Rating: 
Summary: Lovely prose, interesting ideas, sad story, dumb ending
Review: I read this book for my book club and was unfortunately disappointed. I think Alice Sebold has some interesting ideas, but didn't expand enough on the whole idea of Susie's heaven. Susie could have moved on a little more and learned more about what was there. Isn't there anything useful to do there?Sebold's writing is lovely, though at times the prose seems to go on and on without getting to the story. The development of the characters is done pretty well, but it is so depressing and sad to see what they go through after Susie's murder. I would expect that after a murder, but it was tough to get through. Also, there were some dumb things that bugged me, like how does a ghost smell? or how did the murderer leave an elbow behind - were the bones broken off around it? Finding an elbow is weird....is it supposed to be funny? ick! Finally, I thought the ending was just stupid...I did like Sebold's comments about the bonds/bones created in her family because of this terrible ordeal. But, the end really just leaves you hanging. I wouldn't recommend this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be afraid to read this book!
Review: I kept picking up this book. Everytime, I would think . . I don't think I can do this subject. Then I read reviews by several authors whom I respect GREATLY. They loved it! So, I bought it. And, immediately, it became glued to my hand. It is truly a gentle book which has many ideas which you will carry with you long after finishing it.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful piece of literature
Review: This top-seller has been criticized for everything from wandering, not tying up loose ends, not being realistic and even being unBiblical. The narrator is a teenage girl trying to tell her family's story from such a unique perspective that the wandering of her musings is nothing if not true to how a confused teen would relate an unfolding story. Great novels often do not tie up loose ends, but leave the reader to imagine the future of the characters as they wish. This book does not come to necessarily pat conclusions and some mysteries remain unsolved for the characters. But that is the beauty of the book. It is a snapshot of a family in crisis and the years following. Anyone who has been through a tough time knows life doesn't always turn out a happy ending and we may never have all the answers. This is an interesting glimpse of some fascinating characters. It is not meant to be a realistic view of the afterlife, or a guidebook to spirituality. Enjoy it for what it is- a beautiful piece of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Naturalistic and yet quite heavenly...
Review: I found this book to be enchanting and mesmerizing. I
wanted to stay in the dead girl's Heaven with her and learn more about what she saw and her observations about her sad family, friends and killer. This is a very naturalistic style of writing. It's so good you almost don't "notice" the style...it's...organic, I guess you could call it. Unlike other reviewers, I loved the ending, and found tears rolling down my face as the final words were uttered. I hadn't realized how touched I was until the dead girl let us go with a sweet, simple and kindly farewell. This book is a joy and will probably become a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Ingenious idea, poorly carried out.
Review: When you first hear the premise of "The Lovely Bones", about murdered fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon looking down from heaven and narrating the aftermath of the crime on her family, friends, and even the killer himself, how could you not be intrigued? And reading the book is certainly not un-worthwhile. For the first 4 or 5 chapters I was truly swept away, but then slowly, the brilliant concept that makes the story so original grows to become its downfall. In order for the book's countless characters to remain interesting while being observed from such a lofty point (heaven), each person would have to be twice as sharp and vividly drawn as any character in a more traditional narrative. They're not. I constantly found myself asking "Now who is this person again?". They're described with different names, and they look different from one another, and live in different places, but we never get a real, visceral feeling from each of them. Instead, we're left watching them all from a distance, as though trying to discern them through a blurry telescope. Speaking objectively about TLB as literature and without sentimentality, the plot is very slender and stretched to its absolute limit across a meager 328 pages. I kept turning them, waiting for a climax, a moment of resolution and closure, but it never quite happens. "The Lovey Bones" evaporates into a mist. To her credit, author Alice Sebold could have easily succumbed to making TLB so gruesome and sad as to be unreadable, but she always stays just this side of overstatement. A good novel, but not a great one.
Rating:
Summary: A SENTIMENTAL MUST-READ
Review: I read this book as part of a book club I'm involved with at
school. The book was a phenomenal book all the way through. I couldn't put the book down. There are parts in the book that will make you laugh out loud, while others will make you cry for hours. It is a book that will soon become a classic in
everyone's home. I hope everyone reads the book and enjoys it
as much as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Wow...
Review: I go to high school and am the secretary for our's school book club, we recently chose this book as our next big read. Everyone finished it ahead of time, none of us could put it down. We meet each Tuesday to discuss the book and everyone had something to say about everything. This is a very good book that I highly reccomend this book to everyone. If a bunch of highschoolers could get a bunch out of it surely everyone can.
Rating:
Summary: Have a heart
Review: When my 32-year-old son told me he teared up in places reading this book, I knew it was something special, as he definitely is not the emotional type. I just finished it and have to admit that the sleeves of my t-shirt are still damp from tears that I wiped there in order to be able to see clearly enough to read. To all reviewers who didn't like it, who found it maudlin or boring or unaffecting, I say, "Your antidepressant is working too well and preventing you from experiencing your emotions." In my humble opinion, this is a gem of a book and is not to be missed by anyone who can still feel.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat Disturbing
Review: This book has made me look at my child rearing responsibilities in a whole new light. I am constantly reminding my children to be cautious of everyone, even neighbors and acquaintances. Also disturbing to me was the idea that in this little girl's heaven, she still worried and had anxieties she had when living.
Rating: 
Summary: An emotional rollercoaster of a family's struggle with grief
Review: I gave this four stars only because I believe there's always room for betterment, but in this case I really believe the author outdid herself. Based on the storyline alone, I'd never have read this book, as I hate to even imagine the death of my child...The first several pages kept me glued to the book as Susie tells of her murder and murderer. As she views her family and friends, how they deal with their grief unfurls and becomes a rollercoaster of emotions. It was easy to understand the depth of her father's grief and how he deals with it; her mother's desire to deal with her grief alone; her sister's grief mixed with guilt for the need to go on with her life; her younger brother too young to understand why his father no longer wants to play with him and how his mom breaks his heart. Even her closest friends are more than touched by the loss of their friend. Only her grandmother's roughish ways and glib tongue allows us to laugh through some of this family's vulnerabilities and dealings with their emotions. I can only say that I highly recommend this sweetly told story from Susie's heavenly view and I applaud this author for writing about such a sensitive subject. I only hope that this story was not written from a personal point of view.
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