a realization you both dont have to speak, this is what Alice Sebold creates with Susie Salmon, like the fish. And I wont ever forget this book. I will be surprised and awe-stricken if I can ever find another book that can hold a candle to this one. I dont know where this book came from or how Sebolds first fiction book was able to do what established authors have been trying to do for years, but I pray she keeps on doing it.
Helpful Score: 2
A very touching story about a young girl who gets raped and then killed. The story went back and forth and it was a little confusing. What I wanted to happen in the end didn't happen. But it was a good read.
Helpful Score: 2
This book is a National Best Seller. Interesting story that akes the reader think about love, relationships and the loss of youth. Narrator is a dead girl who sees the life she will not lead unfold from heaven.
Helpful Score: 2
Well written story of a young girls adjustment to her new home in heaven. She watches as life on earth goes on and the search that is conducted for her and eventually her killer.
Helpful Score: 2
Chilling account from the point of view of a murdered child. Excellent story, couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 2
A dead girl's narration, a very troubling journey, not a light read. New York times "Mesmerizing".
Helpful Score: 2
The premise behind the book is a very promising one. The first chapter or two draws the reader in with the promise of a fantastic story, even if the writing is a little less sophisticated than expected.
However, that promise soon gives way to the bitter reality of disappointment. The story ends up being surprisingly one- dimensional considering the almost omniscient presence of our narrator. The author suggests grand ideas- these hints for a great plot- but never cultivates any of them! And she has so much to work with! In the end, the reader is left with this cliched and sentimental, poorly written, underdeveloped, outlandish story that leaves you resentful and insulted.
However, that promise soon gives way to the bitter reality of disappointment. The story ends up being surprisingly one- dimensional considering the almost omniscient presence of our narrator. The author suggests grand ideas- these hints for a great plot- but never cultivates any of them! And she has so much to work with! In the end, the reader is left with this cliched and sentimental, poorly written, underdeveloped, outlandish story that leaves you resentful and insulted.
Helpful Score: 2
I know that critics are singing praise for this book that it is destined to become a classic but I found it disturbing (as to the topic of rape and murder)and very interesting (with the way the story was written) at the same time. It is a fast read and the book stays with you a long time. This book is not at all what I expected.
Helpful Score: 2
An excellant book. It is well written. What happens to a family when someone is murder. If is is a child it is devasting. The story is told by the child who is killed. She see what happens to her family. You feel her longing for life. There is perspective on what heaven can be like. You see how the family gets fragmented and how they mend back together.
I recomend this book.
I recomend this book.
Helpful Score: 2
This book has a sad concept, but was very interesting written and kept my attention.
Helpful Score: 2
I absolutely loved this book. It's one that you'll want to read again and again. Ever wonder what happens to a person after they die? Well this book will give you one persons perspective on the matter. It's great!
Helpful Score: 2
I loved this book, though I often found it hard to read. Terrifying, tender, beautiful. Autor Alice Sebold has given us a treasure. Thank you Ms. Sebold.
Helpful Score: 2
Beautiful book. Out of a sensless tragedy, Sebold manages to mix pain and confusion with humor, heart and hope. I don't know about other readers but at many times throughout the novel it made me wonder about my loved ones up in heaven and hoped they were up there in heaven watching down as well, waiting to see me one day. I recommend this to anyone and can't wait to see the movie, although I am doubting it will be as breathtaking as the book was.
Helpful Score: 2
this seems to be one of those books readers either go ga-ga over
or dont get at all...
I loved it.
I liked the author's style and the way she creatively broke up the chapters...
and I adore the idea that those that have passed over are watching us from a gazebo on the edge of heaven.
or dont get at all...
I loved it.
I liked the author's style and the way she creatively broke up the chapters...
and I adore the idea that those that have passed over are watching us from a gazebo on the edge of heaven.
Helpful Score: 2
this is the only book I have read so far that I had to force myself to finish. Was not happy with it's progress. Though an interesting view of Heaven, not worth the read.
Helpful Score: 2
While I enjoyed the author's writing style, and I appreciated the unique perspective of the voice of the murdered young girl, and I even liked all of the characters, the story itself left me cold. I didn't feel good about the ending resolution, sort of felt that it weakened toward the last 1/8 of the story. Because of this, I give it 2 1/2 stars.
Helpful Score: 2
I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story! I recommend it. Lots of book clubs have read this book.....this book was a mix of emotions, but overall I think it is a keeper for me.
Helpful Score: 2
This book is moving and vivid. I can't remember the last time a novel made me weep so much! You will love it!
Helpful Score: 2
Mesmerizing.Extremely well written and unusual way to handle the subject matter. I can see why it has been on the best seller list for so long.
Helpful Score: 2
One of the most intriguing books I have read in a long time...the perspective from which it is told is so novel, and allows the reader to get "inside the heads" of so many of the characters. Couldn't put it down!
Helpful Score: 2
Very well written. I read it quickly because it kept my interest, but I didn't really feel like it was very personal.
Helpful Score: 2
Overly long and unbelievable. Didn't live up to the hype at all.
Helpful Score: 2
Sebold has written an emotionally compelling tale. It's sad and disturbing, but never mawkish or maudlin. Memorable for its originality and sensitivity.
Helpful Score: 2
The story was engrossing. I would never have imagined a story written from the deceased victim's point of view, but it works. I couldn't wait to get to the end. I felt like a member of her family and really cared about the characters. Unique.
Helpful Score: 2
Very rarely do I write reviews, especially about books. I'm just not very good at articulating my thoughts on books! Once in a while though, I come across a book that is so moving, so poignant, that I have to find it in hardcover and keep it forever. This is one of those books. The Lovely Bones is exhausting, but in the very best way possible. You will go on an emotional rollercoaster when you read this, and then be glad that you did after it is all over with. You will realize this when you read the "Monopoly scene." It is so raw and powerful and lifelike that your heart will break. I fear what will happen to this book when it comes to the big screen.
Helpful Score: 2
I wasn't too impressed, it was very stretched out unfortunately but there were parts that kept you going. It's a sad story and it gives a different perspective on heaven, interesting but not one of my top favorites.
Helpful Score: 2
This book definitely hooks you from go and it has a pretty clean, crisp style. Ultimately, it's a pretty odd little book, and a bit of a downer. Well written, and the characters felt real and she never swayed into melodrama. But I just didn't particularly LIKE it.
Helpful Score: 2
Challenging book. Definetly not a young adult/teen book. This book is written from the perspective of a dead girl who is raped and killed in the first chapters of the book. This book was making the rounds with my teen daughter's friends, but I am not comfortable recommending this book for teens.
Helpful Score: 2
I was in tears every chapter of the first half of this book. I did not really embrace her perspective of a spirit being able to influence people or "step" into their bodies once they have departed, so the second half of the book did not continue to hold me emotionally.
Helpful Score: 2
Disturbing and graphic, but thought provoking and interesting, at the same time.
Helpful Score: 2
A very tragic story about a girl who was abducted and murdered. It shows how each family member and friend was affected. The thing that intrigued me most was it showed how the girl was adapting to heaven while at the same time watching how her family and friends were coping on earth.
Helpful Score: 2
Pretty good read. A tale told from the perspective of a young murder victim, who watches her loved ones move on from the beyond. The author skillfully weaves the themes of hope, humor, sorrow, and heartbreak.
Helpful Score: 2
This book explores the dark side the brutal crimes done to our children everyday in america, but it also goes beyond to explore how the families are vicitmized over and over again. Not an easy read for it makes you terrified to let your children out of the house, but very well done. Writing in its most raw form.
Helpful Score: 2
Teen girl is murdered and then gets to look down at her family and world from heaven. I loved this read: I felt many emotions while reading this book...highly recommended!
Helpful Score: 2
Whenever I think that maybe, one day, I could write the Great American Novel, I then think of Alice Sebold and "The Lovely Bones" and realize that I have no shot in hell.
A magnificent, heartbreaking book, bittersweet yet uplifting all at the same time. What true writing is.
A magnificent, heartbreaking book, bittersweet yet uplifting all at the same time. What true writing is.
Helpful Score: 2
this book has it all...murder, love, sadness and joy....all told from the view of a murdered 14 yr old girl. Heart wrenching
Helpful Score: 2
Holy sh-t. I cried and cried.
Helpful Score: 2
I've heard mostly good things about this book, so I decided to read it. The point of view was interesting and unique and the beginning pulled me in. But, about halfway through I was getting bored and the ending was pretty anticlimactic.
Helpful Score: 2
This is a captivating story, told by the spirit of the deceased. Imposible to put it down.
Helpful Score: 2
I could not put this book down. I was surprised at the ending of the story, I kept waiting for a resolution for Susie and it never came...just like life doesn't always have a resolution. Sometimes things just aren't tied up in a pretty bow...just like this story. It did break my heart, though, I cried through most of it.
Helpful Score: 2
This book was written in such a way that I just did not want to put it down. It kept me up later than I ever should have been.
It was a Monthly choice from my book club and everyone gave it exceptional scores.
You want a book that is riviting check this one out.
It was a Monthly choice from my book club and everyone gave it exceptional scores.
You want a book that is riviting check this one out.
Helpful Score: 2
This book is written (unusually) by the character of a girl that was killed when she was 14 and is watching the happenings down on earth. A horrible crime, but this books shows you how love goes on. A very good book.
Helpful Score: 2
This was the best book that I have read in a long time. Amy Sebold's style of writing is extremely easy to read - her words just flow from the page. I honestly couldn't put this book down, and when I did ... I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Helpful Score: 2
Though I knew this was going to be a tough book, I was prepared. As a frequent listener of audiobooks, I expect the narrator to tell the story, as written, in a play-like fashion. The reading of this book was just that, a reading. Maybe it was because the author is the one reading the book. It almost put me to sleep several times -- and since I am listening to this on my drive to and from work! I couldn't finish it. I gave up after starting the 5th disk.
Helpful Score: 2
By far the best book I've come across in a long time.
Alice Sebold describes each and everything to the very bone.
Disturbing in some areas-but she really gets you to grasp exactly how the main character is feeling.
It made me cry several times-it really gets you thinking.
I'd suggest this to anyone everyone.
Alice Sebold describes each and everything to the very bone.
Disturbing in some areas-but she really gets you to grasp exactly how the main character is feeling.
It made me cry several times-it really gets you thinking.
I'd suggest this to anyone everyone.
Helpful Score: 2
This is a wonderful story and a fast read. Can be slightly disturbing for anyone who is sensitive to sexual assault. I highly recommend this book.
Helpful Score: 2
I did not like this book at all. It was depressing and dragged out with a much unsatisifactory ending.
Helpful Score: 2
I've read many books and this is one book that I think will stick with me for a long time. While heart-wrenching and terribly disturbing at times, I could not put it down. The story is so well told that it is hard to believe it is a work of fiction. I think its very hard to tell such a sad story and have your audience enjoy it. I was so invested in the characters that the ending of this book actually brought me to tears, even though the ending was clear from the beginning. Overall, one of the most well-written and unique books I have read in a long while.
Helpful Score: 2
I bought this book back on one of my Half Price Book shopping sprees! Finally our book club read it in February. My thoughts? I thought it was a really good book - well written, creative, captivating. It definitely is not a book for everyone though. Since you find out in the 1st chapter, I'll just tell you - the narrator of the book is an 8th grade year old girl who is raped and murdered. She narrates the entire book from heaven as she looks down at her family and friends that she has left behind. I thought the author's idea of heaven was really interesting (although God was never mentioned). The story of the family left behind is full of grief but also of healing. It's definitely a sad book, but it didn't strike me as altogether dark. I really enjoyed it.
Helpful Score: 2
Lovely Bones was not quite what I expected but a very good book: it covered a wide range of topics that address family dynamics when a child or sibling is lost in violent crime and how each individual deals with their loss and finally the healing process.
Helpful Score: 2
I have wanted to read this for a long time, but was a bit apprehensive due to the content. As a mother of 3 children I have a hard time reading anything about children being murdered, raped, tortured, kidnapped...etc. I was not sure how I could handle this book since the main character, Susie Salmon, was raped, killed, and her body dumped in a sink hole inside of a safe. Susie speaks to us from her heavean and narrates how her family & friends are handling her death. You do feel for the characters that have been left behind. I can imagine something like ths is hard to come to grips with. It's a very powerful book that speaks to you. The only part that frustrated me was even though her killer met his death (I won't mention how) I still don't think justice was served to this man. I would have preferred him to succomb to a slow, painful, drawn out death.
Helpful Score: 2
Genre: Fiction
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."
Right from the start this book sets the tone for the next 367 pages; we know who the narrator is, what happened to her, and get a glimpse at her personality. Susie is brutally murdered by a serial killer in her neighborhood. She has the opportunity to look down at her family and watch them try to put the pieces back together after the giant loss. She sees her mother, father, sister, brother, and other family friends change, evolve, fall apart, and come back together. But what would you do in Heaven just watch people, no, not exactly
My boyfriend has been telling me for months that I should read this book because he loved it. I didnt really have anything against it, but I never had time for it. Upon not finding the audio book I wanted at the library I finally decided to read this. I LOVED IT! This is one of my new favorite books and can understand why so many people love it. It is a very interesting perspective to have the narrator remain fourteen over an extended time period while the rest of her family ages and changes. I also loved how everyone left behind still had a connection with Susie. The only thing I was slightly not happy with was the ending but it was an appropriate ending, just not what I absolutely wanted.
One of my favorite quotes from this book inspired the title and carries the whole point of this book:
These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events my death brought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous lifeless body had been my life.
The only thing that I think would make the audio book better would be to have a younger sounding narrator for the main character of Susie.
5 out of 5 stars and my highest recommendation!
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."
Right from the start this book sets the tone for the next 367 pages; we know who the narrator is, what happened to her, and get a glimpse at her personality. Susie is brutally murdered by a serial killer in her neighborhood. She has the opportunity to look down at her family and watch them try to put the pieces back together after the giant loss. She sees her mother, father, sister, brother, and other family friends change, evolve, fall apart, and come back together. But what would you do in Heaven just watch people, no, not exactly
My boyfriend has been telling me for months that I should read this book because he loved it. I didnt really have anything against it, but I never had time for it. Upon not finding the audio book I wanted at the library I finally decided to read this. I LOVED IT! This is one of my new favorite books and can understand why so many people love it. It is a very interesting perspective to have the narrator remain fourteen over an extended time period while the rest of her family ages and changes. I also loved how everyone left behind still had a connection with Susie. The only thing I was slightly not happy with was the ending but it was an appropriate ending, just not what I absolutely wanted.
One of my favorite quotes from this book inspired the title and carries the whole point of this book:
These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events my death brought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous lifeless body had been my life.
