Rating: 
Summary: "Oprah type books not my.........but
Review: This book was laying on the end table. I had finished my manly book and was nowhere near sleep so I picked up the wife's read only becasue of the title. Men like bone books. Well, I was floored and never put the damn thing down until I finished. So clever. Makes me want to read Alice's other book(s). I don't like the fact that heaven is a viewing area for everything that we are missing on Earth, but then again, did Alice actually call it heaven? I hate the fact that when our heroine comes back to Earth for an afternoon she spends it screwing her high school boyfriend and then....SLEEPING!!!!ALICE! ALICE! What the heck is that? She doesn't get enough sleep in heaven? She couldn't drive a couple of miles and see her Dad who thinks about her every minute of every day? Her sister who risked her life to find the evil one? Her brother, her mother?
Good stuff. So smart. How do you writers do this?
Rating: 
Summary: A Glimpse of Heaven
Review: Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones has been on the best-seller lists practically all summer. And after reading her novel it is readily apparent to me why this is so. With believable characters and a plot that kept me turning the pages with cyclonic anticipation I was so drawn into this novel that I felt like I was up in Heaven watching the story unfold with Susie,the protagonist, as my personal narrator!
Sebold has written a strong work of fiction that portrays evil, real-life tragedy being overcome by good, make-believe (or is it?), heavenly intervention.
I'm anxiously awaiting to read Sebold's next novel, hopefully I'll not have to wait very long!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent premise, good start, moderate ending
Review: I purchased this book to occupy my time during a 4 hour flight. Overall I enjoyed it. The first half of the book is much stronger, which is probably why I finished it on the flight home. The author seems to get tired in the middle and looks to an unbelievable recovery, an over-the-top supernatural event, to close the book. This was the only disappointment though. There were times the book made me cry which is not surprising for a mother of three. All total, it was worth the money. Being written from the little girls perspective, I think this would be an excellent audio CD or cassette gift.
Rating: 
Summary: What a waste of time
Review: Thank goodness for libraries. I was able to checkout a free copy and not spend my hard earned money on this. The visions of heaven were actually disturbing to me. I'd hate to think that once I get there I still have the human characteristic of worry, pettiness, regret, longing and unhappiness.By the way, she spent quite a bit of time interacting with her high school love, why didn't she instead find a way to stop George Harvey or at least help those on earth find her remains. I thought the main character was selfish and self adsorbed. If you MUST ready this book and its not a must, go get it at library instead.
Rating:
Summary: Agree
Review: I agree with the Dec. 6, 2002 reviewer (Not What I Expected) and other reviewers. Not only did "The Lovely Bones" keep tugging at my heartstrings, it was a quick and easy read that was presented very creatively. Congratulations to Alice Sebold. And, by the way, I took the recommendation of other reviewers and am now also enjoying (almost finished) with Norman Thomas Remick's creative book, "West Point". Is Alice Sebold (or Remick) working on a sequel? If so, I look forward to it.
Rating:
Summary: Unique, engaging
Review: It seems this book strikes a strong cord with people--they either love it or hate it. The progtagonist, Susie, is a richly dimensional character for whom we come to know and love. Susie, as such, tells her story from an omniscient perspective. I found it interesting that sometimes I felt as if I were in the room with the other characters of the novel and at other times, looking above, as Susie herself. If you like novels focused on character development and are willing the forays into unchartered literary ground then this may be a book for you!
Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment...
Review: This is possibly the most over-rated book I have ever had the displeasure to read. Even if you can get past the deeply disturbing murder scene, you won't be rewarded. I kept hoping I would begin to care about ANY of these characters or their trite and one-dimensional lives, yet even as the book mercifully ended I found myself wondering why I had bothered to finish it. I kept hoping to figure out what all the rave reviewers had found so remarkable in this little piece of junk. Ultimately, I was just annoyed with myself for wasting so much time on a book so profoundly disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: made me think
Review: I found the actual story itself good but it was the questions raised in my own mind that the most compelling. Placing myself in Susie's place lead me to thinking about what the scereno would be like with my life today, as opposed to a young girl It also stirred a strange sense of peace for me as I thought about the transitions we make through life, and the hereafter.
Rating: 
Summary: To much hype
Review: I had heard how great this book was, but it was unable to keep with my expectations. Maybe I was in more in the mood for a light-hearted feel good book when I started, but I just did not find it as wonderful as others talked about. I do think the vantage of a girl from heaven telling the store was cleaver, but the store beyond that did not keep my attention. I found it highly predictable.
Rating: 
Summary: Sebold ruins what could bave been great...
Review: I resisted this book at first because of its subject matter, but then finally relented. While I will admit there are some lovely passages regarding family, friendship and loss, the end of the story was a real disappointment. Sebold ruins the story by giving us a completely contrived, utterly unoriginal and downright hokey description of Susie's reunion with a lost love. Where did this come from? Teen movie of the week? I understand that Sebold is using the voice of Susie - so the perspective is that of a teenager's - but that is not the point of the story. To me, the most poignant part of the story was Susie's gradual acceptance of her separation from her family - and from earth. To throw in a reunion at the end seemed tacked on and simply there to provoke an emotional response from the reader. I hate when writers, filmmakers, etc. feel they have to give in to what they assume the mass audience wants. I honestly was OK with most of the loose threads Sebold leaves. (Though not all, more on that later...) In fact, I thought the story was more authentic because of some of the loose ends. In real life, murder doesn't wrap up as neatly as in the movies, clues don't always pan out, etc. But please, Ms. Sebold, trust your audience's intelligence -not all of us need romance and a roll in the hay thrown in where it clearly doesn't belong. And some of the loose ends you left (Ruth - for example) really should have been given more of your attention. I'm not sure why you threw in George Harvey returning to the neighborhood at the end, either. Did you just get tired when you came to the end? It seems as if you just sort of gave in and finished the novel without giving it enough thought. The first review I read on this site came from a 15-year-old. That sounds about the right age group to enjoy this story. And they'll appreciate the romance, too.
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