Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing, realistic and disturbing all at once.
Review: Once I began reading this book, I could not put it down! It was touching, disturbing and incredibly well written. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: A hard book to read or like
Review: I tried to read this book since it was rated so highly, but I could not get into it at all. I am an avid reader, and an author as well, and like almost any sort of book. I just could not find anything satisfying about a young girl watching herself be so brutally murdered, and all that happened to her. I thought it was terrible the way she saw her family go through hell after her death.Perhaps some of my disatisfaction stems from the fact that I am ill myself . . .and I shiver thinking my family and friends will find horror in my death. I want them to think of me in a positive way, and know that I have found a more peaceful place to be. I know a few people who read this book and said that it was ok. Others said it was on a talk show so everyone bought it which made the ratings high . . .Either way, I did not like the book. I do wish the author well in her indevavors. . .
Rating: 
Summary: A letdown
Review: This book started off so good, I couldn't put it down. I did have my small criticisms on how the story was told. I felt that the author made Heaven look bland and unGodlike. But when the author threw in the twist near the end, where Susie goes back to earth, I was yelling "NO!!!" She took a good book, maybe a very good book, and turned it into a twilight zone episode! It made the story go from charming, heartwarming, sad/happy, unique to ridiculous.
I'm sorry the book took such a bad turn 3/4 way through. I can't believe the author could not think of better ways to tie up the loose ends . It's written almost in the Danielle Steele style. "Wrap it all up in the last chapter" I was hoping that Susie would realize after so many years that she need not watch over her family anymore. That the killer was found and put away, and that she would move on to the real Heaven waiting for her, ~~didn't the Grandfather tell her she was not ready yet?~~ READY FOR WHAT!!?? I thought the author would have her symbolically kiss her family good bye until she see's them again, and that she would finally (sorry I don't write books) go toward the light! Where HEaven would be the answers, the beginning and end all. That Susie realizes that she needs to move on, take hold of her Grandfather's hand and wave fondly goodbye to earth,. But jumping into someones' body?? OOOOkay!!! ....Started off good...but then a letdown
Rating:
Summary: Best novel of the year
Review: Lyrical, moving and memorable, THE LOVELY BONES gets my vote for best novel of 2002. What a rare pleasure to discover an author who can combine literary style with a page-turning plot. The exquisite use of detail, unexpected touches of humor, and deeply human characters hooked me on page one and kept me reading long past midnight. Brava, Ms. Sebold. I eagerly await your next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I read this book, after it was suggested by a co-worker/friend of mine. She loved it and another woman I know loved it also. I was intrigued by it and it grew on me as I read it. I have always been a believer that there is something else out there after we pass, and that there is a heaven and you can pretty much make your heaven personal. Well, in the middle of reading this, I lost my brother, he was murdered by a "friend" of his and tossed out of a car onto the curb, like garbage. I had to take a couple weeks to get back into this book, but it really helped me think about my brother and I am slowly becoming more okay with losing him and I know there was a reason I was reading this book at the time of his murder. Nothing will help me get over this, but I know that I will get past this and live my life, I know my brother would want me to do that. I love the way Susie would watch over her family and I hope he is doing the same thing for my family, because he did that while he was here and now he can do it in heaven. I know he is my angel.
My only complaint with this book is that I don't think Susie's family, particularly her father, got any kind of closure. Mr. Harvey left town and he was still trying to get the clues he needed to show the detectives.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Book but Then .....
Review: I'd waited months to read this book (before I'd finally gotten around to getting a copy of it) and dove right in after receiving it. My honest opinion? The first 21 chapters are AMAZING. They are filled with humor, sadness, and a 14-year old's perspective that really brought back some memories of my own (I was a child of the 70s also). However, around the 20th chapter or so, the author seemed to lose direction and the book went from being a sweet story to something resemblimg "Tales From The Crypt" or "The Twighlight Zone." It was a huge let down after reading all of those first chapters that were so beautifully written! I'm not sure what happened in the writing process to make the tone change so dramatically in the end but I'm glad I read it since everyone is talking about it. I wouldn't recommend it to others because of those last few chapters.
Rating:
Summary: The grief proces...
Review: This s a wonderful book about the grief process and what happens when someone losses an immediate family member to unexpected circumstances.
Unexpected or not family members all deal with their grief in a very personal way.
This book touches on some of them. As someone who has lived through it and experienced it I can say that this book does a VERY good job at getting the point across.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Book
Review: This book should be read only by people with an open mind. What an amazing book. This book gives you a different perspective on life. It made me cry, very well written.
Rating:
Summary: A really great novel
Review: This is one of the best novels I've ever read. Not many writers can portray fantasy realistically. We really get to understand the family's pain, the torment of loss, the purifying power of healing. Another novel that I liked is Paul Omeziri's descent into Illusions, also deals with some of the same themes, but from a different perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Empathic Connection
Review: Novels that create strong emotional responses and an empathic human connection with their readers do not occur often. When they do, readers long to spread the word in a desire to share their reading experience with as many friends and family members as posible. Such is the case with THE LOVELY BONES, a story about the rape and murder of 14 y.o. Susie Salmon and her observations from her heaven during the ensuing years, as her family and friends cope with the loss. At times funny and other times sad, it is always poignant and insightful with the ability to make the reader reflect on how s/he would think and feel in similar situations. This beautiful story is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, especially for those who need to slow down and reflect upon the gifts of life and the love of family.
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