Rating: 
Summary: Wildly Over-rated
Review: While original in it's telling (how many books are narrated by dead people, after all?) and not badly written, The Lovely Bones feels very familiar, very predictable at times--scripted, you might say; and sometimes, it absolutely drags. The description of heaven--heavenS; everybody apparently has their own--and the unexplained interaction between the residents there and those on earth (and unexplained principles governing them) is all, to this reader, really annoying. Peppered through out the book are moments tender and graceful, when the narrator seems to glimpse truths and hold them to the light, like gems, and we get to join her in awe. But these times seem compromised by the aforementioned, and keep this good book from being more than that: just a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Try Not To Miss This
Review: Excellent! Moving. Sentimental. Heartwrenching. A view from heaven of a chilling experience. Heartbreaking yet soul-moving. Best of all, like he book "West Point..." by Remick (a similar presentation I also loved), Sebold beautifully uses a unique and fascinating method of presentation. Try not to miss this.
Rating: 
Summary: For Heaven's Sake, Heaven Can Wait
Review: Everybody's dieing to get into heaven, right? Death sounds like too dear an entrance fee when heaven appears to be an out of body acid trip or a place where most all of your thoughts are manifested. The Lovely Bones story was the recollection of a murdered fourteen-year-old girl looking down from heaven. I was immediately shocked, appalled, felt protective, vulnerable...all the things the author intended? This novel is about how a family deals with the unexpected death of a family member. In the process of reading of this horrible crime I came to know each family member and Susie Salmon's life and afterlife. I loved her concept of heaven and how other heavens intersected with hers. It's quite nice to read comtemporary literature where characters get to be real people. They're flawed, they're complicated. They're neither good nor bad. They just are. Abigail Salmon was one of these interesting characters. She was allowed to just be. She reacted in ways that made sense or intuitive sense to her. I like that she wasn't judged because of it. Thank you Alice Sebold for that. All of the Salmon family were interestingly flawed and complicated. Susie's dad, Jack was a combination of heroic, perceptive man and timid boy. Grandma Lynn was the cool grandmother you'd love to have and still the annoying one that embarrassed you a bit. Brother Buckley was a sweet, inquisitive, knowing child who grew into a frightened adolescent. Little sister Lindsey was the best of the best. She was the good student, good athelete, had a touch-of-bad-boy boyfriend. Perhaps Lindsey is everything Alice Sebold would be in her heaven. This leads me to believe maybe, just maybe this whole story was intentionally contrived to blur the line between heaven and earth. The thought occurred when one too may familiar seventies references poppped up. Like Huckapoo shirts, David Cassidy and David Bowie pins affixed to a book bag. Initially these references were comforting. When they became too many they became cliches. The most disappointingly contrived part was Mr. Harvey's death! There were far too may pages devoted to Mr. Harvey to literally write him off in a paragraph or two. I needed more revenge or explanation for the sudden nonchalance. This is some of the most imaginative storytelling ever. The details, the events, the end--everything left me feeling trapped in a hopeful perfection. Everything the author intended?
Rating:
Summary: a delicate examination of spirituality
Review: An amazing book, not a thriller but a contemplation in spirituality and healing - or at least acceptance - following uncontrollable events. It is not a book to read quickly, but one to be digested. The characters span a family and a community, and the writing does justice to several ages and both sexes. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.
Rating:
Summary: Great Beach Book
Review: What a pleasant surprise! Although outwardly the topic is very dark, the author's narration and story telling really eliminate all the darkness from the topic. I have a teenage daughter and found her reaction to how her family was doing was very realistic! Great book, wonderful description of heaven and the grief process. Highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Ms. Sebold should never stop dreaming
Review: ... The first chapter begins with an agonizingly disturbing account of the fourteen-year old Susie Salmon who was brutally raped and murdered by schzoid neighbor Mr. Harvey and later proceeds on to telling how her family has disintegrated with the impact of the murder. Her father suffers a depression from pursuing her daughter's death; her mother retreats and ends up having an affair; her tragic siblings Lindsey struggles with her loss and Buckley gripping with filling the hole in the family. Yet familial hell isn't what makes The Lovely Bones sensational. It is Sebold's child-like narration that renders the book poignant with lost innocence and her mastery at revitalizing the readers' senses with vivid descriptions of smell and Heaven. She uses objects like a monopoly game and bottleships to tacitly echo out the character's interplay of emotions - and expressing effectively their grief. The family matures and connects like the bones, becoming stronger and gives us a renewed sense of faith and understanding as to why each family member errs. I empathize with Abigail's merciful adultery and how Jack has overlooked his daughter Lindsey in his frantic search for Susie. What's a little sentimentalism when the book is emotionally honest? A good book rewards a reader with insight and experience - and The Lovely Bones achingly underscores the importance of letting go one's grief to focus on the better things of life. This message cannot be more timely or resonant in this era of chaos.
Rating:
Summary: wonderfully compelling
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Hardly what you would think someone would say about a book about girl who has been raped and murdered, but that is how I found it. The author resists judging the characters. Through the eyes of our protagonist she simply observes and reports which results in a much richer set of players. I was particularly moved by her treatment of heaven and how the dead and the living trap each other in 'purgatory'. Ms Sebold does all the classic stuff (foreshadowing, irony, surprise) but it comes across as very fresh it this brilliant tale. I devoured this book reading it on holiday in two days, one night not able to but it down to sleep. I gave it to my best friend who did the same. I finished it thoroughly satisfied and yet wishing I had another Alice Sebold book to read.
Rating:
Summary: The Lovely Bones: A Novel
Review: I must admit that when I first heard about this book on National Public Radio and heard that it was about the murder of a 14 year old girl I was taken aback. Then they went on to describe the rest of the book and my interest peaked. I found myself perusing a copy of the book at a local bookstore and bought it. It was one of those books that you just cannot put down. This book tells the story of a young girl who was indeed murdered by one of her neighbors. The gruesome murder happens in chapter one and then we hear only the girls thoughts from, of all places, her heaven. The story then goes on to be her description of the lives of her mother, father, sister, boyfriend and her murderer. This is the story of how tragedy affects the family and friends of the deceased. Well worth the time to read, I enjoyed this book thoroughly. I love books that you can't put down once you start reading and this book fits that bill perfectly.
Rating:
Summary: The Lovely Bones
Review: This book is beautifully written. It's truly worth reading and I would recommend this to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: No Bones About It: Lovely Bones is an amazing read!
Review: I truly could not put this book down. The perspective of the narrator, the change in settings, and the vivid descriptions of what one imagines heaven to be are just so unique. This book encompasses such a spectrum of human emotions: loss, longing, love between lovers,families,and neighbors, anger, denial, and forgiveness. There was just one part towards the end of the book which seemed out of place, but I would give it away if I tried to describe it. Nevertheless, this book is both lovely and amazing.
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