The only thing that I think would make the audio book better would be to have a younger sounding narrator for the main character of Susie.
5 out of 5 stars and my highest recommendation!
Helpful Score: 2
This novel is a great example of emotional storytelling at its very best. A tender, yet realistic, look at the effects of grief, 'The Lovely Bones' tells the story of a murdered teenage girl as she looks down from her fantastical heaven into the lives of her surviving friends, family, and killer. Susie Salmon, the 14-year-old who is killed, is instantly recognizable as both the girl who lives on your own street and as yourself as a reader - she represents us all, and it's fascinating reading the accounts of her family and friends' grief from her point of view. This debut fiction novel from Alice Sebold is at turns upsetting, funny, suspenseful, and thrilling, but is always focused most securely on the power of love and the lasting power of the human spirit, whether that spirit is on earth or not. This is a wonderful, worthwhile read, and I thought the recent film version was a great adaptation, too!
Helpful Score: 2
It is no wonder this was the best selling book in the year of its orininal publication, 2002. It takes a special author to choke me up and bring tears to my eyes, but Alice Sebold did it in this one many times over. A marvelous and unforgettable read!
Helpful Score: 1
This book is so good. I really enjoyed it!
Helpful Score: 1
Great book. Makes you think at points, and cry at others. Goes through a season in the middle of the book where you're sure it's bound to become stereotypical teen lit-style trash, but it comes out of it quickly. Would recommend this book to my friends. :)
Helpful Score: 1
The more you read the better it gets..I wish I had not read it and could start over.
Helpful Score: 1
wonderful beyond words...broke my heart.
Helpful Score: 1
elegantly written. poignant and touching narrative of a family dealing with loss told in the voice of their dead child as she observes them from her heaven.
Helpful Score: 1
Loved this book...finished it in 2 days...didn't realize until later that it is a Young Adult book, though it doesn't change how great a story it is. A young girl is raped, murdered, and buried, and she watches from heaven as her family copes and the police try to find who did it. I loved Alice's description of 'heaven'.
Helpful Score: 1
Very engaging and thoughtful book
Helpful Score: 1
This was a beautifully, well written book about love and how hard it is to let go. It will bring tears to your eyes. Sebold is a great writer, and I look forward to reading more of her books. The story contains some graphic images.
Helpful Score: 1
This is the story of Susie Salmon, as she looks down on her family/friends from heaven (or what heaven is for her) after her brutal murder. While somewhat dark in subject matter, the book still delivered some humour, romance, and mystery in it's plotline. I could not put it down. An absolutely fantastic book, which I know I'll read again and again.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a very different book. A daughter gets killed, goes to heaven, and is able to visit her family and friends on earth (although they can't see her.) I liked the book. It had humor and affection throughout. The first part when she gets killed is somewhat raphic but the rest is very good. Nice reading! Not sad the way you would think it would be. Interesting! Try it, you might be surprised!
Helpful Score: 1
Very interesting book. I liked it but I don't think it's a book everyone would like. My mother in law who is very Catholic couldn't get past the first two chapters because it upset her. I enjoyed it.
Helpful Score: 1
Wow! Unexpected, different, keeps you hooked from the beginning.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a very haunting story of a young girl who is raped and murdered, and watches her family try to deal with the fact that she is gone and will not come back again. This is a very haunting story that will remain with you for quite some time after you've finished reading.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book! I dont normally read stuff like this and I liked it!
Helpful Score: 1
really sad and comical at the same time.
Helpful Score: 1
I absolutely loved this book.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was very intriguing and brought about some personal questions about the neighborhood I like in with my children. It was entertaining in a very eery way. I would read it again because I thought it was that good.
Helpful Score: 1
Read in a day. Couldn't put it down. Interesting concepts.
Helpful Score: 1
A portrait of family love and how it endures and changes over time. I found it deeply affecting.
Helpful Score: 1
This was an incredible story. At first the subject matters appears very depressing and even gruesome, and then the story turns into something else. I couldn't put it down. It moved me deeply.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is amazing, a heartbreaking story that is beautifully written.
Very different reading than I normally read and I found it to be a very good book.
Helpful Score: 1
A beautiful, awful, heartbreaking, moving, tragic, powerful, awe-inspiring story. Just like life.
Helpful Score: 1
Amazing story. I was completely absorbed by it and unable to stop reading.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an excellent book. Very different from anything I have read before. Told from the narrative of a murdered girl and how she watched people cope with her death. It's hard to explain but I very much recommend it.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderfully written, haunting story.
Helpful Score: 1
Good read overall
Helpful Score: 1
Set in heaven as real and possible as the earth is mysterious, The lovely Bones explores, with clear-eyed affection and wit, the romance of family life, the shy, funny turburlence of adolescense, and the painful tracks love and loss make through our world...
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed this book very much, although it does contain some troubling descriptions of a rape and murder of the main character--a 14 years old girl--so if this is a sensitive topic, you may not want to go there. The rest of the story though is a very interesting and tender narration--from the point of view of the dead girl watching from heaven, as her family and friends deal with the loss.
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent!!
Helpful Score: 1
Very different look on heaven. Sad story and a little weird in parts. This is the story of a murdered 14 year old girl in her own eyes from heaven.
Helpful Score: 1
Astonishing book. This story starts with unimaginable horror and follows the shattering of lives in the aftermath thru to their moving redemption. It's very original and captivating.
Helpful Score: 1
One of the few books that ever made me cry while reading - yet I couldn't put it down. Such a unique point of view...great story...beautifully written.
Helpful Score: 1
A great book! Incredibly provocative in many ways.
Helpful Score: 1
A very nice read.
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent book. I even cried while reading certain parts. It's a book you'll go through quickly!
Helpful Score: 1
Beautifully written! A true story from the heart. Told from the point of view of a 14 year old girl who is traggically raped and murdered. From begining to end, the details of events unfold like tragic poetry on the pages. I cried through most of this book. The journey that this family takes with their greiving is very difficult to swallow. And the direction that the writer chose to fullfill the plot is unexpected but still very satisfying.
Helpful Score: 1
Probably one of the best books I've read in a long time. Very emotional and beautifully written, it's definitely something I will read again. I cannot wait for the movie to come out and hopefully it's close to the book.
A comforting book if you've lost a loved one. Beautifully written, a definite page turner.
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent book, was a best seller. Not as sad as you would think depite being about a murder victim.
Helpful Score: 1
I couldnt put it down. An easy read.
Helpful Score: 1
Really good book - it really pulled me along; hard to put down
Helpful Score: 1
wonderful book by an excellent author.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book!!!!! Enjoyed it so much.
Helpful Score: 1
Susie Salmon was 14 when she was murdered and tells her story from heaven. This is absolutely brilliant! Every word captivates you, haunts you, and forces you to follow the lives of family and friends who suffered from the loss of Susie. This book is not to be missed.
Helpful Score: 1
this book made me think how it would be in heaven
Helpful Score: 1
This was a very interesting book in which I enjoyed during my vacation in Jamaica. Great laid back read.
Helpful Score: 1
I read this book several years ago, and to this day I can remember details about it that I wouldn't normally remember. The book is just so haunting that it's hard to forget!
Helpful Score: 1
Haunting story, well written.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book. I usually don't like books involving the death of a child but I read this for a book club and thought it was excellent.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book! Very emotionally charged!
Helpful Score: 1
Strange and memorable, a story told from the voice of a murdered young girl, told from heaven. Very compelling novel - I couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 1
Very good... great job of being in the mind of someone else
Helpful Score: 1
Really loved this book even though the story was about a young girl who is murdered.
Helpful Score: 1
Disturbing and creepy, but you won't be able to put it down.
Helpful Score: 1
This book had many elements of a good story; raw emotion and the quest to understand the human condition. At points it was hard for me to keep reading, but I am so glad that I finished the story.
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of my favorite books. The perspective (told in the POV of a girl who has been murdered and is looking down on earth from heaven) is so unique and refreshing. I was captivated by this book and couldn't put it down. I recommend it to everyone. Great, great, great read.
Helpful Score: 1
A disturbing book that you just can't put down!
Helpful Score: 1
This is an absolutely gorgeous book. I bought this immediately upon its release and just absorbed it.... often think about this little girl, she is so alive.... amazing story. Admittedly, on The Color Purple has ever left this much of an impact on me as a reader.
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent read! It just pulls you in and you can't put the book down.
Brilliant writing from the victims point of view.
Loved it!!
Brilliant writing from the victims point of view.
Loved it!!
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked how the book was written from the victim's point of view. I am anticipating the release of the movie in 2009 (of course, the book is always better)
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent book! A very sad story, yet still very touching. I definatly recommend it but make sure you have a tissue box nearby!
Helpful Score: 1
Written in the first person by the girl who was murdered as she watches life continue without her. Eerily fascinating.
Helpful Score: 1
I tried to read it in seventh grade and couldn't really get into it. I would suggest being at least 15 or 16 before reading this book to really enjoy it. Great book!
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book. It was narrated by a young murdered girl as she watched her family dealing with the grief of her death. It was a very good read.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was really good. It was a good read but I was a little disappointed of the ending. Overall, it was a good read. I wonder how the movie is going to interpret the storyline?
Helpful Score: 1
This is the best book I've read in a while. I was captivated from the beginning and finished the book in 3 days which is quick for me. A wonderful read!
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent book! Not your ordinary thriller. No wonder it was a book of the year.
Helpful Score: 1
Very good book about a 14 yr. old girl's family, friends and neighbors dealing with her murder.
Helpful Score: 1
This is one book that I refuse to part with even though I will probably never be able to read it again. The characters aren't incredibly formed, but if you know people you can fill in the gaps. The most remarkable thing about this book is it's feeling and the emotional journey it takes you on. It's an incredibly powerful and moving story. The only reason that I doubt I'll be able to read it again is because every single time I picked it up, I cried. Everyone I have mentioned this to has had the same experience.
Helpful Score: 1
Beautiful book - a must read! It's painful and heatwrenching but so beautifully written!
Helpful Score: 1
A haunting book narrated by a dead teenager watching over her family after her violent and untimely death. When you read it, you can feel her family's sorrow and the narrators lonliness and urge to hang on to the last of her life. It was heart-wrenching and I had to set it down a few times. A must read!
Helpful Score: 1
Interesting, thoughtful, moving... An amazing, albeit very sad, book.
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of my all time favorite books. Although the subject matter is tough at first, it is a very hopeful and touching story about a wonderful family. It is from a point of view that gives the reader such an unusual insight. I have read this several times & love it. Highly recommended.
Helpful Score: 1
I was at turns moved and very disappointed by this book. I was really engaged with the first third of the book, but as the story progressed, I expected the characters to be more fleshed out and that didn't happen. There is alot of nonsensical behavior from several characters - the mother, Ruth, Ray and later Susie as she falls back to earth. What? What happens next is like a slap in the face to the reader. Why Susie takes that opportunity to have sex with Ray makes absolutely no sense even though she continued to love him while in her heaven. After being brutally raped and murdered, she chooses to have sex when she returns instead of telling the authorities the location of both her body and Mr, Harvey? And the happily ever after ending? None of it believable and I felt so cheated.
The book was also not served by the the author's decision to narrate the book herself. Her voice is not very engaging and her delivery very flat.
The book was also not served by the the author's decision to narrate the book herself. Her voice is not very engaging and her delivery very flat.
Helpful Score: 1
I watched the movie first; the movie is very different from the book; but, as always, I liked the book so much better. So imaginative.
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed the story but I felt that it could be much better if it had been read by someone other than the author.
Helpful Score: 1
wonderful... it brought smiles as well as a few tears...
Wow This book was really interesting and sad although it wavered for me towards the end(I'm not going to give away details). Great read.
Helpful Score: 1
I couldn't put this book down once I started--unique story told from the perspective of a teenage girl who was murdered. She watches over her family and friends as they try to discover how she died.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an amazing book, one of the best I've read.
Helpful Score: 1
what a great read...the story will stay with you for a long time after you finish it!
Helpful Score: 1
Good book
Helpful Score: 1
A great book... One of my favorites I've read!!! Very hard to put down.
Helpful Score: 1
wow , very intense! makes you wonder what your perfect heaven would be like.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was so gripping that I could not put it down for one second..I cried reading this book..Alice Sebold is a wonderful story teller. This is a MUST READ!
Helpful Score: 1
Sad and sweet at the same time. A young girl tells the story of her own murder.
Helpful Score: 1
Takes you through a range of emotions but in the end it brings you to a calm acceptance; narrative is very well written, I highly recommend this book.
Helpful Score: 1
Beautifully written.
Helpful Score: 1
Great story that just makes you want to take a second look at your life.
Helpful Score: 1
A murdered teenager's account of the effects of her death on her family, friends, community and murderer. Sounds awful, right? This unusual book is so beautifully written and unique in its vision of death and afterlife, that its worth braving the gruesome and tragic account which begins this remarkable story.
Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this book
Helpful Score: 1
If you haven't read it yet, do so now. It's moving, thought-provoking, and even humorous at times. Soon to be made into a motion picture directed by Peter Jackson.
Helpful Score: 1
A great read!
Helpful Score: 1
Haunting and powerful.
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent book. I finished it very quickly because I couldn't put it down. A young girl that is murdered narrates this story from heaven as the events on Earth play out after it happens.
Helpful Score: 1
If I could remember who recommended this book to me, I'd still be mad at them. While it's raw, honest fiction, it was one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. I read a lot of crime fiction so it wasn't the violence that got to me. Maybe because I have a young daughter it unnerved me, but it is something I wish I hadn't exposed myself to.
Helpful Score: 1
Haunting and poignant.
Helpful Score: 1
Be prepared to get lost in this book. You won't be able to stop until you've reached the back cover.
Helpful Score: 1
Quick read. Very original
Helpful Score: 1
This book was hard for me to read as a parent. I enjoyed having it told from Susie's perspective, but would frequently have to stop reading because it was too emotional to continue. I decided to read it after seeing the movie preview, which made it appear to be a murder mystery. The book is much more of an emotional journey into a family's grief. I would recommend it to those who enjoy that type of book, but it's not for traditional murder mystery fans.
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of my most favorite books of all time! Very spooky with all the recent child abductions and comforting by the end.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a throughly haunting book. I enjoyed it so much!
Helpful Score: 1
WOW, from the start to the very end. The author engages the reader with the raw emotions of the murdered child and the struggles her family goes through trying to cope with the tragedy. Well written with almost a poetic laugage will surely leave this book in the readers mind for a long, long,long time to come. Highly recommended.
Helpful Score: 1
Achingly beautiful. This book sticks with you.
