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Summary: An insightful look at life and death
Review: Narrated by a very intelligent fourteen-year-old, Susie Salmon, this story opens with her violent death in a cornfield at the hands of a quietly deranged man, George Harvey. She narrates the story from heaven, a place that continually changes as she matures and watches her family's struggles and accomplishments on earth. Reeling from the grisly crime and not having closure to their daughter's death, Susie's parents have a difficult time coming to terms with this situation, and as a result, their marriage and relationships with their other two children suffer. This story is compassionately told, and the reader quickly feels close to Susie and her family. All of the characters in this small town are interesting and add their own flavor to this intriguing story. Although there's a sad undertone throughout, there are also hints of humor, hope, and love. At times, this was a difficult book to stomach, because of the gruesome nature of George Harvey's life. But overall, it was an excellent book with memorable characters and a masterful plot. It's a quick, mesmerizing read, that leaves you wanting to learn more about Susie's life in her heaven--a mysterious and very interesting place. I'd recommend this book for its unique perspective and its honest look at the effect death has on the people a deceased person leaves behind on earth.
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Summary: Forced Sentimentality Ruins Lovely Bones
Review: I felt almost obligated to read Lovely Bones, as well as to enjoy it. This is the type of book that could place you in the category of "bad person" for not liking it. Well, I guess I'm a bad person, because I think Alice Sebold's Lovely Bones amounted to force-fed sentimentality and strange plot elements. If you're not crying after the first startlingly, and admittedly engaging, first chapter, don't worry. You're given plenty of opportunities to feel heart sick during this tragic story. As if the rape and murder of a 14 year old girl was not enough to leave a bad taste in your mouth for the remainder of the novel, Sebold pours on one horrible occurence after another, brow-beating the reader into a depressed state of melancholy submission with endless descriptions of the muderer's victims, and manipulative tugs at the reader's inherent sympathy for the victim's family. Worst of all, Sebold further unravels as the plot turns into odd supernaturalism. When Susie Solomon, who narrates from heaven after her rape and murder, starts invading bodies and playing Casper the ghost it's apparent the storytelling device used by Sebold is a shameless gimick.
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Summary: It's all about the first chapter
Review: The first chapter is so gripping that you have to keep reading. However, the rest of the book falls flat. The Lovely Bones owes much of its success to timing and topicality. When it was first published there were (sadly) a number of similar cases in the news, and I think that inspired more interest in this book. Beyond the first chapter it's fairly dull.
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Summary: Quite moving at times, not so at others
Review: I, too, read this book after hearing many (well, mostly) good things about it. Although I don't read much mainstream fiction, as I prefer Fantasy, I found that 'The Lovely Bones' touched me. I was often reminded of my own losses and forced to reflect on them. I suppose you can't help but think on them if you've been through anything similar to the Salmon family. However, I found the father, Jack Salmon, to be the only character who seemed real. The mother never grieved at all, only turning into a cold, emotionless woman who wouldn't even attend her own daughter's imprompto memorial! The younger sister, Lindsey, seemed incredibly mature for a 13 year old girl whose sister was just brutally murdered. The father is the only one who is intent on solving the case, although encouraging his daughter to investigate the suspected murderer's house is somewhat questionable. Further, Sebold's version of heaven makes you wonder, as other reviewers have pointed out. And don't even think of understanding Ruth Connors. She seemed a little too much like The Sixth Sense "I see dead people" character and I found she was poorly explained. (I had to go on assumptions with her throughout most of the novel.) Despite all this, I would recommend this book to any who ask me, however. It's enjoyable and sad and sure to pull you in. Just don't expect much from the ending.
Rating: 
Summary: The Lovely Bones
Review: "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold is an exhilarating book to read. It is full of suspense and keeps you reading until the last page of book! Sebold's word choice and descriptions make you feel like you are there in the book! I recommend that you shouldn't start reading "The Lovely Bones" unless you can finish reading it!
"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold is mesmerizing! Susie Salmon a 14 year old girl who is brutally raped and murdered by her neighbor tells the story about the circumstances of her murder through her eyes, while she is in heaven. I found this unusual story because it is told from the perspective of the murdered victim. Even though you know who kills her and how she is killed in the very beginning of the book, the story is still suspenseful through Susie Salmon's eyes, and her family and friends trying to cope with her death and find out the missing pieces of the puzzle. The question of whether Susie's killer would be caught was enough to keep me reading. You will also find yourself thinking about your ideas of life after death, as Alice Sebold presents a different picture of heaven than most of us have ever thought of.
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Summary: Didn't believe in the narrator
Review: I had a hard time believing this was actually a 14-year-old girl narrating - she felt like an adult to me. Better books with (believable) teenage narrators: Feeling Sorry for Celia, Shadow Baby, An Egg on Three Sticks.
Rating:
Summary: Atypical (which translates to Great)
Review: It's kind of like Law and Order from the victim's prospective. It's really an amazing way to tell a story which made it an amazing book to read. The level of originality is on the same scale as The Da Vinci Code and My Fractured Life. The story line is highly unique because it is a sweet soul who encounters very contrary and brutal circumstances. There are some dark undertones that are terrific and reminicent of My Fractured Life. It's not your typical best seller and that's part of what makes it so enjoyable.
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Summary: Eh...
Review: I'm a little bewildered as to why I was bored with this book somewhere from the middle to the end. I swallowed the beginning and thought it was extremely creative, but there were certain characters that I wanted to konw more about (Hal, Samuel, her father in his younger days) and some that were elaborated on too much (Ruth). I would've liked to have found out more about Mr. Harvey's back story. I was getting annoyed that it took so long for the police to gain evidence, but that was realistic. The problem I had with it is when important things like the bear, the necklace, and the hunter were mentioned, it was chapters before we found out the outcome. I guess I was looking for more Law n' Order, less La La Land.
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Summary: Unusual journey
Review: This book was more than a little unnerving; the narrator occupies her own role as a semi-omniscient teenage girl watching from heaven as her family copes with her disappearance, while also occupying the role of each of her family members and her killer. While the book carries a powerful message of the healing qualities of family, it also juxtaposes the more sinister aspects of dysfunctional families and coldly comments on society's movement toward fractured communities and the decline of the neighborhood lifestyle. Can get heavy-handed with the imagery, but has good characters and an interesting storyline.
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Summary: Weird
Review: I really liked the perspective - the girl's thoughts from heaven - and the writing was excellent. The examples of how different people react to tragedy was poignant. However, the plot kept swirling around in different directions and never fleshed anything out fully. Am I the only one who was thinking when she came back to earth how disgusting and disrespectful to use the body of her friend (really just an acquaintance in life) and no contraception!
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