Rating: 
Summary: Something Different
Review: While reading The Lovely Bones, I found that I didn't want to put it down. I read page after page with a growing feeling and understanding for each of the characters. If you've ever thought about a type of afterlife outside the ordinary, you'll find this book to be striking and original. I wasn't so much caught up in whether or not the actions of characters were age appropriate, as I was in the idea of what lies beyond and how those people who have already passed on keep in touch with all of us still here. It's a beautiful thing to think about and I praise Alice Sebold for her work. The Lovely Bones has feminist undertones, which I find refreshing and appropriate for the 1970s setting described by Sebold.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: Alice Sebold captures the very essence of life for all those effected by a single horrific event which occupies a mere moment in time. I was glued to each page from beginning to end. Ms. Sebold's writing style is stimulating, colorful, and to the point, creating an emotional involvement to each and every character. Sometimes sad, sometimes happy, always rousing. I hope that a movie is forthcoming and I am going to get "Lucky" today. Thank you Alice Sebold.
Rating: 
Summary: Sebold is a rape surviver and mystic
Review: ...This novel is both obsessed with serial rapist/killers and written in a mystical spirit with the belief that the dead watch us and are always flitting among us. Although the day to day life of the Salmon family is rendered realistically, much of the action is implausible, and you need to accept that to enjoy the book. We have to believe, for example, that some people can just sense the presence of evil and know when they are standing on the spot where a woman was murdered. Some readers who have given the book a negative review are probably bothered by the mix of realistic detail and horror/fantasy elements. The part of the book that I liked least was the dwelling on the ongoing life of Susie's rapist/murderer. I felt I was being drawn into an obsession of Sebold's, especially when the character of Ruth begins to sense the spirit of violated women and Susie herself, in heaven, starts meeting with other victims of her killer. There is a definite subtext about the violence that afflicts women and children in our world. Even the killer has an epiphany recognizing that to be a woman or a chid is to be in danger. Fortunately there are a few positive male characters in the book to offset the general tone that women are always at risk, or at the very least oppressed by motherhood. The parts of the book I liked best had to do with what it's like to be a teenager, as shown through the experiences of Susie (even in "heaven") her sister, and her friends Ray and Ruth. I believe this book will especially appeal to those who believe in an afterlife and who feel the presence of their dead loved ones--or who strongly wish they could.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD~~!!
Review: "The Lovely Bones" is a book full of warmth, love and mystery. Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl, had been murdered and was brought to heaven for ever. From there, she watched her family and all of her intimates living without her. To Susie, all these were not easy to go. Her sorrow was so exquisite. And she couldn't help feeling nervous and concerned for all her loves, in a place from where she's far away, though. I like this book not only because the attractive cover lured me to read, but the minute affections that the writer can describe in the story. No matter the joy or sadness of the characters, it also impresses me a lot. Other than that, the memories which Susie usually recalled are amazing, like her sweet experience with Ray........^,^ However, I found this book quite difficult to understand, lots of vocabularies I have never heard of and the many characters made me confused all the time. My feeling is that it may only suitable for native speakers. I think there's a room for improvement.
Nonetheless, I still love the overall story as well as Susie Salmon.
Rating:
Summary: A Book You Should Try Not To Miss
Review: An excellent heartbreaking, yet soul-lifting, book. This chilling view from heaven is better than I expected. A moving, sentimental, heartwrenching story. And, much like Norman Thomas Remick's "West Point" (a book I also loved, but in a different way), it is a unique and fascinating presentation that you should certainly try not to miss.
Rating:
Summary: Sad, gruesome, depressing but well written....
Review: "The Lovely Bones" was a well written book. I sailed through the pages almost at one sitting on a Saturday. It wouldn't be the way I'd like to spend another Saturday, as when the book ended, I was quite down. Many of the described passages in "The Lovely Bones" should have been left out. The gruesome details of murder were not necessary to the story. I felt truly sickened many times in this book. The author created an interpretation of Heaven from which the murdered 14 year old girl was looking down from that I enjoyed greatly. I liked the authors choice to make heaven something that you create for yourself. What a happy thought. The only one in the book, I think. I was left with a feeling of unfinished business when the story ended. I would have loved for there to have been closure. The hype was huge for this book, I expected more.
Rating: 
Summary: Washington State Mom
Review: It was an excellent book! A very interesting read...I couldn't put it down! This book wasn't as sad as I oridinally thought it would be. It was actually uplifting and very thoughtful. Definitly a book to read!
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Summary: Why Number One??
Review: I must say, the opening line of The Lovely Bones totally hooked me, and I did enjoy reading portions of this book. Ms.Sebold definitely has a poet's talent with words, though it is my opinion that at times less would be more. Even so, I feel she is an emerging talent. That said, I can not for the life of me see how this novel managed to hit the New York Times top ten list, with so many other great books out there! Perhaps it is because of the Times review, which called it refreshing and unique ~ written from the grave in the voice of the victim, or something to that effect. For those that did not enjoy it, but found the novel approach of being written from the grave compelling, I recommend Roseflower Creek by J. L. Miles which debuted in September 2001. It, too, is written from the grave in the voice of the victim, in this case, ten-year-old Lori Jean, who dies at the hands of her step-daddy in l950's rural Georgia. A tale of the loss of innocence, like Lovely Bones, it also celebrates the power of forgiveness, but does so in such a compelling manner that the reader can't help but know the journey was worth it. For those of you readers that did enjoy The Lovely Bones, and I believe I fall somewhere in between those that did and those that didn't, I again recommend Roseflower Creek. What hooked you in on The Lovely Bones, will take your breath away in Roseflower Creek. I guess what I am saying is, I liked reading The Lovely Bones okay, but I absolutely loved Roseflower Creek, and can not get Lori Jean out of my head. The last character I felt that way about was Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird. My girlfriend Rebekah feels exactly the same. I'd like to hear from other readers comparing the two. So, please buy both, read both and don't be shy. Write a review.
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Summary: Emotional Journey
Review: I loved this book, it captured the true essence of what life must be like for the families left behind when children are taken or killed, well beofre their time.
As the book starts off, Susie Salmon, is already dead, and speaking to us from "her" heaven. The book is both sad and joyus, thought provoking, and angering.
We get to see the lives of her family fall apart, and the life of her killer, from before he took her from this world.
A wonderful read, bring the Kleenex on!
Rating: 
Summary: really dull
Review: Can't see what all the hype is about; I just found the whole thing grim and depressing. I also wonder at this trend in crime fiction of dwelling on the most gruesome and sordid details of crimes like rape and murder. Not my idea of entertainment at all, and nor do I find it 'uplifting'. For me, was a real struggle to get through the novel.
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