An interesting story. There are some slow points to it. But all in all it was a page turner.
Helpful Score: 1
Certainly a unique way to look at what comes after death.
Helpful Score: 1
I couldn't put this one down. It made me cry bittersweet tears.
Helpful Score: 1
A fourteen year old ghost tells the story of her death. Very good read
Helpful Score: 1
A very emotional read.
Helpful Score: 1
Mesmerizing - triumphant - sad - funny - great book!
Helpful Score: 1
This is a great mystery! Written in diary form from the dead girl looking down on her family. You don't know who-dun-it until the last page is turned!
Helpful Score: 1
While the storyline was on the depressing side the writer was amazing and there was so much imagery and interesting themes running throughout the entire book. My book club had one of its best discussions ever on this book!
Helpful Score: 1
I LOVE this book! I've read it numerous times by borrowing it from the library, but decided to finally own a copy! I can't stop reading it. I could read it 5 times a month and still love it! And it would still keep me interested! Definately a page turner every time you read it! I can't wait until this winter when it comes out in movie form, but I'm scared that the movie will ruin it like most movies do with the books they're based off of! Writing this review actually makes me want to go read it again...and I've already read it 2 times this month! This is a must read for anyone who loves books!
Helpful Score: 1
You may be tempted to stop reading this book during the first chapter, but make a point of sticking with it. It is fascinating. Lucky, the real-life personal memoir of Alice Sebold will give you some insight as to how and why this phenomenal writer composed this brilliant piece of fiction.
Helpful Score: 1
Wow! This novel was at once heartwarming and bone-chilling! I highly reccomend it to everyone that is interested in supernatural novels or mystery novels!
Helpful Score: 1
This book was amazing it was a real page turner.
Helpful Score: 1
A page turner. A very different story told by a murdered 14 year old girl. Heartbreakingly real and compassionate inside look at the family, friends, and acquaintances of a murder victim.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was great! not only did I love the story line and being able to see how a tragic inncident can bring people together, but I also feel as if I really learned a lesson about strangers. i went and saw the movie yesterday, and I must say that it is so much better uf you read the book before you see it...
Helpful Score: 1
This was a deeply moving book...
Helpful Score: 1
WOW!!! This book is truley amazing.I was drawn in form the very start. I cant put into words how this book moved me. I cried ALOT! The story is not for the faint of heart but by the same token it is a must read. Alice Seabold is amazing.
Helpful Score: 1
you'll love it
Helpful Score: 1
Alice Sebold does magic with metaphors. I got half-way through the book and couldn't put it down -- I needed to know what happened to the 'creepy' guy and how Susie's family coped after her death. Could definitely identify with the struggle each of the characters experienced in this book. Sebold did an excellent job of 'humanizing' them in text.
Helpful Score: 1
An exciting novel, full of surprises
Helpful Score: 1
A tale filled with hope, humor, suspence and even joy.
Helpful Score: 1
Awesome book, I loved it!!
Helpful Score: 1
This is an EXCELLENT book! I don't want to say too much about it without giving the story away, but it makes you think a lot about life, death, and the people in your life. As it says in the liner notes of the summary: "When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope."
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent book. Slightly chilling.
Great book in a unique perspective. A great lesson for life and gives it to you in an entertaining way.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a great book!
Helpful Score: 1
The opening page shocks, the first chapters rivet, and the story envelops. Very Good Book.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a very unusual book but very interesting and written very well.
Helpful Score: 1
A little scary, but a good book.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is worth every word! A very compelling story. I enjoyed the element of the setting in the 70s- an innocent (or naive) time. It is very heart wrenching, a sad but beautiful story.
Helpful Score: 1
This was an amazzing book! i could barely put it down and finished in 4 days! can't wait to see the movie.
Helpful Score: 1
I had avoided this popular book because I was aware of the story's setup and I didn't think I could handle it. While the crime is disturbing, the book is not about the crime. The Lovely Bones is about life, death, grief, family, the supernatural, love and heaven. It is a memorable book! I'm glad I read it and I look forward to the movie adaptation.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book!!! Have read it three times, gets better every time!
I loved this book! This story draws you in and it's impossible to put down, Scary. sad, wonderful, so many words describes this compelling, exciting novel.
As a die hard romace novel fan I had my resevations about reading this book. I knew the author had been sexually assaulted in her late teens, and friends believed her writing to be very dark, although excellent. I reluctantly agreed to read it based on the strong persuasion of one of my avid reader friends. I told myself that the book couldn't be that bad if it was on the ny times bestsellers list and had sold millions of copies; surely somthing in it would appeal to me. Her writing is excellent. She rapidly drew me into her story; inside the head of the young teen who is the main character. I (who only loves the happy endings) could not put the book down. I started it at 10pm and finished it around 3:30am , despite the fact that i had to get up and tend to my 5 children. Although surely not the main goal of the book, it brought God and the after life sharply into focus for me. It is one of the few books that touched me profoundly when i wasn't expecting it. It made me rethink the preciousness of life on earth. I am a christian and believe strongly in the afterlife, but this book made me think that no matter how much of a paradise heaven is, it is not planet earth with so many pleasures and experiences to have. I will not pass this way again with those i love and I should treasure this. This book is a must read. It certainly won't speak to all as it did me; but at the very least it is relatively short, well written and different than anything else out there.
Helpful Score: 1
I couldn't put this book down. It was so intriguing. It definitely gives a new spin on death. I'm not sure how I wanted it to end, but the ending was too abrupt, I wanted something more. THe book was excellent and I still highly recommend it.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a very thrilling book. It is strange and compelling.
Helpful Score: 1
I first found out about this book through a list of must-read books. I read the description of the book and at the time, it just didn't seem like something I'd want to read. Then I saw the preview for the movie, and it was so interesting that I decided to give the book a try. I'm glad I did! I absolutely loved it. It is heartbreaking, and it made me cry, but it's so beautifully done that I think everyone should read it.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was incredible. I absolutely could not put it down. A must read. Period.
Helpful Score: 1
I had a hard time getting into the book in the first couple chapters, but then I couldn't put it down. I don't think the title works for this book, however, it is a very good read. Don't get discouraged if you aren't sucked into it right away, you won't be disappointed.
Helpful Score: 1
I personally loved this book. I thought the writing was wonderful and the characters were developed so well that you really got to know them. Maybe I liked it so much because I had a death in my family when I was young, and this book is all about a young lady who was murdered looking down at her family from heaven. Whether there is any truth or not to the afterlife, this book made me feel a little bit better because you feel like the person you've lost is never really gone. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially someone who has lost someone they loved. I thought it was sad but hopeful and really just wonderful.
Helpful Score: 1
Characters are written genuinely and lovingly. Tear jerking, realistic book until towards the end when it became some sort of campy ghost story. I felt that the method the author employed to give Susie some closure to her life on Earth was lazy and cheesy. I didn't care for any elements of the ending....but the rest of the book...written in a simple and page turning style...was wonderful.
Helpful Score: 1
My brother died when i was a teenager. Sebold truly understands the dynamics of a family that has experienced a traumatic and sudden loss. I totally related to one of the characters and saw my family in the others. My sister read it and felt the exact same way and could also see the resemblance. I would imagine she has experienced this first hand. This is an amazing book that i would recommend to anyone especially if you're trying to understand someone who is going through a loss or even just to understand that your OWN feelings during a time of loss are normal.
I read the book and at first was quite interested, but found it disturbing the more I read. I personally would not recommend it, because it seemed a little "dark" to me.
Helpful Score: 1
I purchased this book because I had been informed that it was a great story. The writing was terrific, easy to read, and elegant. I was told that the characters were engaging, especially the special main character of the book.
I found the book to be dark and disturbing. I never finished it, and gave it away immediately. Admittedly, many people may not feel this way--I do because it "close to home". I had a beloved nephew who was carjacked and murdered.
I would caution anyone who is in any way sensitive to the topic of murder, physical and sexual abuse to be careful about reading this book. The little of it that I did read gave me nightmares for many nights.
I found the book to be dark and disturbing. I never finished it, and gave it away immediately. Admittedly, many people may not feel this way--I do because it "close to home". I had a beloved nephew who was carjacked and murdered.
I would caution anyone who is in any way sensitive to the topic of murder, physical and sexual abuse to be careful about reading this book. The little of it that I did read gave me nightmares for many nights.
Haunting. Sad. The story Susie tells will haunt you long after you have finished the last page & I guarantee that you will read it again.
Helpful Score: 1
I use to work at a bookstore and people are always recommending books. One of them was the lovely bones. I thought I would give it a try and am I glad I did. It is a great book even thought the subject is touchy(a brutal rape, murder). It's interesting to see how the character handles being in heaven and watching her family tear apart because of her. The only thing I didn't like about the book was the ending, but as a fellow reader told me that was "her way". I would have liked more justice, but in the real world sometimes justice doesn't always get served the way we want it to.
One of the best stories I have read in a long time. Moving, original, and well-written.
Helpful Score: 1
It starts in a dark,dark place. Keep reading, this is a very positive, life-affirming story. This book will stay with me for some time. The story ends up in the light.
Helpful Score: 1
Honestly, I hated the book. I have never hated a book so much. I found the author suffered from a severe case of ADD. She jumped around to different topics to where you had to sit and think where was she going with this and why she did not finish with the topic she was on.
The jumping around from one thing to another made it hard to focus or feel anything for the characters. If you had an inkling of a feeling, it was soon lost by jumping to something else.
If, and that is the big word here, if she would have written the book in a different manner, like finishing a thought every once in a while, perhaps it would have been a good book. The plot was decent, but again not finishing up some key points stole away from the meaning. And the closing of the book, especially with the villain was not complete.
I was so angry after reading this I wanted to burn the book, but I did not, since it was a library book.
To those who liked it, I am at a loss of words. I found this book without feeling and no heart.
The jumping around from one thing to another made it hard to focus or feel anything for the characters. If you had an inkling of a feeling, it was soon lost by jumping to something else.
If, and that is the big word here, if she would have written the book in a different manner, like finishing a thought every once in a while, perhaps it would have been a good book. The plot was decent, but again not finishing up some key points stole away from the meaning. And the closing of the book, especially with the villain was not complete.
I was so angry after reading this I wanted to burn the book, but I did not, since it was a library book.
To those who liked it, I am at a loss of words. I found this book without feeling and no heart.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a good book but a bit strange! I did like it though.
When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope.
In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life continuing with out her - her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone.
And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it - except the thing she wants most: to be back with the people she loved on Earth.
With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on , only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event.
The Lovely bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.
When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope.
In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life continuing with out her - her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone.
And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it - except the thing she wants most: to be back with the people she loved on Earth.
With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on , only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event.
The Lovely bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.
Helpful Score: 1
This was deep, thought-provoking story told from the omnipresent viewpoint of a teenager, Susie Salmon.
Susie is in heaven because she was brutally raped and murdered by her neighbor, a viscious serial killer. From heaven, which resembles a child's playground, she is forced to watch her family and friends grieve, break up, and ultimately get on with their lives after many years. She watches the police investigation die due to lack of evidence, although her sister courageously risks capture by breaking into her neighbor's house to find clues. Oh, the killer ultimately dies in an accident, but, if I read it right, killed several other girls AFTER Susie.
Where is the justice for which I kept hoping. Heaven sounds more like hell to me because Susie could only observe, not help.
The writing style was interesting, but occassionally confusing because the individual stories from earth were divided into tiny segments that flowed together often paragraph to paragraph with little warning that the point-of-view was changing. The POV was Susie's, of course, the the stories from earth was told on their own, with Susie's occassional commentary and feelings.
Overall, the characters and plot was complex, deep, and human, the pace wa moderate, and the decriptions and imagry and symbolism drew you into the story. The theme was about greif, but ultimately about healing. It is not an easy book to read because of the theme, but I would recommend it to people who might like a different sort of human drama.
Susie is in heaven because she was brutally raped and murdered by her neighbor, a viscious serial killer. From heaven, which resembles a child's playground, she is forced to watch her family and friends grieve, break up, and ultimately get on with their lives after many years. She watches the police investigation die due to lack of evidence, although her sister courageously risks capture by breaking into her neighbor's house to find clues. Oh, the killer ultimately dies in an accident, but, if I read it right, killed several other girls AFTER Susie.
Where is the justice for which I kept hoping. Heaven sounds more like hell to me because Susie could only observe, not help.
The writing style was interesting, but occassionally confusing because the individual stories from earth were divided into tiny segments that flowed together often paragraph to paragraph with little warning that the point-of-view was changing. The POV was Susie's, of course, the the stories from earth was told on their own, with Susie's occassional commentary and feelings.
Overall, the characters and plot was complex, deep, and human, the pace wa moderate, and the decriptions and imagry and symbolism drew you into the story. The theme was about greif, but ultimately about healing. It is not an easy book to read because of the theme, but I would recommend it to people who might like a different sort of human drama.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was on my list for a long time and I finally stopped putting it off. Its the story of Susie, a 14-year-old girl, who is raped and murdered by a neighbor. Susie watches from her own personal heaven, made up of everything she dreamt about or wanted in life, as her family tries to deal with her loss and the police try to solve her case. The idea of the deceased watching their loved ones from heaven is intriguing to me. Its sad but very well written.
Helpful Score: 1
Strange book but it kept me intrigued to finish. Definately gives a different perspective on death.
Helpful Score: 1
Wow! Just finished this 372 page book in one day, couldn't put it down!
Helpful Score: 1
Very good book. I was very happy to have read this authors book. It was well worth it.
Helpful Score: 1
A 14 year old girl is murdered. This is the story of what happens to the people she loves, as she observes them from heaven.
Helpful Score: 1
I know this book got a lot of good press, but it just was not that great. Come on, do you really think that the highest priority of the ghost of a murdered pre-teen/teen-age girl would be getting laid by her sister's boyfriend? Somehow, I don't think so.
Helpful Score: 1
a good read
Helpful Score: 1
Very different read from the other book I read. But I enjoyed the book.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book. It sas so much more than I expected. When first told about it I thought it was going to be depressing but it's actually a hopeful tale. Loved it and would highly recommend it.
On a side note: If you do read the book please do not watch the movie it does not do the book justice at all and will leave you thoroughly upset because they did not develop the characters well and others, that are pivitol in the book, not at all.
On a side note: If you do read the book please do not watch the movie it does not do the book justice at all and will leave you thoroughly upset because they did not develop the characters well and others, that are pivitol in the book, not at all.
Helpful Score: 1
Haunting and inventive.
Helpful Score: 1
kind of a slow read!
Helpful Score: 1
Great read. Better than I had hoped.
