Rating: 
Summary: Overrated
Review: I got suckered into the hype on this one. It's an okay read. I thought the premise extremely interesting--a girl in heaven as the narrator looking down on earth. The part where the dead-girl-in-heaven inhabits another girl's earth body and seduces her high school crush was a little over the top for me. Susie's heaven sounds to me like a flat emotionless place. I hope the other side is not like this at all!
Rating: 
Summary: A fine summer read.
Review: Alice Sebold has written a tender, moving story of a teenage girl watching her world move past her from her vantage point in heaven.Sound contrived? It could be in the hands of a less talented artist. Destined to be a great novel of the new century? Probably not, although we'll certainly see a feature film come out of the deal and this will long be a "reading group" book due to its subject matter: the rape and murder of a child, coming of age sexuality, strained family relationships, and divorce. I found the first five chapters breath taking, but by the time I ended the book I thought it was pretty okay. My advice would be that most people who like literary fiction will find this a fine filler between heavier books and most people who like detective stories will find this a little slow, given that it's about the absence of the narrator (Susie Salmon) more than chasing her killer. Perhaps the only disappointing parts come at the end, which make them more disappointing. (The neat nip and tuck of plot-lines; the character happily loving each other.) The scenes of heaven were unusual, but as much of a let-down as Dante's Paradiso after his gripping Inferno. We just can't imagine how good heaven is, so it is reduced to a place where Susie can always get ice cream and play with dogs. Sebold has written a novel with life and verve, even if it's narrated by a dead girl.
Rating:
Summary: Loved the first chapter and nostalgic references
Review: What is it about some books that begin like gang busters and end up making you wish that you were watching television instead...just so that you could kick the screen in!
I loved the very beginning--it was chilling and horrible. I grew up in those Brady Bunch-esque days and I could identify with the times....YET not so far into the book, it falls off and becomes close to ridiculous and far too Casper the Friendly Ghost.
[spoiler]
I could go on and on and probably shouldn't.
I liked the whole notion of the book and thought that it was a unique concept, but too many things just didn't make sense.
Rating: 
Summary: I could not put it down!
Review: I purchased The Lovely Bones on a whim, and began to read it that evening. From the first word, the author had me hooked. The book is tragic, funny, and wonderfully written. There were passages that had me laughing out loud, and others that made me cry. The idea that each person who passes on has their own heaven is just a wonderful idea. Take it from me, who has lost a few people over the years...the idea that they have their own heaven above is comforting to me. Although the book, to me, was unresolved in a sense, it totally drew me in and kept me there, and left me wanting more. I can say it has been one of the best books I have ever read, and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. No mention of religion in this book, although heaven is talked about quite often.
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreakly beautiful
Review: A tender, sweet book! Given the subject mattter and point of view, it could easily have been a depressing story but it was not. And I found Ms. Sebold's concept of heaven to be very comforting. I have started passing my copy around but have made it clear that I want it back - I plan to read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Grief Taken to a New Level - Spell Binding
Review: A review on the cover says this is the kind of book that while browsing a bookstore you will want to stop by it, touch the spine and remember the emotional impact it had on you - I TOTALLY AGREE!! This is such a wonderfully moving, emotionally charged novel. I would like to applaud the author for her imagination and sensitivity to a VERY DIFFICULT subject. I was also amazed at how the story line didn't dwell in the usual anger and revenge theme but found the more realistic painful side of moving through the process of loss. Alice Sebold has given all of us a thought provoking, heart-warming story of Suzie Salmon and her family - a family we will never forget. Thank you Alice!
Rating: 
Summary: sentimental tripe
Review: Starting with a horrific crime, this book starts out as a good mystery but quickly becomes a sentimental cloying image of heaven. I was sickened by the crime, then sickened by the rest of the novel. It seemed to be a sort of combination of the movie Seven with the television series Touched by an Angel. Give me a break.
Rating:
Summary: A strange comfort for every parent's worse fear
Review: This was an amazing book. Frankly I was leary of the premise but the author's style made the story bearable, one you needed to hear to the end. I flew through it so quickly, I made myself stop and think about what was happening. The wonderful story telling was not bogged down by sentimentality. The straight forward narration made the horrible loss bearable. Alice Sebold talks with the simplicity of a young child who has learned a great truth.
Rating:
Summary: everybody owes somebody sometime
Review: This book has a gimmick (a spy in heaven) -- so does Dave Eggers's book, and so does Atonement. Those gimmicks work, but this gimmick becomes very very tiresome very very soon. Even so, I'd stick with it if the writing were good. It's precious, and not for mature readers. I keep on, thinking, surely, any moment... but no. What I'll remember from this is that even fabulous writers like Jonathan Franzen have publicists and editors who can coerce him into writing a blurb. That's how the system works. Read Three Junes by Julia Glass instead.
Rating:
Summary: I didn't like it at all
Review: I can't believe that so many people liked this book. The way the story is told is interesting, but it wears off quickly. This is a story of a little girl who is murdered. There is no way to make this comforting to the reader or have us believe that good things can come from this. Yes life goes on, but for Susie it is over, no lovemaking with Ray while Ruth is gone that's for sure. Come on, this is all just too manipulative..
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