Rating: Summary: Haunting and truly lovely Review: This is a book you don't forget whether you liked it or not. It produces a challenging look at what heaven is like and really forces you to think. Susie seems so much older than she is, but then she's been raped and murdered, and can now see all. A wonderful, frightening, delightful book.
Rating: Summary: Haunting and delightful... Review: One would think that the subject matter would be disturbing, but somehow the author makes it all seem okay. You will fall in love with the main character and find yourself cheering for her out loud. Rich and captivating; this book is a must-read for anyone. I wish it was about 200 pages longer! Keep them coming, Alice.
Rating: Summary: Perplexed by the hype Review: Desperate for good fiction, I fell for the hype and read this book. I am quite surprised to read that this novel is not the author's first work. The writing is perculiar, at times hackneyed and juvenile. The chronology jumps around not to serve any greater purpose, but I think just to draw attention away from my biggest impression of this novel: the author has nowhere to go, and takes a long time getting there. This novel is stuck between adolescent and adult fiction, but I don't think it satisfies either audience.
Rating: Summary: Very touching Review: I hope Heaven is like what Susie describes. It was very touching and sad in some parts. I couldn't put the book down, it had me captivated. I'd recommend this book!!
Rating: Summary: Hokey Review: This book goes from decent to bad to horrible. The ending is one of the most contrived I've ever read. The language is convoluted and lacks any grace, the characters are unbelievable and there are a number of story threads that fray throughout. Save yourself some time and money and read something else.
Rating: Summary: Some thing i will never forget Review: I am 15 years old and when i look for a book, i like to read somthing funny like Bridget Jones and such, and thoes books have very bright covers, thats what caught my attention! Anyways! this book was incredible. Some pages you would hold you breath just waiting for the next page. It was perfect from beging to end. It had the right balance of drama and a few laughs in the book. It ended beautifuly and the only thing i can complain about is the fact that there cannot be a sequel :( - another note....the writing style of the author was so original! ive never read anything like it.... i recomened it to EVERYONE, even males can appeciate this book.
Rating: Summary: one of the best I've read in ages Review: I read, on average, two to three novels a week, and not often do I come across a book as haunting and beautifully written as The Lovely Bones. For a long time I didn't read the book, though it had been recommended to me and I'd read the reviews. As a rule, I do not read that many books where the storyline includes murder, especially in this case where it's a young girl who is killed, because I find no pleasure in reading about such topics. However, once I began reading, it was so different than I expected. The book focuses much more on the emotional pain of the girl and the family who is left behind. It was so different and really special. It was harrowing, but it was so reverent, Sebold's writing is so careful, and the narrative is so personal and direct, that I was touched in a way I never had been by a book with a similar plot. I never feel she's going overboard. It is easily one of the best books I have read in the past decade, and I would not at all be surprised to see it win either the Pulitzer or the National Book Award this year.
Rating: Summary: I hate stupid people who write spoilers in reviews Review: I love this book and it really irks me when someone dislikes something and then gives away the ending to anyone who might be interested. SHAME ON YOU!!! I loved the book anyway. Beautifully written and uplifting. More focused than "Lucky". Susie was a real charmer. Highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: 843rd person heard from Review: i bought this book after reading the new york times review of it. generally, i trust the opinion of the particular times reviewer who wrote about it. but in this case, i think she went far astray. this is a paint-by-numbers oprah book: it's overwritten, contrived, and speciously literary. i feel a bit bad bashing oprah books because i was actually glad that oprah set the country reading again and i thought she made plenty of good book choices. but...she did also popularize a kind of women's literature that i find irritating and overly precious. and this book falls into--actually, personifies, if you can use that word about a book--that kind of writing. if you're the sort of reader interested in serious literary fiction--the national book award winning kind of stuff--i don't recommend that you buy this book. it will disappoint you.
Rating: Summary: Haunting Review: Ms. Sebold obviously knows rape. In the very first chapter she kills off her main character with a chillingly familiar man whose past is blurred with abuse and ominously lifeless memories. Heaven could have been written better, since obviously she knew exactly where to come from in other aspects. I remember reading this book and not being able to put it down-- I'd read in class, between class, at lunch, in the car ride home, and att through the night until I had it finished: unless, of course, I hit a spot in the book that colored me wrong and I had to pause in order to calm down. My imagination often runs wild, you see. Anyways, this book struck me hard-- I have had to deal with healing from disasters as such; I've have do deal with a crumbling family out of my grasp. This book hit the soft spot-- and clung there until far after I closed the back flap.
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