Helpful Score: 1
EXCELLENT READ! "When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen year old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was a lot different than I expected. The riveting details of the lives of the subject female's friends and family are followed for years following her murder from her point of view from a secular sort of heaven showing how her murder affected their lives.
Helpful Score: 1
I couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 1
"The lovely bones is one of the strangest experiences I have had as a reader in a long time, and one of the most memorable. Painfully funny, bracingly tough, terribly sad, it is a feat of imagination and a tribute to the healing power of grief."
Set in a heaven as real and possible as the earth is mysterious and shifting, The Lovely Bones explores, with clear-eyed affection and wit, the romance of family life, the shy, funny turbulence of adolescence, and the painful tracks love and loss make through our world"
Set in a heaven as real and possible as the earth is mysterious and shifting, The Lovely Bones explores, with clear-eyed affection and wit, the romance of family life, the shy, funny turbulence of adolescence, and the painful tracks love and loss make through our world"
Helpful Score: 1
This is a great book...
Helpful Score: 1
Well written. Quick read.
Helpful Score: 1
Deeply affecting- a keenly observed portrait of familial love and how it endures. Michiko Kakutani, N.Y. Times
I enjoyed this book immensely. You will, too. Won American Booksellers' Association Book of the Year Award
I enjoyed this book immensely. You will, too. Won American Booksellers' Association Book of the Year Award
Helpful Score: 1
This was the most unusual book I have read. Very good read.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful book - I couldn't put it down.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is addicting and hard to put down. The author writes the story from the point of view of a girl who was murdered in her own heaven, looking down at what happens to her friends and family. I would strongly recommend it, but be advised there is some mature content.
Helpful Score: 1
Dark but intriguing. 4 stars.
Helpful Score: 1
As I was reading this book, I was reminded of Million Dollar Baby in that I felt the movie was very well done but that it was painful to watch and I probably would not want to see it again. I had a hard time reading it in that it made me sad for the family. She was very good at describing their emotions and I felt them as I read. It was hard to read about Susie's murder and even though I wanted vindication for her, I was glad that the book turned into a healing process for the family instead of a revenge storyline.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved the unusual and original point of view of the main character ( a deceased rape victim).
Helpful Score: 1
This was a wonderful book! Kept me interested from the beginning, although it deals with child murder/rape, so it may be difficult for some to read.
Helpful Score: 1
i tell anyone who will listen to read this book couldnt put it down
Helpful Score: 1
It's a very insightful book. With very interesting views on the after life. At some parts the pace is a little slow, but manage to get around that, and it's an over all good read.
Helpful Score: 1
An amazing and disturbing story about a young girl who is raped and murdered, and tells most of the story from her point of view in heaven.
Helpful Score: 1
This has to be one of the best books I've ever read!! It was sad but it also kept me glued to it until I finished!! I loved it!!
Helpful Score: 1
Wow, amazing book. I loved it. Interesting perspective, at moments heart-wrenching.
Helpful Score: 1
The story begins with more horror than can be imagined and ends with more beauty than you can hope for...A compelling read!
Helpful Score: 1
One of my favorite books! So good, I read it twice!
Helpful Score: 1
very intense, but good.
Helpful Score: 1
A compelling novel I couldn't put down once I started.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book. Parts of it my jaw just dropped. Very good read!!
Helpful Score: 1
This was a great book. I enjoyed it immensely.
Helpful Score: 1
I thought this book was a really good read. I wasnt sure if I was going to enjoy it or not but to my suprise, I did!
Helpful Score: 1
This book made me laugh and cry. I just LOVED it!
Helpful Score: 1
I borrowed this gripping novel from the library in audio book form and couldn't wait to get into my car to hear what would happen next. At first the detail of what happened to Suzie turned me off but what progressed with her family in the months after her disappearance became fascinating to listen to. Very creative and in a way comforting to hear Suzies' commentary as the years progress and she actually gets to experience something special to her. So, do not be put off by the subject matter.
Helpful Score: 1
It's difficult to classify The Lovely Bones as a mystery. On the first page, the reader discovers that the narrator is dead, has been murdered, and by whom. I suppose the mystery is in watching the family of Susie, the victim, find out what we the reader already know.
Rather, this is a human interest story. Sebold delves into the ways that a family and community deals with tragedy. Some never move on, some forget easily. Some see the dead in the living. Some go on a quest to solve the mysteries of other dead young women. Some families break under the strain.
Certainly the story is a tragic one; in an age of Amber alerts and where images of missing young women flood our news shows, The Lovely Bones is a timely story. These true life stories parallel this fictional one in many ways; the communities have pulled together, people with no connection to the deceased feel one after her death, etc.
A touching novel, The Lovely Bones will make you feel for the characters. You will celebrate in their triumphs and recoil in their miseries.
Rather, this is a human interest story. Sebold delves into the ways that a family and community deals with tragedy. Some never move on, some forget easily. Some see the dead in the living. Some go on a quest to solve the mysteries of other dead young women. Some families break under the strain.
Certainly the story is a tragic one; in an age of Amber alerts and where images of missing young women flood our news shows, The Lovely Bones is a timely story. These true life stories parallel this fictional one in many ways; the communities have pulled together, people with no connection to the deceased feel one after her death, etc.
A touching novel, The Lovely Bones will make you feel for the characters. You will celebrate in their triumphs and recoil in their miseries.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an AMAZING BOOK!!! Read it in 3 days-almost crying the whole time.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a very good book!
Helpful Score: 1
This is a book you pick up and can't put down until you finish. I highly recommend it.
Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this book. It is so unique.
Helpful Score: 1
An amazingly indescribably wonderful book. A must read.
Helpful Score: 1
It's pretty much impossible to truly rate this book, since I don't want to spoil the ending. I will say most of the story was well written and poignant. I just couldn't get over the ending. It left me wishing I'd never read the book at all.
Helpful Score: 1
I thought this was a great book.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book...very haunting, strangely beautiful and sad.
Helpful Score: 1
Susie Salmon looks down from her heaven as her family copes with her rape and murder. Both her family, friends and Susie learn to cope with what has happened. This was a very life affirming story.
Helpful Score: 1
Have you ever wondered what people in heaven saw and thought about what was going on on earth? This book is written from Susies point of view. She is murdered and while in heaven she watches her family deal with the loss.
This book was very interesting.
This book was very interesting.
Helpful Score: 1
I hesitated reading this book but it was wonderful
Helpful Score: 1
Beautifully told story, but this novel is much more than that, due to its unusual perspective of a young girl who has died. The insights revealed through fiction are incredibly diverse, and they pertain to caring souls, journeying souls, of any age.
Helpful Score: 1
This book draws you into the experience of a family who has lost a young daughter to a brutal crime. It is heart wrenching and somewhat gruesome, but very readable.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book!Catches your attention right off!Its a real page turner.
Helpful Score: 1
Very interesting book!
I have never read a book that the main character was already dead. I am a crier and I didn't cry, but still very emotional.
I have never read a book that the main character was already dead. I am a crier and I didn't cry, but still very emotional.
Helpful Score: 1
mildly entertaining.
I read this in two days. This is a very popular book. Easy to read. Lots of words that sound real pretty together but what does it mean? I didn't find it very satisfying...for one thing I think the view of "heaven" represented here was extremely limited. The icicles at the end held some substantial redeeming value. A solid event...thank you very much. I dont like to grope around much for a moral lesson in a book , but I'm sure there is one in here somewhere. I did read it to the end, but I am a very patient person.
lots of people like it tho, so i'm reposting it.
I read this in two days. This is a very popular book. Easy to read. Lots of words that sound real pretty together but what does it mean? I didn't find it very satisfying...for one thing I think the view of "heaven" represented here was extremely limited. The icicles at the end held some substantial redeeming value. A solid event...thank you very much. I dont like to grope around much for a moral lesson in a book , but I'm sure there is one in here somewhere. I did read it to the end, but I am a very patient person.
lots of people like it tho, so i'm reposting it.
Good book, made me cry. A little hard to get into.
Sad, but lovely! True to the title!
Great story and a great read! This is very hard to put down once starting. Alice Sebold's story is told from a young girl who has suffered a traumatic event and is now viewing the lives of family and friends from above. This is such a beautiful story, and although there were some places towards the end that were disappointing, overall, I would highly recommend and the story itself will not let you down!
This was an amazing true crime book!
This was a very interesting book. An interesting subject.
This was a bit hard to read, and it rambles on in parts, but it was a good book overall.
I absolutely LOVED this book! It was so gripping and heartbreaking to hear the story told from the murder victim's point of view. While it is not a "true crime" novel (like some reviewers thought), it is told so believably that you would think it is, even though it is fiction.
A very good book. It became a bestseller by word of mouth first. It is worth reading.
An unusual concept - excellent reading!! I really enjoyed it!
A charming and sometimes funny story of a teen who was brutallly raped and murdered. Seems impossible, but somehow Alice Sebold Turns a gruesome subject into an uplifting story.
The story is told from a unique point of view. Wholey original. I really enjoyed this heart wrenching story.
I really enjoyed this book although it made me rather sad. I cannot imagine losing one of my children. But the perspective that the book was written from I found very interesting. A very good read.
This is wonderfully written book. It kept me wanting more--I have passed it to friends and they have enjoyed it as well.
Hold on to your little girls!!!
Hold on to your little girls!!!
A great book that I could not put down. It was emotionally heavy, but a fantastic read.
I have not been able to finish this book. I really don't care for scary books. This on is not to bad but, I just can't get into it. So, the friend that gave it to me says it is a great read.
This book starts out by grabbing you and not letting go. Some places it seemed to kind of stall, but then again I was sick when I was reading it so it might have been the drugs. I hightly recommend it. It sure gets you to thinking!
couldn't put it down
I read this book because of all the hype it was getting. I was disappointed. It was, to me, totally unrealistic. But I was probably in the minority. Everyone else really liked this book.
I love this book so much that I have probably bought and given away at least a half dozen copies of it to my friends. I pick it up whenever I see it for a reasonable price at a used book store - I highly recommend it!
A few friends have told me they couldn't get past the opening of this book, but if you can you are rewarded with a beautiful story about the afterlife. Don't dismiss this as "that rape book" but a story of healing and the unending power of love. This is one of my top ten must read books.
From the inside cover," In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life continue without her-Susie Salmon is a little girl who has been horendously murdered. This is the story of how her family grieves, tries to deal with the violence of her murder, and how Susie looks down from heaven in an effort to assure them that she is not in pain any longer. If you have lost a loved one to violence, it is a reassurring book that helps deal with losses that are so hard to recover from.
this book was highly recommended to me, I don't know if I'd say it was a great read, it was a different read! Had to look at it from the "girls" eyes in heaven! I liked it, had to stick with it to figure out the ending!
I found it really hard to get into this book. However, I really do not give up on a book. The more I read, the more I found true human emotions. By the end of the book--all I can say is even though my ideas of heaven are totally different--my human emotions are not.
This is a well written story about a young girl who is killed by a serial killer. As the narrator, she watches her family, friends, and community cope with the tragedy of her death. It takes years for the family to recover but the premise Sebold used is so creative as she examines the grief process of those who knew Susie. I did not think I would like this book but I found it a different way to view grief - particularly when the one who dies is tragically murdered. How can we ever know what someone else is feeling when they lose a loved one, a friend or just an acquaintance? A good read indeed.
A great book if you can stomach reading about a rape and murder (which happens at the beginning of the book). Susie, the girl who is murdered, is the narrator and the story is more about what happens to her family after she dies. Her voice is clear and pure. Overall, a very well written book that will leave you haunted.
The book was a good read as it kept me interested throughout the book. There wasn't a dull moment; however the book just ends suddenly as if it was rushed. The ending was a unique and beautiful way to end but it still felt very unsatisfying. I would recommend it because of the unique perspective of the book and the wonderful narrative but it will leave you unsatisfied at the end.
Diffently a good book. Obviously better than the movie because there are somethings that the movie can't relay from this. Would read again.
Loved this book!
Haunting... It made me rethink my feelings about the way skunks smell (and you'll have to read it to find out why). A compelling read.
This is an amazing story. Much better than the movie!
I thought that this was an interesting thriller, but the authors writing style was not smooth and I had to re-read many times to follow the story line and character thought processes. I was not too crazy about the rape and murder of children, but this was the base line of the story, so beyond that if you could focus on the family and heaven it was a mediocre read. My main interest of the story was what was heaven like and how different people interpreted their own heavens. It was a loving tale about the family trials and how they learn to live with loss and how the dead learn to live with their loss. I probably will not explore any more writings by this author because I just didn't like her complicated writing style.
Awesome, love this book
One of the best, and most disturbing, books I've ever read.
Alice Sebold has such a wonderful way of telling stories. I have read three of her books and think she is one of the best writers I've read in a long time.
As disturbing as the subject of this book is, it is extremely well-written and kept me glued to each page. I finished it in 2 days, just couldn't put it down. Although it's not exactly a "feel good" book, it's an enjoyable read.
I loved this book. The heroin is a young girl who tells the story of her death and the afterlife in such a sweet way.
I had a hard time with this book. And in fact I haven't finished it. I think it is a stressful read. Maybe I'm just too close to the main girl in this book, since I have a daughter.
Very sad, but very well done.
This review is from: The Lovely Bones: A Novel
Alice Sebold has written a remarkable debut novel. The narrator, Susie Salmon, was raped and murdered in 1973 and now resides in her heaven; yet, her voice contains none of the bitterness one would expect. She is able to see into the lives of those who touched her in life and death. At times wistful - for she will never be able to experience growing up - and others matter-of-fact, Susie witnesses the changes and growth within her family and small circle of friends. Her story is not one about death, but about loss and affirming life in its face, about moving on not only for those she left behind but for herself. The reader won't be able to escape the sadness in these pages - I came close to crying several times - but the overall tone is hardly grim. Because Susie is secure and happy in her heaven, she keeps the story full of light and optimism.
Alice Sebold has written a remarkable debut novel. The narrator, Susie Salmon, was raped and murdered in 1973 and now resides in her heaven; yet, her voice contains none of the bitterness one would expect. She is able to see into the lives of those who touched her in life and death. At times wistful - for she will never be able to experience growing up - and others matter-of-fact, Susie witnesses the changes and growth within her family and small circle of friends. Her story is not one about death, but about loss and affirming life in its face, about moving on not only for those she left behind but for herself. The reader won't be able to escape the sadness in these pages - I came close to crying several times - but the overall tone is hardly grim. Because Susie is secure and happy in her heaven, she keeps the story full of light and optimism.
unlike anything i've ever read before. an amazing book
This book weirded me out. It talks about death and murder so lightly at times. And describes unpleasent natures of murders. Although I can say I am glad I did read it. A very unusual book for me though.
