Rating: 
Summary: A solidly good book
Review: I really liked this book--it was extremely well-written, with beautiful language and exotic images--but there were two things about it which bothered me greatly. One, Sebold succumbs to a common fiction: when a child is killed or dies, it is the father who is steadfast and holds the family together; and it is the mother who goes off on a wild adventure, abandoning her remaining children. Suzy's parents, Jack and (I think?) Abbie fit that stereotype to a tee. Two, the whole Suzy-Ruth relationship is just HIGHLY unbelievable; in this book of bizarre things, I found it most improbable that a momentary encounter (be it even with a spirit) at the age of 13 can shape a person's whole life. Ruth's obsession with a long-dead classmate just did not make any sense to me. Everything else was quite beautiful (yes, including the fact that Suzy takes revenge for herself), and the overall picture is of a kind and beautiful book that will leave you thinking, and perhaps, crying.
Rating: 
Summary: Theological idiocy
Review: Easy read for theological illiterates.
Nice heaven for nice boys and girls. But where did the not so nice killer go when he died? To a heaven where his dreams are fulfilled? Meaning - where he can kill uncounted little girls? There is no place for hell in this type of theology. Besides - Susie kills her own killer. So now she is a killer herself and does it affect her nice heaven at all? Or are there murderers and murderers? Some of them are just nicer than others and they are permitted to take somebody's life and live the life everlasting in complete happiness. It is no surprise that there is no place for God in this book, because it is peopled by little ghostly deities - the dead who can voluntarily influence the living as they wish. Then the next step is - why not worship them, give them gifts and put out food during the long autumn nights to keep them warm? Trick or treat. It is a very complicated and serious theme where the souls of people are at stake and it should not be treated this way - with the arrogance of paganism.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 stars and 2 thumbs up!!
Review: I had read the book Alice Sebold wrote first, her memoir, before I went on to the Lovely Bones. Both great, and I would recommend reading her first book "Lucky," first, like I did, because I just felt like they went great together and in that sequence. But anyway, I would really recommend this book to anybody. It is written from a different, creative perpective that I think makes the book very unique from others. A lot goes on in the story, and I think anyone who reads it will find they can't put it down, just like I found! I lost my copy of the book in a hospital when I went there for an appointment...I about flipped when I reached the car with my book not in hand! If it doesn't turn up soon, I'm going to have to go out and buy myself another one- I couldn't stand not being able to read the rest of it!! I will be keeping my eye on this author for any future releases.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: I was given this book as a gift but kept putting off reading it -I was afraid it would be too sad, a book about a girl who has been murdered and is in heaven looking down upon her prior world. I picked it up one evening and was captivated from the start. The premise is one I haven't seen before, and that is one thing that sets this book apart. Ms. Sebold is a wonderful writer with a great gift for storytelling.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely Book, Lovely Bones
Review: I recommend this book!
In the beginning, it is very said. For instance, when Susie Salmon gets murdered. Its very well-written how the author describes Susie's heaven and how shes looking down on her life thats going on without her.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story that never stops being sad.
Review: I hesitated to read this book because I knew it was going to be sad. But then, I started reading it and in spite of the chills I felt throughout, I just couldn't put it down. It's about a young girl named Susie, who was murdered in 1973 and is looking down from heaven and watching the impact on her family. It's written in the first person which made me identify with her immediately. And, as the story continues, I had no problem in stepping out of my "real" world and entering Susie's as the story unfolds through her eyes. Along the way, we meet them all: her grief-stricken father who attempts to find the killer; her mother who can't handle the burden and runs away; her sister who tries to be strong, her 4-year old brother who is confused by it all; her flaky grandmother who holds the family together; the boy she kissed once and will forever yearn for and - last but not least -- her killer. All these characters and the way they interact are described in simple prose. And it always is in the voice of a 14-year old. The clarity of the writing made me feel I was right up there in heaven with Susie, wanting to reach out and touch the people who were affected by this terrible tragedy. She wants to live so badly and wants to reach out to her family. But this course seems impossible. The writing is so clear and truthful though that I had no problem when it moved into that gray area of what is or what is not possible. By then I was so captured by the narrative that I had just fallen into the story. This book has received accolades from reviewers. I totally agree. There's magic in the writing and I give it one of my highest recommendations. However, even though it is beautiful, it never stops being sad.
Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Read
Review: The first time I noticed this book was actually when I was at a Borders Books in CA. I read the summary on the back of the cover, and wanted to pick it up right away and start reading it. However, I chose to wait and when I went into my college reading class, I found out it was highly reccomended by several people so I went out and bought it. I can't even put it into words how incredible it was. And it's not just that, the way it was written so well with the details and the point of view was awesome. It is for a more mature reading audience though. However this book contains suspense, betrayal, and drama. If you want a good read, pick this book up. I with out a doubt give it five stars.
Rating:
Summary: A loving and touching story
Review: The Lovely Bones is narrated by Susie, a fourteen year old girl who has been murdered. From heaven, she describes her attack and her family and friends' attempts at dealing with her loss in such a simple, matter-of-fact way that the reader will surely melt into puddles of tears. Plucky and wise Susie describes her heaven as the high school she never got to attend: It has a good playground and chocolate cake, you only have to go inside for art class, and everyone's nice to you. She watches over and visits her family and friends on earth often over the next ten years, as her life and death continue to affect them. The author's writing style is friendly, chatty and irresistible; I couldn't put it down until I was finished. It is a very quick read - the kind of book you wish wouldn't end. I loved the first half and cried through it, liked the second half, and understood the ending (but selfishly wish it could have been different). This is a book about a dead child, but it is not macabre; it is warm, loving, honest, and hopeful. Those who have lost a loved one may well find comfort by reading The Lovely Bones. I recommend it to those who enjoy insightful, well-written fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Bram Stoker winner
Review: Lovely Bones won the Horror Writers Association (HWA) Bram Stoker Award for best First Novel. Certainly the award was well-deserved but surpising since you'll never find Lovely Bones in the Horror section of any bookstore, and few readers of the book must think of it as Horror.
The fact that the HWA gave this award to a book with the quality of Lovely Bones should do much to elevate the reputation of the Stokers which are known to be given by a vote of HWA active members heavily influenced by internal politicking.
In this book Alice Sebold took on an enormous challenge using a dead girl as her main character and heaven as a setting. For the most part she succeeded admirably. The story is deeply absorbing, although some of the digressions into the hearts and souls of her characters became tedious. And she certainly lets the murderer off easy.
I for one think the book deserves all its popularity and sales, which is saying a great deal when you consider the books on the bestseller lists and the ones major publishers hype.
Rating:
Summary: Very Sad and Disturbing
Review: The Lovely Bones is a very sad and disturbing novel about a 14 years old girls murder. She watches from Heaven as her family deals with the situation.
The novel dealt in a very realistic manner with the facts surrounding Susie's murder and the events in her family afterwards. It was sad to see how her family and the detectives dealt with the murder. But the whole thing with Susie being in her own Heaven and the descriptions of it were just to far-fetched. I guess we all have our own views of what Heaven will be like, but to read the author discribing it in this manner just took away from the realism that Susie's family was going through.
But it is a griping story, and I could not put the book down. I read through this faster than any other book I have read. I just had to find out what happened in the next chapter. Very interesting and very sad.
| 
