Rating: 
Summary: A life-altering first novel...
Review: I could not put this beautiful book down. I told my friends the best way to describe my experience with 'The Lovely Bones' is that I read it while I waited for lights to change, I read it whenever I waited in line, I read it when I only had 15 seconds to spare. It is absolutely mesmerizing. I feel like my words cannot possibly do it justice...read this book.
Rating:
Summary: I am so jealous¿
Review: ...of you that have not yet read this fantastic, insightful, heart-wrenching, wonderful novel - I would like to trade places with you and read it again, fresh. But this time I would read it slower; linger longer over passages; pause more often. I am jealous of you, but I don't envy you. You will read the book. You will be touched. You will love the justice of ice. But then you'll join my jealous world.
Rating:
Summary: The Next Great American Novel
Review: In my mind, there are three things that make a book stand shoulders above the reams of pages printed each day. First is obviously the story; quite often the reader will forgive anything of a writer who creates a plot so gripping that we lose ourselves in the pages. Second are the characters; even the most mundane part of life---say a woman drinking her coffee before she prepares for work---can keep the pages turning if the protagonist is unique and interesting. Finally, there is the quality of writing; in great literature, it is often not what is said but how the story is told that makes the difference. The remarkable thing about Alice Sebold's first novel is not that it manages to do one of these things splendidly, but rather that she somehow creates a story that does all three. Told from a perspective that I have never before seen in modern literature, The Lovely Bones is a story that grips the imagination from page one and does not let go, even days after the novel has been finished. Sebold's characters are so real, so alive, that they spring from the page fully formed. The plot is one told with real emotion, and you cannot help but let the narrator's overwhelming sense of loneliness seep into your soul. Above all else, the beauty of Ms. Sebold's writing dominates the work, and the transcendent character of her words is simply sublime. The Lovely Bones is among the finest stories I have ever read. Buy a first edition while you still can---and treasure it like a first printing of To Kill A Mockingbird.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully done!
Review: I grabbed this book because I heard that it was THE book to read this summer. I was not disappointed. This is an excellent debut novel filled with wonderfully real characters. It is at once disturbing and comforting. I'd like to think that my loved ones who have died have pleasant experiences in Heaven like this. This is an excellent novel, tightly wrought and full of light. A great fast read for anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: The book started out with a promise to be an interesting book but about 1/3 of the way into the book I began to get bored.
I stuck it out & managed to finish the book but I wouldn't recommend it to my friends or even to my enemies. It had such promise & then fizzled big time.
Rating: 
Summary: Most depressing book I ever read
Review: I have never read a more depressing book! Her "heaven" is not a heaven at all---there is no "longing" in heaven! I am just dumbfounded by all the praise for this book. It is a different viewpoint and innovative in that way, but it is beyond me how anyone could find comfort and hope between the covers of this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: I got this book for a bit of light summer having no idea how good it would be. After the first chapter I decided I liked the book. After the second chapter, well after the second chapter I got hooked and finished the book. The book draws you into it. You can see every setting, feel every emotion. I have never read any of Alice Sebold's books before but I congradulate her on this book. It truly makes you feel like you are part of the story. If you do not like sad books or books that have a variety of emotions please don't read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Best Release of the Summer
Review: I purchased this book on a tip from a friend that this was going to be a must summer read. It surely didn't disappoint. I could not put it down. I couldn't wait to turn the page to see what happened next. It really gave an interesting perceptive on what haven would be like. Also, that the people we leave behind are never really alone because, our spirit is always there to guide them.
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous and Stunning.
Review: It would be hard to imagine a better book than this little jewel. It will be around for a very long time and I thank the author for a dazzling trip.
Rating:
Summary: All Hail Alice Sebold!
Review: The booklap promises a novel that is "luminous and astonishing." Guess what? That's not hyperbole. It IS.
By now, you must know that, at the outset, we meet Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl who -- on a cold, snowy December late afternoon -- is raped and murdered by a neighbor in a corn field on her way home from eighth grade. She goes to heaven. And from heaven -- which is Susie's own personal heaven -- she watches life on Earth unfold for her family and friends -- and murderer. Initally, that did not sound like a story I wanted to read. Too dark, possibly too sentimental for this middle-aged, male reader. Plus, I thought, we know who did it right at the top, so how interesting could this story be? Regardless, I bought the book because (1) of the unanimously strong reviews I had read, and (2) I was delayed at an airport and was desperate for a book to read. Well, surprise. From the first page, I couldn't put the book down. An absolute page-turner. It's a winning mixture of true crime, coming-of-age story, fantasy, family drama and ghost story. And, for me, it was spiritually provocative, giving me pause regarding my notions of life, death and afterlife.
And all exquisitely told by Sebold. One reviewer called this a "miraculous" book. I agree. Another reviewer advised that, "if you read only one book this summer, this is the one to read." I agree heartily with that, too. Buy it, read it, savor every word.
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