Good book. Great story, even though the idea of a "personal heaven" is silly to me. The focus of the story was more on the people who were left behind (including the murderer). The book leaves you with a peacful feeling, although I would have preferred ALL the loose ends tied up.
The best book I'd read in years. Total turn pager; couldn't put it down. Affects a person deeply. The ending gets a little far fetched, but otherwise excellent.
I have never read a book quite like this. The point of view is so unique. The story is told in such a way that makes it fresh. While the subject matter is harsh and tugs at the heartstrings it makes for a great book. The characters are presented in such a way that makes you think about what you would do in the face of such grief. I couldn't put it down and just about read it in 24 hours. (That rarely happens with me.)
The reader is invited into the thoughts and feelings of Susie Salmon, a teenager murder victim as she recounts her story and watches her family slowly piece together their lives after tragedy from her peaceful place in heaven.
Perfect. Breaks your heart and exhilarates at the same time.
I found this book quite boring after a promising opening. It started to drag, then it finally ended. It was an interesting idea, but poor in execution.
I loved this book!! Alice Sebold is awesome!!!! I couldn't put it down!!! Great read!!
Fantastic - could not put it down . . . amazing read - I had a daughter this age when I read this book - made the subject matter a little more real.
I will not be reposting this audiobook because I want to keep it forever and re-listen. THE LOVELY BONES is a fascinating story told with unbelievable beauty and skill. Character development is masterful, yet the plot never wanes.
For some reason I had expected not to like this book. Instead, I loved it. It is rare for me to dread a book ending because I have enjoyed it so much, but that happened with this one. I thought the reader was excellent.
For some reason I had expected not to like this book. Instead, I loved it. It is rare for me to dread a book ending because I have enjoyed it so much, but that happened with this one. I thought the reader was excellent.
Reading this novel while grieving the loss of 2 friends, I found this book to be somewhat healing. It is fascinating and so honest at times that it hurts.
Tear-jearker of a book, good book although the first chapter was rough. A good solid read.
You won't want to put this book down!
Incredibly moving-have tissues handy! In some ways this book is extremely sad, in other ways not. I think it is one of my favorites I've read or listened to this year.
this is a wonderful book. I never did get to listen to this on audio, but read the hard copy and loved it. VERY unusual
Good story just done a little weird. Narrarator is the ghost of the young girl who was murdered. The story line is her watching her family as they try to deal with her murder.
Murder victim Susie Salmon narrates from heaven events of her murder and after. Observations of family struggle to deal with her death and search to identify her murderer.
I loved this book. A murder mystery where you know who the killer is. The deceased victim is telling the story as she watches over her family and her murder. Well written and a very quick read.
Good book. Read it when I was in high school for the first time. Then thought I'd give it another try and now that I'm a mom with a daughter the same age as the girl in the book, I had a really hard time getting through it the second time around.
Good book. Strange, due to the way the story is presented, but that's part of what made it interesting. However, the ending seemed a stretch, even for this book.
A murdered 12 year-old's view from heaven as she observes the family and friends she had while still alive. It's a story of terrible tragedy that manages to transform into something hopeful and redemptive. A+++++
Different, inspiring. Sad at times, a view of Earth from heaven by a murdered teenager. Great read.
Great book. I read it twice!
I found this to be a very enjoyable read.
Amazon.com
On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey.
Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue."
The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings.
On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey.
Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue."
The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings.
Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com
THE LOVELY BONES will haunt you. This book tells the story of the most horrific thing a family could ever endure, the murder of a loved one, a child.
The child is 14-year-old Susie Salmon. We see the murder through her eyes, after she is killed. Susie narrates her story from heaven, a place like I'd not before imagined. Her heaven begins as her school playground. Slowly it grows to become more. Susie merely longs for something she misses from earth, and it appears, except, of course, the living. Although she can watch her loved ones, know what they are doing, thinking, and feeling, she cannot be with them, or they with her.
The book begins with the emotional, frightening, and vividly shown homicide. Through Susie's eyes, we understand how he tricked her. We feel her terror as we realize, with her, what's about to happen. Then the scene moves to another, equally heartbreaking moment, three days later when a neighbor's dog finds a body part.
You would think, at this point, that you wouldn't be able to read further, that you'd close the book and never reopen it. But you won't be able to. Like Susie, we want to know her family will be okay. We want to know the killer won't get away with it. The author, Alice Sebold, artfully forces you to read on.
Susie watches her friends whisper about her at school. She watches as her younger sister, Lindsey, hardens to stone. Her four-year-old brother, Buckley, is passed from neighbor to neighbor, having sleepovers, told his sister has just gone away for a bit. She listens to the detective, Len, tell her parents the inevitable, that they are now investigating her disappearance as a murder. Her family slowly begins to crumble and Susie can do nothing to help.
This sounds like a suffocating, depressing book, but as you read you'll feel encouraged as Susie's family begins to move on, never to forget, but to begin to live life without her. Buckley struggles to understand the meaning of forever. Susie's dad becomes obsessed with proving he's not crazy, that he's certain who killed his daughter. Susie's mom handles the stress by hiding from it. And Lindsey, known as the girl whose sister was murdered, strives to find herself again. She searches for love. And she takes a huge risk to help her dad flush out the killer.
The ending is incredibly sweet. Amazing as it may seem, you will feel Susie's joy as she lets go of those she's left behind. For me, the ending wasn't perfect, it left me wanting, but I imagine that was deliberate. Life itself is not perfect. But life has hope. And that's the feeling that will stay with you as you turn the last page. It's a memorable read, not for the faint of heart. Expect to feel. To fear, to cry, and, yes, to laugh. THE LOVELY BONES will touch the very core of your being. Alice Sebold has written beautifully of the ugliest scenario possible. Wow.
THE LOVELY BONES will haunt you. This book tells the story of the most horrific thing a family could ever endure, the murder of a loved one, a child.
The child is 14-year-old Susie Salmon. We see the murder through her eyes, after she is killed. Susie narrates her story from heaven, a place like I'd not before imagined. Her heaven begins as her school playground. Slowly it grows to become more. Susie merely longs for something she misses from earth, and it appears, except, of course, the living. Although she can watch her loved ones, know what they are doing, thinking, and feeling, she cannot be with them, or they with her.
The book begins with the emotional, frightening, and vividly shown homicide. Through Susie's eyes, we understand how he tricked her. We feel her terror as we realize, with her, what's about to happen. Then the scene moves to another, equally heartbreaking moment, three days later when a neighbor's dog finds a body part.
You would think, at this point, that you wouldn't be able to read further, that you'd close the book and never reopen it. But you won't be able to. Like Susie, we want to know her family will be okay. We want to know the killer won't get away with it. The author, Alice Sebold, artfully forces you to read on.
Susie watches her friends whisper about her at school. She watches as her younger sister, Lindsey, hardens to stone. Her four-year-old brother, Buckley, is passed from neighbor to neighbor, having sleepovers, told his sister has just gone away for a bit. She listens to the detective, Len, tell her parents the inevitable, that they are now investigating her disappearance as a murder. Her family slowly begins to crumble and Susie can do nothing to help.
This sounds like a suffocating, depressing book, but as you read you'll feel encouraged as Susie's family begins to move on, never to forget, but to begin to live life without her. Buckley struggles to understand the meaning of forever. Susie's dad becomes obsessed with proving he's not crazy, that he's certain who killed his daughter. Susie's mom handles the stress by hiding from it. And Lindsey, known as the girl whose sister was murdered, strives to find herself again. She searches for love. And she takes a huge risk to help her dad flush out the killer.
The ending is incredibly sweet. Amazing as it may seem, you will feel Susie's joy as she lets go of those she's left behind. For me, the ending wasn't perfect, it left me wanting, but I imagine that was deliberate. Life itself is not perfect. But life has hope. And that's the feeling that will stay with you as you turn the last page. It's a memorable read, not for the faint of heart. Expect to feel. To fear, to cry, and, yes, to laugh. THE LOVELY BONES will touch the very core of your being. Alice Sebold has written beautifully of the ugliest scenario possible. Wow.
I just loved this book. The characters will stay with me for a long time. What a wonderful way to think of our loved ones after they have passed this life.
Though not my usual genre, this was a good read nonetheless. The story is told from the first-person viewpoint of Susie Salmon, a murdered 14 year old girl who died at the hands of a neighbor whom nobody suspects. Nobody that is, except her father who's got a nagging feeling of who'se behind Susy's disappearance.
So Susie's looking down at her family and friends from heaven, watching her death split her family apart, remembering events that happened in the past, and trying as hard as she can (even though she can't affect things on earth) to point her family and the police in the right direction of her murderer. An old classmate Ruth, and former boyfriend Ray, become close, and Ruth is somewhat of a medium, able to communicate with spirits, a skill she doesn't realize she possesses until Susie brushes past her and actually touches her as her soul transcends to heaven. Ruth becomes important later in the story too with some of the things she can do.
Though I don't believe in the Christian concept of heaven, I do believe in a similar place where our souls go to await reincarnation. So I could still relate to this story just as easily as anyone else, especially since they didn't use Christian divinity concepts. As a matter of fact, Susy's heaven seemed much more like the Pagan Summerlands than what I've seen heaven portrayed as.
So Susie's looking down at her family and friends from heaven, watching her death split her family apart, remembering events that happened in the past, and trying as hard as she can (even though she can't affect things on earth) to point her family and the police in the right direction of her murderer. An old classmate Ruth, and former boyfriend Ray, become close, and Ruth is somewhat of a medium, able to communicate with spirits, a skill she doesn't realize she possesses until Susie brushes past her and actually touches her as her soul transcends to heaven. Ruth becomes important later in the story too with some of the things she can do.
Though I don't believe in the Christian concept of heaven, I do believe in a similar place where our souls go to await reincarnation. So I could still relate to this story just as easily as anyone else, especially since they didn't use Christian divinity concepts. As a matter of fact, Susy's heaven seemed much more like the Pagan Summerlands than what I've seen heaven portrayed as.
I bought this book before I had children but didn't read it until before the movie came out. I should have read it before I had my daughter. This book was hard for me to finish. It's sad and scares me. Its written beautifully, just not my cup of tea anymore.
If you saw the movie and didn't read the book, well then you have done your self a disservice. This book is beautiful written and very complex.
Loved the first part of the book, fast paced and kept my attention, didn't want to put it down. But as I got close to the end, the book began to drag and I found myself ready to finish the book so I could start another. But overall, it was a good read.
This was THE book that everyone was reading when it first came out...very engaging, draws you into a powerful story.
Great read, didn't want to put this one down!!!
Interesting premise, but ending is unresolved - very disappointing.
This book was very hard for me to read at the first but it is a very good book.
A fascinating concept, writing this from the murdered child's perspective. Thankfully, not morbid at all , as I feared. A very good study on the dramatic, altered dynamics a family goes through after something as horrifying as the murder of a child. A quick read that is very thought provoking. I enjoyed it.
While subject matter was not enjoyable, the book was. Very well written.
This was a great book. It was about a 14 year old girl that was brutally murdered and looking down from heaven to "keep tabs" on her family and loved ones.
VERY GOOD, i wouldnt reccommend the movie though, it leaves a lot out. Alice Sebold has talent.
I love that this book is from the point of view of a teenager watching her family mourn her death. Very unusual.
One of the best books I've ever read. Not my usual type of thing either but so many people told me I just HAD to read it, so I did.
I really thought this book would be good when I began reading it. But, it didn't. AND..the ending really disappointed me..
This book was really good... hard to put down. However, I did not like the ending.
A great book for someone who has had a loved one recently passed ... puts their emotions into a new perspective and is beautifully written.
Susie Salmon has been murdered. She is adjusting to heaven and watching life play out on earth. It is a humorous, sad and suspenseful tale.
An abstract story with a murder mystery underneath. One of my absolute favorite stories. Compeltely seperate from the movie. It's almost something that I wouldn't know how to translate into a movie, so I give them credit for trying. This definately isn't a light-hearted story, but a great read that never leaves you bored.
I couldn't finish it once I started reading it. I had great expectations because of all the good press and hype about the book. I found it strange and not my style at all.
This book started out so strong and intriguing. I was excited to read it through the first couple hundred pages. I enjoyed the point of view from "heaven" and found Susie to be a good storyteller. However, the book reaches a point where it is just dragging on and then at the very end moves quickly into this bizarre, and very unbelievable, place. By the end of the book I was just glad it was over and disappointed at how such a strong start became so lack luster in the end.
Loved this book. Read it after all the hype about it and it still exceeded all my expectations. Caught my attention from the very beginning and held it to the very end. I would have picked a little different ending but that's just me. Highly suggest this book.
I liked this book, but it was definatly not from a Christian's view of heaven. Susie hated the heaven in which she lived. and there are WAY tooo many sexual scenes! my goodness! take a break Alice Sebold on your inappropriate scenes!
i did like the book though. it was written very well, and i couldn't put it down. and the plot was amazing! i like it and the suspence was good! i think most would like this book except for a few parts in the book.
i did like the book though. it was written very well, and i couldn't put it down. and the plot was amazing! i like it and the suspence was good! i think most would like this book except for a few parts in the book.
Sebold does an incredible job of taking us to the place of the narrator but I didn't like that place and didn't want to be there. I had to force myself to finish reading this and would have been quite happy if someone had just told me how it all ended. Great writing and a very unique story but her concept of heaven was just distressing to me.
"The Lovely Bones" deals with the difficult subject of child rape and murder, but Sebold crafts wonderful characters and her description of typical 1970s suburbia is spot-on. The story's narrator is fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon, who is raped and murdered by neighbor George Harvey (whom Sebold gives a background as well, but it feels overdone and largely meaningless). Her death sends her family into a tailspin; her mother eventually leaves and her father suffers health problems. Her sister, Lindsey, takes it upon herself to help the police investigate her sister's death long after it's become a cold case. Susie's school friends are also altered by her death: Ray Singh, her first crush, becomes involved with artist Ruth, who also senses that the dead aren't so far away after they leave the earth. Sebold's description of personal heavens where Susie lives are beautiful and sad. This is a book that lives up to its hype.
what a wonderful book! i would not recommend it to anyone under say 16 because there is some content that wouldnt be appropriate. But I loved it. The writing is very unoque to anything else I have read.
Very tragic but couldn't stop reading it. Good read.
Disturbing, profound, heartbreaking and as real as emotions can get. The writer did an outstanding job. The story and emotions brought forth will stay with you long after you finish the book. Definitely recommended.
