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Summary: A House of Grief, on a frame of Lovely Bones
Review: So much praise has already (and deservedly) been heaped on this remarkable first novel, that I fear there is little left to say. Sebold delivers a beautiful and sensitive work, weaving an engrossing story in language that is a credit to her craft. The author gives a remarkable voice to our guide, Susie Salmon ("like the fish"), never losing her teenagers eye view of the terrifying grief her murder has unleashed on her family and friends. Most impressively, the book never falls into any of the hackneyed clichés that frequently give the author an easy out. Instead, she always take the tougher road, giving the story a gritty reality that holds the reader in an emotional bear hug. We want happy endings and easy answers. Sebold is wise enough to know this would destroy the reality she seeks to create, brining saccharine to her very real feeling world. As with her memoir, Lucky, Sebold also brings humor where an outside might not feel it belongs. But as any survivor of random tragedy will tell you, humor often creeps up in the most unlikely of places. What more is there to say? If you read one book this year, Lovely Bones should be at the top of your list. I relished it.
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Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: I have never offered a review on a book - and I read a great deal....but the moment that I closed this book, I walked over to my computer to share my thoughts with others who crave great novels. When I first read the jacket of this book, I was drawn to the story...but worried that I wouldn't be able to handle the book emotionally. A narrative account from the voice of a murdered child - it seemed like overwhelming territory. But Alice Sebold somehow finds a way to help the reader get beyond the horror of the unthinkable, and follow the books hero as she goes on to share her story about "life after life." For anyone who has ever felt that they are being "watched over" by a loved one who has passed away, this book offers a extraordinary journey for the imagination. At the same time, the story doesn't minimize the experience of those who are grieving. The family, the friends, the community...this is no fairy tale - the moment in time that took this young girl's life forever changes those who loved her. As I read the last page, I found myself not wanting to say goodbye to Susie Salmon too. Through Alice Sebold's novel, Susie teaches us that our lives go on after we have lost someone we love, but that we can never really say "goodbye." Our loved ones remain in our hearts forever. I'm very glad I had the courage to read it. It will remain one of my all-time favorite novels. (be warned - I couldn't put it down, and read over 300 pages in two days! - I good vacation book!!)
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Summary: When I finished this book, I wept.
Review: Lovely Bones is the life journey of so many people interwoven within the same world as a result of a horrific murder. The story comes full circle while giving insight on heaven and the complexities that even that brings. Read this book - it will move you.
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Summary: The Lovely Bones is a lovely surprise.
Review: Susie Salmon (like the fish) narrates this well-written, suspenseful novel from Heaven. Susie begins her story by telling of her death at the hands of a deceptively mild-mannered neighbor. From there, she travels back through moments of her past, interspersed with glimpses of her family and friends while they are coping with her death. Susie's Heaven resembles her hometown high school, where she only has to attend art class and there are swings outside with the "good seats." Anything she wants in Heaven, she just has to imagine. But the one thing she truly wants - to be alive and together with her family once again - she can never have. Instead, she observes her family over a period of ten years as they grow older and continue living without her. The Lovely Bones grabs your interest from the very first page, and holds it throughout with a story that is both charming and melancholy. The characters become well-loved as the novel proceeds and you will be sorry to see them go when you turn the last page. Alice Sebold is truly a new author to watch.
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Summary: Almost too close for comfort
Review: Less than 2 years ago, our 13-year-old son Daniel died - very unexpectedly, of a massive asthma attack while on a school retreat. I purchased "The Lovely Bones", knowing the book's premise, for our 17-year old daughter to read. Not sure if the content of the book would be too close to our actual experience for Julia to handle, I decided to read it first (this is the first time I have done any pre-reading, as Julia is perfectly able to decide on her own whether or not to read a book, but still. . . ). I was very surprised to find myself riveted to the book, and unable to stop reading it until finished. While I, like many earlier reviewers, found the end a little too contrived, I certainly feel that the book's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.
