Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time!
Review: In her book Alice Sebold preyed on my primitive motherly fear of something happening to my child. She did this to keep me reading through her mundane, drawn-out, wordy narrative. She could have written this whole story in two chapters, but chose to pull me into her story by fear and then keep me in "reading purgatory" for chapters on end. I read so much waste before I could grab another tiny little morsel of the plot. I wanted to know what ultimately happened to Susie Salmon and Mr. Harvey. I found myself reading for the purpose of getting to the end of the book. When I finally did get to the end, all I could say was "it was a waste of my time." Don't read this book...NOT WORTH IT!
Rating: 
Summary: graceful writing
Review: Perhaps the "bones" could also allude to Sebold's language, which is simple but musical in its word placement. I don't like overusing the term "musical," but it fits here. I could sense more of a character's tension or wistfulness just in a certain position of a comma or the shortening of a sentence; the first chapter is particularly rhythmic: "Gently, I did./The end came anyway." This occurs at later points too, though, refreshing the reader with beautiful figurative language when some of the story gets too facile or flat. Not having a clearly defined religion, I didn't have any problems with Susie's heaven that way. It was interesting, in fact, to consider the afterlife as "to each his own." And if you think about it, there is a mention of a possibly greater heaven when Susie is observing all the souls at night with Frannie. The individual heaven is poignant, too, even reflecting loneliness where traditionally, the dead aren't supposed to have any. I thought the "grief circle" was moving in this way; Susie also reflected her family's missing her--especially her father. Sebold illustrates the impact of losing a child and lingering over it too long; the survivors become a kind of ghost, too. She knows how to use characters to hint at her theme. Some characters, though, were a bit undeveloped, particularly Ruth and Ray. Ruth just seemed like a medium thrown in for some reason, though she was useful to Susie in one scene. Ray just seemed like a romantic foil. Also, I think the story dragged on a bit as Susie felt like she had to tell us every little event her family went through, some of which had nothing to do with the story. With underdeveloped characters involved, this got a little tedious. At some points, it almost sounded like a typical YA story, but thankfully there were few of these low points. The ending is clever but almost too much so, if you know what I mean. All in all, though, this is a gentle, gracefully written book worth keeping for at least the language, the "what-ifs," and the dreamlike qualities.
Rating: 
Summary: To each is own...
Review: I have to write something about how I feel because my sister really enjoyed this book and suggested I give it a read. I love my sister but I thought this was not a well-written book. I was somewhat drawn into the story at the beginning, but quickly lost interest and didn't want to finish. Forcing myself to open the book back up, simply because I can't have an unfinished book in my apartment (and as I mentioned I love my sister), I continued it. As I read on, I just wanted to get it over with and find out what happened with Mr. Harvey to see if they solve the crime. There's nothing more perfunctory than to "make" your reader go through the details of every character, when the main drama of the plotline is so invariably piecemeal. Oh my god, don't read this book if you get easily irritated by a writer's own personal technique that can force you to read 100 pages which simply could be said in one paragraph.
Rating: 
Summary: I Just Don't Know...
Review: I'd heard that this book wasn't one of the best, and I just had to find out for myself. I read it, and I just don't know. Some
parts were very good, and the pages flew by,but there were other parts, where I just wanted to call it quits. Susie is a 14 year old girl, who one day on her way home from school, is lured away by a neighbor. Her parents begin
to worry and as time goes by, all that is recovered is an elbow.
After a decade, her parents give up hope of finding her alive. This book goes on to tell the stories of the way Susie's death
affects her friends and family. But after that the story gets a bit unbelievable, and I couldn't wait for it to be over. In my opinion The Lovely Bones is worthy of a 3.5.
Rating: 
Summary: Mind Blowing
Review: For someone that cant stand reading I couldnt put this book down. I read 46 pages in 1 hour. This book is amazing. I found it breath taking and and mind blowing. You never knew what was coming next. I love the way the author described Heaven. It is everything you wanted the most while you were on earth. I give this book 5 stars because it is something you wont put down till the very End.
Rating:
Summary: The Not So Lovely Bones
Review: I picked this book up because I'd heard a lot of glowing reviews from friends. However, I wasn't very impressed. I think the story could have ended about 100 pages before it actually did. The first half is engaging, thought it lags at points. But from pg. 140 and on, it just goes downhill.
At first glance, the characters seem real and well put together. But as one reads on, it becomes apparent that Sebold is struggling to develop them further and instead of giving more insight into who these people are, the reader is left with more questions. The plot goes from enchanting and original to cheesy and very Hollywood, so much so, that you might find that you're actually laughing when you are supposed to be crying.
But this book did give me hope. Since I'm an aspiring writer myself, I took great comfort in knowing that THIS made it to the best seller list. If Sebold can do it, then there's no question in my mind that I can.
Rating:
Summary: Poor organization
Review: I haven't finished the book. It is quite depressing, but on a deeper level, I think that the book just doesn't seem realistic to me at all. I can't grasp anything the book was talking about and I just want to finish the book quickly out of irritation rather than because it was fun.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read.....
Review: The Lovely Bones, I have to say is one of the best books I have ever read in my life. It is so full of emotion, power, and has purely realistic capabilites. Many readers have said that this novel is depressing, and is throughout its entirety. However, this isn't entirely true. Towards the end, the mood begins to change in the personalities of the characters, and you see how the novel all fits together. I recommend this book to everyone who wants a great book that they can't put down. Yet, out of the positive notes, I would like to say, there were a few moments where the book was a little slow, but it quickly picked up by another event. Still, this is one of my favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: The lovely bones- an amazing read
Review: (...) "The Lovely Bones" is an amazing book that forces you to face any emotion inside of you. I have laughed, cried, smiled, feared, and loved every page that I have read. This book is about a teenage girl who is murdered by a neighbor, and tells her story from heaven. She watches as police struggle to find evidence, and as her family mourns without her. The body is unidentified, so for a while, the parents did not believe that she was dead. The incredible difficulty in which Susie (the girl) had to watch her torn family was heartbreaking. I cannot imagine how she coped. The book is written by someone who has actually been attacked by a neighbor, but survived, so in some part, the story is true.
This is one of the first books that I have ever heard about that has been written in this point of view. It is really amazing to hear what it is like for her watching from heaven. The book touches on things that I'm sure many teenagers can relate to, so I think they would enjoy this reading. As I said before, the things you feel while reading this book really can surprise you. I seem to have formed a strange understanding for this girl, and the book brings me close to her, as though I were her friend. I recommend this to anyone over the age of 11. It is truly an amazing read, and I'm sure you will want to pick it up many a more times after you finish.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely bones
Review: Although I read this book in spanish I agree with those people who think that it was, generally speaking, a very good beginning and a very bad ending. Is an example about what a writer shouldn't do with a good idea. Ms. Sebold had the characters in her hands and made up a very sympathetic heaven. She had it all, so I don't know why she spoil it. Unfortunately she betrayed her own work by rising up some ingenuous ghost like Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in "Ghost".
In the end: the winners take nothing.
|