The Lovely Bones is a novel that will keep you interested until the very end. It is beautifully written, has amazing imagery, and is intensely emotional with beautiful allegorical references. It will affect you on a deep level. The book is written from Suzie's perspective, even after she dies and arrives in what I believe is Purgatory. She has been raped and murdered and feels enormous pain in the afterlife. We feel the intense pain she feels as she watches her family deteriorate after her demise. Because of Susie's violent and abrupt departure, she isn't dealing with her death well and can't break the binds to Earth and the people she cares for. We follow her agonizing journey as she slowly accepts her own death and says goodbye to the people she loves.
There are some really important themes in this novel. The most important being Grief and Loss. Everyone grieves differently and moves through the stages of grief at different times and stages. This is very apparent in this novel, as the family members do not move through the cycle at the same time, and it greatly affects the cohesion of the unit. Acceptance is another theme. It is not easy for people to accept a loved one's death, maybe even more so when that person was taken in a brutal, violent way. In order to move on from the grieving process, they have to accept that Susie is no longer with them. And, Susie has to move on and accept her own death. This allows her to move on to Heaven.
Conclusion: 5 stars! This book is phenomenal. It is a heavy read and will evoke emotion in you. It is not a mystery, as Susie tells you the who/what/why/when/how immediately. Instead, it is a character-driven piece that travels through the human psyche and delivers raw emotion on an epic scale.
The movie was released this year and is now on DVD. While it did not convey the emotional intensity that the book portrays, I thought it was a beautiful and chilling movie.
There are some really important themes in this novel. The most important being Grief and Loss. Everyone grieves differently and moves through the stages of grief at different times and stages. This is very apparent in this novel, as the family members do not move through the cycle at the same time, and it greatly affects the cohesion of the unit. Acceptance is another theme. It is not easy for people to accept a loved one's death, maybe even more so when that person was taken in a brutal, violent way. In order to move on from the grieving process, they have to accept that Susie is no longer with them. And, Susie has to move on and accept her own death. This allows her to move on to Heaven.
Conclusion: 5 stars! This book is phenomenal. It is a heavy read and will evoke emotion in you. It is not a mystery, as Susie tells you the who/what/why/when/how immediately. Instead, it is a character-driven piece that travels through the human psyche and delivers raw emotion on an epic scale.
The movie was released this year and is now on DVD. While it did not convey the emotional intensity that the book portrays, I thought it was a beautiful and chilling movie.
I didn't think I was going to like this book when my sister-in-law gave it to me. After 2 pages I couldn't put it down! It's about a teenage girl who was murdered and is watching her family and friends from heaven. Interesting and intriguing.
A hauntingly sweet story. I read through it eager to get to the end. I actually thought the end made it a bit more real. If I were a teen I suppose I would have made the same decision... I find myself at the most unusual moments thinking of the story and being grateful for what I have.
Sadly, I reread this recently and didn't find it to be as good as I remembered.
Beautiful book with a great story. One to be read leaisurely.
An excellant read! A must have!
A page turner, for sure! I loved this book. Told from the perspective of a child who passed on in a violent manner. Sounds like it'd be heavy but its actually more light than you'd think. One of those books that has you thinking about it for weeks after you finish it.
#1 National Bestseller. Very good book. Different kind of story. Story is told in first person by a 14 year old girl who was murdered.
I don't usually read this kind of stuff but it's a popular book so I thought I'd give it a try- and I liked it. Great writing. Glad I took a chance.
I really enjoyed this book. I found it to be disturbing, emotional, and loving throughout the book.
A fascinating and fantastical look at the process of grief and healing.
Excellent story. Kept me reading and page-turning. Well written.
I felt compelled to write a review on The Lovely Bones. I saw the movie poster the other night in the theatre. I, of course, had heard of the book, but didn't want to read it because of the graphic content. I changed my mind and started......I could not put this book down! I read it in two days, and for me that is amazing since I have four kids. It reminds us how fragile life is and also to cherish what we have. Told through the eyes of Susie, a 14 year old girl, it is truly fascinating. Enjoy.
I kind of hate to review this book, because I am not with everyone else.... for me it was just ok and about 100 pages too long... it took me way too long to read it, for me a non keeper and I won't try to get her other books!
Well written, engaging/tearful story. I did find the ending kind of open, with a lack of satisfying closure, so not the kind of book that leaves me feeling "well, that was really good". (And not the kind of book that imho would present itself well as a movie)
Nevertheless, evocative prose style and content of the first 150 pages had me riveted and on verge of tears.
Nevertheless, evocative prose style and content of the first 150 pages had me riveted and on verge of tears.
Good book but sad.
Beautifully written, mesmerizing, heartbreaking, disturbing, so many emotions in just one book. I had a hard time with some parts, but couldn't put the book down. I needed to know the family would eventually be "ok." I had to know that Susie's killer met justice.
If you have children, this book will definitely break your heart.
Excellent book.
If you have children, this book will definitely break your heart.
Excellent book.
I read this book after it was suggested to me by some co-workers. Honestly, I can say it was an interesting read, but not something that I would classify as a great book. The story of Susie Salmon is told from an interesting point of view, but I don't think I really connected to the characters.
I actually think this is one of the few books that will turn out to make a movie that is actually better than the book.
I actually think this is one of the few books that will turn out to make a movie that is actually better than the book.
Haunting and beautiful. I think this may be a new classic.
I enjoyed the overall story, but wish it had a better ending. It shows how a tragedy can tear a family apart.
This book kept my interest throughout the entire book. When a girl is murdered in 1973, she watches her family and friends try to cope from heaven. It is an interesting premise and had at least one major twist that I didn't see coming. I would recommend this book.
I really loved the opening and was extremely excited about the book but by the end I was bored and just trying to finish it. Maybe I was bored because of other things but it didn't hld my attention throughout.
Tried to read it...just couldn't get into it.
i didnr finish this book since it was so dark where I was readig.I had been through 5 deaths in my family so it was a little much.
I think it depends on what you r going through in life sometimes that will determine what books will help you
I think it depends on what you r going through in life sometimes that will determine what books will help you
0ne of the best I've read
This is a very good book. I breezed through it on two 3 hour plane rides. I could not put it down.
A family struggles to accept the brutal murder of their 14-year-old daughter, as she watches them from heaven.
I can't think of anything deeper to say than "WHOA...WOW". I wish I could forget what I read so I can read it all over again.
Really enjoyed and it was a fast read I like that the little girl tells her own story
Interesting and "strangely enchanting".
Young girl has been murdered and adjusts to her new home in heaven. Suspenseful and humorous.
An amazing story, couldn't put it down.
I have not finished it yet--about 50 pages left but I love it!! It is so beautifully written.
Amazing, haunting book. I love the way Alice Sebold writes. The detail and flashbacks are so vivid.
This story is not for kids though and is extremely graphic.
This story is not for kids though and is extremely graphic.
This book is really interesting. So much better then the movie which I didn't like at all. The books ending is all together different then the movie.
I did not think I would like this book because of the subject matter, but once I started reading, it really grabbed me. Very well-written and a quick read. Haven't decided if I'm going to see the movie or not.
This was a good book it got me hooked on the first chapter, even though it was a little graphic. It was written very well.
I absolutely loved how this book was written. I found it hard to put down. I like how she continues to follow the characters throughout the book and doesn't leave you hanging at the end. Best book I have read in a while.
Very sad story but was a really good read. I have not seen the movie yet but I plan to now!
I can't say that I was thrilled with this book. It was interesting enough for me to read to the end, which IS saying something, since I am a slow reader and if a book doesn't grab me and keep me interested, I put it down.
But I was not impressed by the writing or the story. The point-of-view was too gimmicky. I also never developed an affinity for any of the characters. They were flat. I didn't really care what happened to them. But apparently lots of people liked the book, so hopefully my opinion won't taint your reading.
But I was not impressed by the writing or the story. The point-of-view was too gimmicky. I also never developed an affinity for any of the characters. They were flat. I didn't really care what happened to them. But apparently lots of people liked the book, so hopefully my opinion won't taint your reading.
This book was heartbreaking, moving, inspiring, depressing and uplifting all at the same time. Well worth it.
I absolutely love this book. It is an incredibly sad story, and it took me a while to get through it the first time ( I had to stop at several parts to go grab tissues!) but after the initial read, I kept coming back to it! To date, I believe I've read The Lovely Bones at LEAST six times, and have found something new and great about it with each reread.
This book can be quite dark and disturbing, but beautiful and enlightening at the same time. It really makes you think about what happens in the afterlife.
I loved this book - I thought it was an amazing story, well written, great characters - everything I could want in a book. Until near the end, and what I will call the unnecessary chapter that went beyond suspension of disbelief. I won't give details and ruin the story for anyone who has not read the book, but let me say I was extremely disappointed and my rating plummeted from 5 (yes I was planning on giving it 5 stars) to 1. I am not even interested in seeing the movie now for fear that it will be ruined in the same way. I wish I could say that I love this book, and I did until the last hundred pages or so. As good as the majority of the story was, I would not recommend this book.
Stragely unique. Amazing descriptives of everything. Beautiful story!
You all have probably seen the movie, but as often as we've heard it, the book was better.
This was one of the most original books I've ever read. Such an original story! It was difficult to read in certain spots, disturbing would be a better word. The ending was a bit disappointing for me, and I can't really explain why without giving too much away. Even through the low points, this will remain a story/book I will never forget. It took me so many places emotionally and mentally - very few books have done that to me. I would definitely recommend!
I really didn't care for this book. I found myself wanting to skip over some of the pages just to make it through the book faster so I could be done with it, and not have to read it anymore. It was one of those books where when you are done with it you say to yourself, "that was a strange book." When I finished it I didn't feel satisfied.
This book DID seem longer than it should have been. There were also blatant typos, but probably publishing errors, or something. It was easy to read, something a 10 year old could get through-but probably too explicit for kids. The story bordere...more This book almost seemed longer than it should have been. There were also blatant typos, but probably publishing errors, or something. It was easy to read, something a 10 year old could get through-but probably too explicit for kids. The story bordered on too cheesy, but thankfully didn't quite reach that point. For me the story was more about a transitional time in the US, between secrets and coverups in the 50's-60's and the honesty of the 70'-80s. About a time when people did things then people looked the other way entering in to a time when people started guarding their families and children more closely. The ghostly quality for me was just like remembering childhood, and made me think of things I might have wished I had done, or not done. I am not really interested in reading any more of her books-I just don't think it is my preferred genre. I haven't seen the movie yet but I imagine its pretty much an enhanced chick flick. I kept thinking back to Jane Eyre(which is mentioned in this book, interestingly) and kind of wanted it to be more like that-somehow.
A beautifully tragic story about a life, a death, and everything that came after. "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." With these opening words, you are catapaulted into a heartwrenching and yet ever hopeful story about a family trying to cope with the worst tragedy imaginable.
Alice Sebold crafts her story brilliantly. From the father who loves his daughter too much to let her go without getting justice, the mother who is too devastated to cope, the sister who desperately wants to get out of her shadow, and the brother too young to understand beyond knowing an important part of his life is missing, this could be any family after a tragic loss. The emotional range and power are tremendous as you take an inside look at a family and community forever altered in some way by a horrible crime.
Narrated by Susie Salmon, the reader is given a unique perspective on events, as Susie tells about her life and relates to us what happens on Earth in the aftermath of her death. While it is almost unbearably tragic, it is also full of hope. Life does continue, wounds don't disappear but they do heal, and those left behind can find happiness without forgetting those who they lost. It's a hard book to read in the beginning, but an amazing book to finish.
Alice Sebold crafts her story brilliantly. From the father who loves his daughter too much to let her go without getting justice, the mother who is too devastated to cope, the sister who desperately wants to get out of her shadow, and the brother too young to understand beyond knowing an important part of his life is missing, this could be any family after a tragic loss. The emotional range and power are tremendous as you take an inside look at a family and community forever altered in some way by a horrible crime.
Narrated by Susie Salmon, the reader is given a unique perspective on events, as Susie tells about her life and relates to us what happens on Earth in the aftermath of her death. While it is almost unbearably tragic, it is also full of hope. Life does continue, wounds don't disappear but they do heal, and those left behind can find happiness without forgetting those who they lost. It's a hard book to read in the beginning, but an amazing book to finish.
This is a depressing book about a girl named Susie Salmon whom is 14, that is murdered by her next door neighbor, Mr. Harvey.
She is the narrator of the story from the moment you begin reading the book. Susie tells you how she was murdered, about life before death, and what her heaven is like. The book is rather slow going from start to finish. I often found myself wondering when it would pick up the pace. It was also pretty predictable with most of the characters being rather annoying.
The ending could have been better as a few things could have been changed. The mother in the book needed to be slapped and I wished her other daughter Lindsey would have done it. I was cheering Buckly on when he told her off. If you want to be depressed and frusterated then this is the book to pick up. Otherwise move on as it will just waste your time.
She is the narrator of the story from the moment you begin reading the book. Susie tells you how she was murdered, about life before death, and what her heaven is like. The book is rather slow going from start to finish. I often found myself wondering when it would pick up the pace. It was also pretty predictable with most of the characters being rather annoying.
The ending could have been better as a few things could have been changed. The mother in the book needed to be slapped and I wished her other daughter Lindsey would have done it. I was cheering Buckly on when he told her off. If you want to be depressed and frusterated then this is the book to pick up. Otherwise move on as it will just waste your time.
THIS BOOK WAS FANTASTIC.
The tragedy of the plot catches your attention and the drama and small bits of humor really make you wanna read on. I have read this book twice, and it's nice because the beginning, (the part where she is killed...), isn't too graphic. I highly recommend it.
The tragedy of the plot catches your attention and the drama and small bits of humor really make you wanna read on. I have read this book twice, and it's nice because the beginning, (the part where she is killed...), isn't too graphic. I highly recommend it.
I read this book in one sitting, I could not put it down. It was excellent. It challenges traditional ideas of the afterlife and death and delivers a story you cannot walk away from until you know what comes next. It did find myself skimming over some of the details in points - as though the descriptions were so detailed it was hard to absorb but overall the book was very good. You will probably cry.
good book.
this book really drew me in. i can't really say it was action-packed, but there was just something about it that kept the pages turning. couldn't put it down.
national best seller
This is a very good story of a young dead girl.
This is a very good book, written from the point of view of a murdered teenager, from her new vantage point in heaven.
Susie Salmon, murdered at age fourteen, is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, while back on earth her grief-stricken family is unraveling. Out of unspeakable tradegy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy. This phenomenal #1 bestseller is a novel celebrated at once for its narrative artistry, its luminous clarity of emotions, and its astonishing power to lay claim to the hearts of millions of readers around the world.
good spin on life after death
A strange, wonderful, even funny book, written in the voice of a girl who was murdered.