About 6 months after Daniel's death, I had a dream that portrayed a visit by my husband, daughter, and myself to Daniel in what was clearly "his heaven" - also containing a school in a residential neighborhood, a "foster family" which apparently served as his "home away from home", and - most positively - a large number of new friends. This was the best aspect of his Heaven, as far as I was concerned, as Daniel had been troubled for his entire life by an inability to make many friends, and here he was almost too busy to visit with his family because of wanting to get on with his activities with his buddies!
I have often offered the circumstances of Daniel's death - fast and probably painless (as a friend remarked, "Daniel doesn't know he's dead yet"), and that he was able to donate many of his organs - as probable explanations to those who find me so "upbeat" since he died. I contrast this situation with other, well-publicized child kidnappings, murders, and (worst, in my opinion) those events which are never resolved.
Nonetheless - some aspects of the narrative hit home, and I found myself tearing up more over this fictional account than our own all-too-real loss! I was forced to wonder what would Daniel think if he is able to follow our lives, as Susie followed those of her family and friends. Does he still pine for the girl he had a crush on? Is he sorry that he can't see the sequal to his beloved MIB movie? Is he able to eat his fill of cheese pizzas, now that he doesn't have to take at least one bite of his mother's sometimes too-exotic vegetarian experiments? Does he find it annoying that, after years of refusing to allow pets, we now have 3 crazy cats, as a result of Julia "needing" them? Is he bemused by the grief-stricken responses to his death by those same classmates he had sought as friends for so many years?
I am awaiting Julia's response to the book. In particular, I want to know how "genuine" the characterizations of Susie and Lindsay appear to her. I will suggest that she submit a review herself, so we will all know the answer.
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Summary: lovely bones is a lovely book
Review: I would recommend this book to everyone. I really was caught up in the the characters and story and loved the way it was written. Please try this book you will most definitely be glad you did.
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Summary: A good book with universal themes
Review: Not every author can transend generations and write about one thing that all humans fear. Murder and life after death. Alice Sebold manages to do just that in this book. Susie Salmon is the ideal child. The person adults admire and other children can identify with, and she is brutally raped and murdered. Her story is not of being murdered or even of her life before, it is about her family, how her death brought them together and pushed them apart. She watches as like a humans, her parents grapple with the news that their oldest daughter is missing and is presummed to be dead. Her sister typically a pilar of strength begins to crumble from the inside and her youngest brother begins to understand what "gone" means. Its a great book and extremely well written. I highly recomend it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Lovel;y Bones is Lovely!
Review: I have read many novels during my extended life on Earth; this one is good, almost perfect. It is written with a unique style, a personal tone, and an intelligence that is refreshing. I devoured this engrossing literary morsel in five days. It's a page-turner of the best sort!
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Summary: A Great Book!!
Review: I didn't know much about this book when I started reading it and once I started it, I couldn't put it down. I cried, then laughed, then cried some more. I think all of us would like for to be able to talk to someone that died..especially when they are murdered and the killer is unknown. I love the idea that heaven is different for everyone..that's very comforting.
This book spoke to me on many levels..it is great.
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Summary: Looking For A One-of-a-Kind Reading Experience?
Review: If you read a lot of books, you probably spend a lot of time searching for one of those rare one-of-a-kind reading experiences that not only entertains, but teaches and moves you. If that's the type of book you long for, 'The Lovely Bones' is the book for you. Author Alice Sebold has taken a bold and unusual step: The narrator of her story is a dead girl named Susie, who narrates the book from heaven. Susie died after being abducted and violated by a neighbor, Mr. Harvey. She has the unique vantage point of being able to look down from heaven and see how her death has affected her family, her friends, and her murderer. Her surviving parents, sister and brother are the primary focus of the book: How they related to Susie, how they are trying to deal with her death, and how they are attempting to get on with their lives without her. But it's much, much more. Sebold has wonderful insights on relationships and writes in such a compelling way that you not only hurt for those left behind to deal with the tragedy, but also examine your own feelings about life, death, and the people you love. This is a tremendous and beautifully written book. The book has received many honors and deserves every one of them. Read it and you'll know why too.
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