Great book on a very distressful subject. Gives you hope about your loved ones in Heaven. Touching and powerful.
Susie Salmon, murdered at age fourteen, is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected.
While the book itself was good I found the plot disappointing. I had heard that the story was about a dead girl leading her father to her murderer but very little of the book focused on actually finding him.
Wow...interesting book and views of heaven from the author!
I couldn't put this book down
this was a most interesting read. It was not what i expected
The details of the story are very disturbing. However, I liked that the story was told from the voice of the child.
While the story kept my interest, i can see why some would find it disturbing. While there is only one graphic sexually violent scene in the beginning of the book (one can see it coming - i skipped over it to the next chapter with little plot consequence)if the reader has a child it would hit close to home. I enjoyed the style of writing and the perspective (written in the 1st person of the deceased child) but this book isn't for everyone. Good story, intense, emotional, even funny at times, but can be a bit disturbing, especially for those readers with children.
bookclub book. Fantastic must read
I was not a big fan of this "fan favorite", it seemed a little ridiculous if you ask me. I was drawn in deep from the first page, but I hated the end of the book.
I have not read the book yet but it sounds amazing and captivating like another book i have read May Bird (one of my fav books)
Very good book.. Keeps your interest the entire time. A must read
WOW!
This is a gripping story of the path to healing after a brutal murder. How the victim recovers and how her family copes is heart rending.
This is a gripping story of the path to healing after a brutal murder. How the victim recovers and how her family copes is heart rending.
I was actually very disappointed with this book. It was well-written and kept my attention, but the ending of seemed to come right out of the blue. I ended up feeling depressed by the conclusion.
That being said, technically, it was a "good" book. It seemed to do everything right-- great characterization, a very driven plot, and was just written well.
However, overall, it wasn't what I was expecting at all. It is nothing I will read again nor suggest to anyone else.
That being said, technically, it was a "good" book. It seemed to do everything right-- great characterization, a very driven plot, and was just written well.
However, overall, it wasn't what I was expecting at all. It is nothing I will read again nor suggest to anyone else.
Riveting! I could not put it down. I got the book and had it read in 24 hours. Fabulous... I would highly recommend this book.
So good! And SOOOOOOOO much better than the movie. The movie tries to shield you from what actually happened to Susie Salmon whereas in the book, you are aware of every minute detail. It is so horrifying and yet so poignant and beautiful.
this is the worst book ive ever read. it was so slow i couldn't finish it. i hated it
I finished this a little bit ago but let it sit, mulling it over, trying to decide if I really liked it or not.
There's not a whole lot to say about the plot, since there's been a movie made and nearly everyone knows that the book starts with fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon's murder. So I'm not going to dwell on the synopsis...you can find it easily enough.
Here's what I did like: Heaven. Everyone's Heaven fits them and their personalities/experiences/dreams. Sometimes they overlap with dear friends and relatives; sometimes people are missing. You can't force someone to be with you if that wouldn't be Heaven to them. Things Susie saw on earth also affected her Heaven. Loved that. And I cried when Holiday arrived. Because it wouldn't be Heaven without my dog.
And what I didn't like: Omniscience. Susie sees all, even things that are happening at the same time. It gets a little overbearing and more than a little creepy. Would you want your dead sister peaking in while you lost your virginity? Yeah, more than awkward.
There's one other thing that bugged me but with time, I've decided it was fitting. I can't say what it is without spoiling the end but watch out for icicles.
There's not a whole lot to say about the plot, since there's been a movie made and nearly everyone knows that the book starts with fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon's murder. So I'm not going to dwell on the synopsis...you can find it easily enough.
Here's what I did like: Heaven. Everyone's Heaven fits them and their personalities/experiences/dreams. Sometimes they overlap with dear friends and relatives; sometimes people are missing. You can't force someone to be with you if that wouldn't be Heaven to them. Things Susie saw on earth also affected her Heaven. Loved that. And I cried when Holiday arrived. Because it wouldn't be Heaven without my dog.
And what I didn't like: Omniscience. Susie sees all, even things that are happening at the same time. It gets a little overbearing and more than a little creepy. Would you want your dead sister peaking in while you lost your virginity? Yeah, more than awkward.
There's one other thing that bugged me but with time, I've decided it was fitting. I can't say what it is without spoiling the end but watch out for icicles.
I managed to avoid seeing the movie or hearing too much about this story so I could read the book first - it was a very good book, one that does keep you emotionally invested. Even though it concerns the horrific murder of a child, and some descriptions are very explicit, part of it is actually very uplifting as the story is told from her point of view from heaven or "visiting" her loved ones here on earth. It's a very good read - I was somewhat disappointed in one twist near the end and an anti-climactic ending, but still enjoyed the book.
Being a male, I wasn't sure at first if this book would be aimed toward me. But once I read the first page, I was hooked. The pictures it paints are so vivid. You learn to love most the characters and hate one. Reading this book was an emotional journey, and probably the only book in which I cried while reading. There are some funny and happy parts too. This was by far the BEST book that I ever read.
We found the storyline timeless. People need to be aware of their surroundings and trust their intuition. The book was able to drive that point home without being preachy.
I had heard of this book and had friends say they had read the book and liked it. My interest was really peaked once I started seeing the previews of the new Peter Jackson movie that comes out this month. I started reading the book on a Wednesday and finished it on a Friday - that's how "in" the book I got. You truly feel like you are a part of the book and going through all the emotions the family is going through. I am not going to say that this is a GREAT book, but definetly a GOOD book...and a must read. It makes you think! I am anxiously awaiting the movie so that I can compare and get a chance to see what Suzie's heaven looks like on the big screen.
A must read book.
Good. Ejoyed it
This book was not good, despite what all the other reviews say...it just wasn't. The Lovely Bones was sad, depressing, and disturbing. On top of that it didn't even end well...I could have gotten over the depressing parts of the book if it ended on a happy note. Don't read it. Don't waist your time.
This was a very good read and one I was not knowing what to expect but once I got into the first chapter I had to finish it that night because it heart touching.
I found myself completely gripped to this book. Sebold's fluid writing enchants readers. However, it is a haunting tale that made my skin creep and a first chapter I would rather erase from my memory with the next book I read. The story is tragic and weaves throughout the pages in an unexpected path; rarely taking the form where you would find other books going involving the same subject. I found it as disappointing as I did enchanting. It is without a doubt though, absolutely a good book; even fantastic at levels.
"Inside the snow globe on my father's desk, there was a penguin wearing a red-and-white-striped scarf. When I was little my father would pull me into his lap and reach for the snow globe. He would turn it over, letting all the snow collect o the top, then quickly invert it. The two of us watched the snow fall gently around the penguin. The penguin was alone in there, I thought, and I worried for him. When I told my father this, he said, "Don't worry, Susie; he has a nice life. He's trapped in a perfect world.""
Thus begins The Lovely Bones. Susie is a young girl of just fourteen years when she is taken, raped, murdered and dismembered. Instincts tell her father who committed this crime against his child whose body is never found. He goes to the police with his suspicions and though they investigate the man they need evidence which they are unable to find.
One would think this a difficult book to read but this reader did not find it so. It is told from the perspective of Susie, the victim, who is in heaven. A heaven such as I, who believe in heaven and hell, have never envisioned. It is rather a casual place and Susie's enjoyments on earth are also her enjoyments in heaven. And Susie can see and hear what is happening on earth, within her families and others, even her murderer. But she doesn't spend all of her time in this way. There are times when those remaining on earth feel the presence of Susie near them.
As Susie tells her story the horror of it does not become negligible but she tells it in a way that one can accept and move around it and remain within the story. Not just the event.
This is the story of how a family deals with and yet cannot deal with the tragic loss of a beloved child. And Sebold tells this tale in a masterful way very different from those you have read on like subject matter.
The climax of the book may not be what you expect, need or desire. But it suits what comes before.
This is my second Sebold read. I am only saddened that there is only one more currently out there to read. I highly recommend The Lovely Bones and rated it 4 stars.
Thus begins The Lovely Bones. Susie is a young girl of just fourteen years when she is taken, raped, murdered and dismembered. Instincts tell her father who committed this crime against his child whose body is never found. He goes to the police with his suspicions and though they investigate the man they need evidence which they are unable to find.
One would think this a difficult book to read but this reader did not find it so. It is told from the perspective of Susie, the victim, who is in heaven. A heaven such as I, who believe in heaven and hell, have never envisioned. It is rather a casual place and Susie's enjoyments on earth are also her enjoyments in heaven. And Susie can see and hear what is happening on earth, within her families and others, even her murderer. But she doesn't spend all of her time in this way. There are times when those remaining on earth feel the presence of Susie near them.
As Susie tells her story the horror of it does not become negligible but she tells it in a way that one can accept and move around it and remain within the story. Not just the event.
This is the story of how a family deals with and yet cannot deal with the tragic loss of a beloved child. And Sebold tells this tale in a masterful way very different from those you have read on like subject matter.
The climax of the book may not be what you expect, need or desire. But it suits what comes before.
This is my second Sebold read. I am only saddened that there is only one more currently out there to read. I highly recommend The Lovely Bones and rated it 4 stars.
This book was so morbid and kind of uncomfortable to read at times. I would never read it again. The topic of book though was so horrific. :( It was well written though.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful read!
I couldn't put it down and I was in a Borders, Books and Music when I was reading it. It had such grief, but at the same time a peaceful understanding comes over the main character and you at the same time. As another reviewer said: Simply poetic!
I couldn't put it down and I was in a Borders, Books and Music when I was reading it. It had such grief, but at the same time a peaceful understanding comes over the main character and you at the same time. As another reviewer said: Simply poetic!
Don't judge a book by its movie. This is a gentle, sensitive, insightful and tender story of a young girl love for her family and friends after her murder and her community's love and grief. Despite the painful topic it is deeply life-affirming and not emotionally exploitative.
I enjoyed this book even though it was a little outside the scope of what I normally read. It's written from an interesting point of view.
A heartwrenching good read.
I enjoyed this book and its layers.
An interesting prespective of life after death. While the context of the story had great potential, the ending was lacking. There were a number of "make you think" moments and situations scattered throughout the story, but the author failed to follow through on the original idea/suggestion that was presented. This is a great read for a Book Club as it will create much discussion.
This book was a very enjoyable read. Enjoyable is a strange word to attribute to a novel about a fourteen year old girl who was raped and murdered, but I found myself not able to put it down. It is suspenseful in a beautifully abstract way. Sebold establishes rich character who are routed in real emotions. They fear, love, and fail. Hope is redemptive, and love- prevailing. This book was enriching to my thoughts. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, meaningful read.
awesome book. Keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Loved it, can't wait to see Marky Mark and Stanley Tucci in the movie!
I did not not want to read this book orginially because I thought it would be too sad and heart wrenching. It takes a sad situation and makes it memorable, funny and touching.It is emotional but in a good way. Alice Sebold is a wonderful writer.
Excellent read! Keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. A very shocking and suprising ending!
I literally could not put it down! Beautifully written but suspenseful all at once.
The book was very brilliant and a page turner till the end. It was horror, sadness, funny and exciting all in one.
Great book!
An excellent story. Well written the story moves along at a steady pace. I do like the author's take on "heaven".
Interesting way to tell a story about a murder.
A strangely fascinating read.
WOW!! This was my first Alice Sebold book and I am just blown away. The story just grabbed me and I could not put the book down till I finished it.
Hilda
Hilda
Many reviews for this book say "I couldn't put this down!". For me it was just the opposite. I couldn't get into it at all. To me it was very slow. So after the first time I put it down, I didn't really want to pick it up again. This wasn't my "cup of tea" so to speak.
Very good book, so hard to put down!
A very moving book..I couldn't put it down.
I laughed, I cried. I adore this book. A must read!
One of the most unusual, and strangely comforting, books that I have ever read. It's beautifully writtne, thoroughly engaging, smart, and bold.
Did not enjoy this book--combination of the subject matter and the style of writing. Would not recommend this book.
Hard to keep reading. Slow...but the store was good.
Loved this book! I have been meaning to read it for years and finally actually got it from a fellow "swapper". Now I am returning the favor. Great story, strong characters, nice writing style and easy to follow. Had me turning pages faster than usual!
A strange tale told from the point of view of the murdered heroine. Very readable
Absolutely a great book to read!
An interesting perspective of a sad story. I really liked it.
One of my favorites. Keeps the reader interested until the very end.
Interesting view point on Heaven.
Thought it was a pretty good book. I like that she wasn't discovered her killer not caught because it made it more real for me since there are thousands of poeple who are never found or caught.
this one would be one of those 'dont judge a book by its cover' novels. it was absolutely great!!
Good book, quick read.
i'm suprised i even finished this book, though i must say i don't ever walk away from a book. i can't believe they are making a movie out of this. what is hollywood thinking! i do not recommend it.
I pretty much loved this book, but I will say from the start that I can absolutely see why it is not for everyone. This is tough subject matter, a very emotional ride, and something you wont easily forget. If nothing else, I would encourage you to definitely read it in the privacy of your home its not the sort of book I would have taken out in public. The tears started flowing from page one, and didnt let up much throughout the entire book.
Im not sure what I thought this book would be I knew it was the story of a girl who was tragically murdered, but I guess I assumed ahead of time that it was a murder mystery. It is definitely not that. We are introduced to Susies murderer on the second page and there is no doubt whatsoever that he is the guilty person. Instead, this is a tale of what heaven might be like, what things could be after you die, and what is left behind on earth after you go.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
http://www.dorolerium.com/?p=2662
Im not sure what I thought this book would be I knew it was the story of a girl who was tragically murdered, but I guess I assumed ahead of time that it was a murder mystery. It is definitely not that. We are introduced to Susies murderer on the second page and there is no doubt whatsoever that he is the guilty person. Instead, this is a tale of what heaven might be like, what things could be after you die, and what is left behind on earth after you go.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
http://www.dorolerium.com/?p=2662
fourteek yearold's perspective on her world written from heaven. Memorable and fasicnating read.
LOVED this book! couldnt put it down. very engaging
Everyone should read this book and those that can't read should have it read to them.
Amazing story. Really makes you think...
Haunting ~ this one will stay with you.
I loved this book. One of my faves
Excellent book. Finished it in two days. A quick compelling read.
I could not put this book down. Sad and haunting story, but not a tear jerker. Told from the victim's point of view, gives an interesting slant to the "beyond". Highly recommended!
Great book. Sad but has a novel idea regarding dead people
I have never cried so hard and wanted to hold my kids so tight as I did when I listened to this book. I've listened to and read alot of books, but this is the BEST I've ever heard.I guarantee you will love this story. I can't bring myself to post my copy of it yet!!!!!
An expertly written book. Alice Sebold takes the readers imagination to places it's never been before.
This book was a page turner. I would definitely recommend it!
interesting quick read
I've got to admit, I'm a blood and guts, murder mystery, cop-procedural book lover so I was very hesitent about this book. BUT, I fell in love with it and like many of the other reviewers, found myself laughing and crying...both hallmarks of a good story to me. I was drawn into the storyline right away and hated when I had to turn the book off when I arrived at my destination. I found that I was also interested to see how the author was going to end the story and, while sad to actually have it end, the ending itself was also good. Never expected to like this book, now I'm not so sure I want to part with it! Highly recommend.
This is one the. Best books I have read.
I could not put this book down.
Very interesting mystery. Deep thinking is involved. Could have had a younger reader and that would have been the only change. This is a very unusual story that is both provocative and exciting. Loved the characters and their different takes on the same problem.
Such a tragic but wonderful story. I absolutely loved this book.
Excellent story.
I read books-into-movies when the masses tell me to. It's rarely worth it. Theven Lovely Bones is a masterful roller coaster of an exception.
A very sad story but a wonderful read.
I thought this book was pretty good. I was expecting a bit more (since I heard such good things about it) but wasn't overly thrilled with it.
This is a very interesting book. A young girl meets with a horrible fate and how she made her place in her heaven. A very touching story.
I loved this story kept you till the end
I loved this story. Alice Sebold is an excellent story-teller, she wraps you up in the story and doesn't let you go.
Beyond amazing, powerful, imaginative and heart-wrenching. Thank goodness we have authors like Alice Sebold who can craft simple words into a complex and unforgettable creation. Definitely one of the most memorable books I've ever read.
This book was a little creepy, but I loved it.
I could not put this book down.. a great read!
This book presents an interesting perspective. An emotional event is portrayed by the different characters it effects. It is well written and I highly recommend it.
I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. I ready it in a couple of days.
It was written wonderfully and while the story was a little disturbing, it really make you think of the future and beyond. I was a little disappointed with the ending, however. It does extrude a lot of emotion from sadness to joy to some dark comedy. A pretty good read overall.
Once in a generation a novel comes along that taps a vein of universal human experience, resonating with readers of all ages. THE LOVELY BONES is such a book -- a #1 bestseller celebrated at once for its artistry, for its luminous clarity of emotion, and for its astonishing power to lay claim to the hearts of millions of readers around the world.
Very fast read. Worth reading but not up there with my favorites. Creative concept.
A WELL WRITTING FOR ALICE SEBOLD, STORY ABOUT THE GIRL WHO LOOKING DOWN FROM HEAVEN, TO SEE HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS AFTER SHE HAVE BEEN MURDERED. ALTHOUGH, I DON,T KNOW WHY THE AUTHOR WANT THE KILLER END HIS LIFE LIKE THAT...I USED TO LIKE JUSTICE HAVE BEEN SERVE AT THE END OF THE STORY....BUT IN THIS CASE, THE LIFE OF SALMON FAMILY GOT TO MOVE ON...
I was given the movie by my sister in law. I bought the book to have the pair. When I finally saw the movie, I decided the story was too devastating to me. I gave the movie away. I haven't read the book and would like to get rid of it. It is too devastating.
Interesting story - for some reason did not grab me emotionally like so many others I know who read it, but I am still glad I read it through.
not a bad read - not really for those seeking a detective novel, and a bit of a plot-hole here and there but still a good choice.
Enjoyed it.
I could not put this book down, it was captivating, I cannot wait for the movie version!
I must be the only person to not understand all the "Hoo-Haa" surrounding this book.
I started out enjoying it and then couldn't wait to finish it ... not because it was a good read but because I wanted to know why everybody else thought it was a good read.
I found the story-line so fragmented that it was hard to keep all the characters in place.
It was a relief when it was over and left me with a feeling of "wha???"
Maybe it is only me but I did not have a feeling of "I wish the story had never ended."
It was a relief when it was over.
Sorry Ms Sebold. I must say though that she has a marvelous demand of description and emotions.
I started out enjoying it and then couldn't wait to finish it ... not because it was a good read but because I wanted to know why everybody else thought it was a good read.
I found the story-line so fragmented that it was hard to keep all the characters in place.
It was a relief when it was over and left me with a feeling of "wha???"
Maybe it is only me but I did not have a feeling of "I wish the story had never ended."
It was a relief when it was over.
Sorry Ms Sebold. I must say though that she has a marvelous demand of description and emotions.
Good but sad.
Beautifully written, engaging story.
I liked it, although it is not a favorite. It's very descriptive and moody.
Incredible how such a sad story can be so compelling and uplifting. Heartbreaking theme, excellently written. Compulsive reading. Expect to ignore the phone, doorbell, and your family until you finish reading!
Fascinating but unnerving
A haunting and chilling story you will never forget.
Sweet & Poignant.
I loved this book! Be prepared to sob though.
Great book... Read the book in 1 day...
Great book- very sad
I really enjoyed this book. Everyone I know has liked it. It does have a sci-fi feel to it, being that the girl who was killed is narrating the story from her perspective. I thought it was beautifully written and it makes a person think.
One of my all time favorites! Just saw the movie and it was a bit dissapointing but after reading a book that was as creative as this I cant imagine how hard it was to translate to the screen. Loved the concept of "in my heaven".....
A great read.
This is a great book.
Great book,I read a book reveiw of this book that was written by Stephen King .Glad I listened to him, and I agree, awesome book.
Wonderful story!
This story is sad from the beginning but very interesting writing and a definite page turner.
Excellent book about a young girl's view from heaven and the way her death affected everyone.
Thoroughly enjoyed this read.
wonderful..... It is missing its jacket after I loaned it to a friend,
still, a great book.
still, a great book.
Great book - really interesting!
great book! easy read! I love it
This was a really good book with a interesting viewpoint from which it was written. Excellent!
So well written and so sad, it reduced me to tears.
Wonderful story.
Lovely, thought-provoking book from the view of a deceased girl in heaven.
Awesome novel. A great read.
I guess I expected a lot from the hype, so I bought this book the week it came out. The point of view was interesting and it started out strong. Unfortunately, to me, it seemed as though the author became distracted in the middle of writing it and threw in a half-hatched ending.
Wonderful!
Very good once I got into it. It is different and intriguing.
It took awhile, but the book did eventually grow on me.
It is a beautiful written story about a horrible event and those who lived it and the one that didn't
Suspenseful and sad. Kept me up at night reading because I wanted to see what would happen!
great novel.
Rivoting. Although it was sad I really enjoyed reading it.
This is an amazing book. One of the best I've ever read. A disturbing subject (the murder of a young girl), but creates wonderful emotional connections with the characters...A must read!
This was a great book. I truly loved Alice Sebold and I also loved her book Lucky. Both great reads.
Very interesting and thought provoking book.
A very good and disturbing book. I would not reccommend reading this when you are alone at night.
Great book, full of supense until the very end.
Haunting story. Very good read.
exceptional book.
I loved this book!! It was sad and yet hopeful and heartwarming all at the same time. A must read!
Great book that grabs your attention. I'm a teacher and I had 4 student aides in different classes reading it when I wasn't!
On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey.
Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters.
Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters.
Wonderful book, glad I read it.
Death. We all think about it. We all experience it second hand at one point. And we will all go through it. We all hope that it will come when we are old and wrinkly and to the point that we accept it. We do not wish that it would be taken from us, brutally, when we are young. Susie Salmon had that same wish.
Susie was only fourteen when she was raped and murdered by a neighbor, Mr. Harvey. But this book is not all about her death and who did it and how it happened. We find out right in the beginning. This novel is about how Susie's death was just a pebble in the pond.
Alice Sebold takes on the lives of everyone around Susie Salmon. From family, to crushes, to her friends she had and the friends she never knew she had. The way Sebold writes out what happens to each of them, makes us feel as if we are living with them. As if, like Susie, we are looking down upon them from heaven. The heaven that is the most perfect place. Not hers, but also, our perfect world.
We see a family that was as close as any can be, break up into separate paths. Friendships formed that would have otherwise been left untouched. They all share her death. But, Susie shows us that death is not something to be feared. It is something that should be welcomed when the time comes.
I could go on and on about this novel, but it is one of those books that when someone reads it, everyone see's something different. And I could go on and on for hours. But, I'd rather have you read it and experience the pain and joy for yourselves. Because as we all know; Death, is but another great adventure.
Susie was only fourteen when she was raped and murdered by a neighbor, Mr. Harvey. But this book is not all about her death and who did it and how it happened. We find out right in the beginning. This novel is about how Susie's death was just a pebble in the pond.
Alice Sebold takes on the lives of everyone around Susie Salmon. From family, to crushes, to her friends she had and the friends she never knew she had. The way Sebold writes out what happens to each of them, makes us feel as if we are living with them. As if, like Susie, we are looking down upon them from heaven. The heaven that is the most perfect place. Not hers, but also, our perfect world.
We see a family that was as close as any can be, break up into separate paths. Friendships formed that would have otherwise been left untouched. They all share her death. But, Susie shows us that death is not something to be feared. It is something that should be welcomed when the time comes.
I could go on and on about this novel, but it is one of those books that when someone reads it, everyone see's something different. And I could go on and on for hours. But, I'd rather have you read it and experience the pain and joy for yourselves. Because as we all know; Death, is but another great adventure.
Read the book before you see the movie. I truely believe this and in this case it is the best advise. A truely amazing storey from the victums perspective, only in the book can you really feel what she is feeling and understand what she is thinking. The movie did an excelent job trying to capture this but the book does it superbly.
Maybe I should finish it. I had to put it down. Really did not like at all.
Hauntingly beautifully written book. Very memorable, you won't be able to put it down once you start reading!
Sebold creates so many wonderful characters in this novel. I loved reading about each one of them through the eyes of Susie Salmon beyond the grave.
A page turner for sure...I wish it had a different ending though.
After hearing so much about this book from my friends, I finally (years later) picked it up. The story was interesting, and wasn't difficult to read. However, the ending of the book was quite disappointing. I would recommend the book to others, but would not call it a favorite.
Very enjoyable read with just the proper balance of poignancy, horror, and belief. Murdered girl looks down from heaven and observes her family and friends and murderer.
Very entertaining story.
A little slow.
Excellent novel
A great book. I read it over 2 days.. it was hard to put down. It makes you love life.
But as a side note (something that I did not realize) is that it contains stories of rape.. so it could be a trigger to survivors.
But as a side note (something that I did not realize) is that it contains stories of rape.. so it could be a trigger to survivors.
Very powerful and well-written novel. Painful premise, but handled with humor and insight. I'm glad I read it.
I have not read this book; however my wife read it and she asys it is a very good book. I think she read it in about 1 1/2 days.
When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope.
In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth continuing without her -- her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone.
And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it -- except the thing she most wants: to be back with the people she loved on Earth.
With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on, only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event.
In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth continuing without her -- her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone.
And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it -- except the thing she most wants: to be back with the people she loved on Earth.
With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on, only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event.
Very good book. Was a Christmas present for someone else.
Will NOT be reposting it.
Will NOT be reposting it.
This was a great book from start to finish! I couldn't put it down until I was at the last page.
Not bad. Probably won't read it again so I am reposting it.
A very good read. Hard to put down. Absolutely loved it.
Very well done, unique first novel. Told from the point of view of a murdered girl looking down on those left behind. Grief, loss and how life eventually goes on.
My name was Salmon, like the fish;first name,Susie,I was fourteen when L was murdered on December 6,1973.So begins the story of Susie salmon,who is adjusting to her home in heaven,a place that is not at all what she expected,even as she is watching life on earth continue without her.
Susie Salmon, murdered at age fourteen is adjusting to her new home in Heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, while back on earth her grief-stricken family is unraveling.
Loved it, even better than I expected. Would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something a little different.
was ok took me a while to read it
This was a good book, got great reviews from literary critics, but I didn't enjoy it because of the subject matter (I don't think I knew what it was about until I was well into the book). If you don't like to read about children being hurt, don't read this book.
This was a heartwarming book, have to read it till you finish .
Really enjoyed this book, couldn't put it down.
Book is a little worn but still intact
Wonderful book...never expected to like it this much.
* *. Drama. A young girl who is brutally murdered watches from heaven as her family copes with her loss and her unsolved murder and tries to move on.
While the book held my attention, I was often taken out of the story by some far-fetched scenes. From the adult language of the child-narrator, to the mind-reading, the voyeurism (sans curiosity), the "eviction" (you'll understand when you read it), asking all of this seems over-the-top in a novel that wants to be "literate".
While the book held my attention, I was often taken out of the story by some far-fetched scenes. From the adult language of the child-narrator, to the mind-reading, the voyeurism (sans curiosity), the "eviction" (you'll understand when you read it), asking all of this seems over-the-top in a novel that wants to be "literate".
Probably one of the best fiction books I have read. I love Alice Sebold!
great read
A teenager looks down from heaven after her death.
Got it as a gift... Never read it. But we've all heard the reviews.
Autographed copy! Sensitive and insightful account of a teenage girl who was murdered by a neighbor. Suzy narrated from heaven the story of her life and death, expressed her regrets, and watched her loss and its effect on her remaining family on earth. Her father, mother, sister and brother all were impacted by missing Suzy in their own ways, their lives shaped by her absence. Unorthodox and thought provoking novel.
On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey.
Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue."
The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue."
The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From the Publisher
Sebold has given us a fantasy-fable of great authority, charm, and daring. She's a one-of-a-kind writer."
Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections
When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope.
In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth continuing without her -- her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone.
And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it -- except the thing she most wants: to be back with the people she loved on Earth.
With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on, only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event.
The Lovely Bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.
Sebold has given us a fantasy-fable of great authority, charm, and daring. She's a one-of-a-kind writer."
Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections
When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope.
In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth continuing without her -- her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone.
And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it -- except the thing she most wants: to be back with the people she loved on Earth.
With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on, only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event.
The Lovely Bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973"
So begins the story of Susie, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her-
her firends trading rumors, her killer covering his tracks and her grief stricken family unraveling.
Wonderful Book..
So begins the story of Susie, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her-
her firends trading rumors, her killer covering his tracks and her grief stricken family unraveling.
Wonderful Book..
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her--- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, suspense, even joy.
My name was Salmon,like the fish: first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. "So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her-her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.
From the back cover:
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973" So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973" So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.
My name is Salmon, like the fishm first name Susie, I was fouteeen when I was murdered on Dec. 6, 1973. So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her-her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss the Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in buidling a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense , even joy.
I ended up with two copies of this one~
