Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I looked forward to reading this book, however, found it to be predictable and mediocre.A tragic beginning was a ploy to hold my interest, but it was lost like the victim. Then the nameless town, faceless people, proverbial parental and children problems , and lackluster language added up to the common comment of money lost.
Rating: 
Summary: A Lovely Read
Review: I found this novel to be very comforting. The author leaves a warm and thoughtful idea that heaven is in the eye of the beholder. Alice Sebold captured my complete attention throughout her novel because the characters are so endearing and so thoughtfully written and the setting is so complete and imaginitive. Your heart can't help but feel the weight of loss on Susie's family. I enjoyed this book so much, that I would forget for a moment that I was reading a work of fiction. The unique imagery reminded me of the SECRET LIFE OF BEES, while the suspense reminded me of CONQUEST OF PARADISE. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has lost a family member and wonders about the afterlife. Even though, the afterlife is a work of fiction, I found it a great comfort in hoping that my loved ones are really watching over me and family. I eagerly anticipate another masterpiece by Alice Sebold.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Book
Review: I read this book because my English teacher recommended it and I was not disappointed at all. Mostly, all the points in the story are clear, and its OBVIOUS what decade the story takes place in. It said more than once when Susie died, so using common sense you could assume the story takes place around the same time period. There are times when the actions in the book are hazing, but the book it worthwhile and not a waste of time by any means. And I know books that have been a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: The lovely bones was wonderful...
Review: This became my favorite book when I read it. It is very emotional, and it was very well written. If you are looking for a book to read then this I would recommend...
Rating: 
Summary: Great beginning and powerful subject...
Review: We have such promise of a great story here; a murdered young girl tells us the story of her death and its aftermath, with backstory added at times. Altogether, the makings of a gripping novel. The beginning is powerful, and draws one into the story right away. Character development builds, and I thought, "Wow, this is really good stuff!" But perhaps about 2/3 of the way into the book, I started to feel the flaws. The actions of the mother and grandmother seemed out of place; they did not feel right. Ms. Sebold's take on the grandmother's drinking problem might have taken a more realistic path. There are far too many intuitive moments by the different characters, a cheap way to move the story forward. The interesting detective, Len, sort of fades away. He might have been given a stronger role, particularly in the curtailing of Mr. Harvey's activities. However, I would have gladly accepted all that if the ending had been satisfactory. The end of this story is as bad as its beginning is good. I was left wondering, "What the heck happened here? Did Ms. Sebold have pressing business elsewhere?" The ending is shabby and contrived, and left me feeling that I had wasted my reading time. The "swap" between Susie and Ruth doesn't play well at all, and the actions of the mentally disturbed (my take) mother are a bore. Better she should have stayed at the Winery. But the real disappointment is the fate of our villain, Mr. Harvey. Here is the literary equivalent of finding a dead cockroach on your plate near the end of a good dinner. I hope that Ms. Sebold gathers a new editor along her writing path. The possibility exists for her to be a contender. But not with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I'm suprised others didn't like this book, as I found it (as cliched as it might sound) one I literally couldn't put down. In truth, I'm not sure whether I loved it or it was simply just compelling (which sounds redundant, I know) -- but I was riveted from the beginning. I didn't initially want to read this, as I'd heard so much hype I couldn't believe it, but was in a situation where I needed something to read and happened to have just been lent the book. Once I started, I didn't stop and read it one day. Did I love it? I'm really not sure, but I do know that it was incredibly gripping -- and would recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: relentlessly depressing
Review: After all the hype, I was disappointed with this book--big time. Page after page of depressing post-death fallout. The book had its good points. The descriptions were well written. Some of the characters were very believable, but sorry, I didn't buy the murderer as a believable person, nor the detective--Does this guy *ever* follow-up any of the leads he's given, or was he just there to be wooden and solemn? And a couple of the subplots were so unbelievable I almost pitched the book across the room--I'm talking about that scene in the mall. I don't believe that the mother of a girl who'd been abducted and murdered would leave her young son alone at a communal playground in the mall.
Unfortunately, I approached this book expecting there to be a *story*, rather than a just a literary collection of scenes. I expected the murder to be solved--since it wasn't, I don't understand why I had to bother reading all that rambling about the life of the murderer after the murder. Why put in all the relevant clues that could have been followed up but weren't? Who cares about where the body was hidden if it was never found? Why waste the reader's time putting those details in?
And the dialogue: Try reading it out loud. I cringed for the author in several places.
I gave my copy of this book away.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovely Moments Hide in Cliches and Caricatures
Review: 'My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.' And so begins the narrative of a girl not living anymore.After ascending to heaven (a place that the author portrays as not too different from earth), Susie finds herself engrossed in the lives of those who she's left: her father, mother, sister, brother, and boyfriend. This is a coming-of-age-story in two ways. Susie herself grows up in heaven, learning that she will have to eventually stop engrossing herself in the lives of those she had left on Earth. Susie also watches as her 11-year-old sister, Lindsey, becomes a stunning college graduate and fiancée of a motorcycle boy. Susie's father has trouble letting go of Susie years after her death. Susie's mother cannot deal with the family's grief and escapes into the arms of a widower police detective, and later, to the vineyards of California. The author, Alice Sebold, also explores contact between the living and the dead. Ruth, a school acquaintance of Susie's, finds herself caught in the Salmon family's grief because of a chance accident: As Susie's soul leaves her body and rises to heaven, it brushes by Ruth in the street. Ruth immerses herself in poetry and an unhealthy obsession over the female victims of serial killers. The novel's climax'a staggering moment that links Ruth, Susie, and Susie's boyfriend'stunned and made the hours spent reading the novel worthwhile. However, originality stops there. Sebold's style is short and simple, though a little bland. Her premise for the book is novel and sound good in principle, but not in practice. Sebold too often resorted to caricatures of people on earth: the grief-stricken father, the eccentric killer, the discontented mother. One of my favorite parts, however, were the descriptions of life in heaven. In one poignant scene, Susie waltzes with her grandfather in the moonlight as dogs gather round. I wish the rest of the novel had been so lovely.
Rating:
Summary: Nice.
Review: It was a nice read, not totally unworthy. it's an interesting prespective. the most interesting thing is how the family recovers, they all had their own way. read it if you want.
Rating:
Summary: touching
Review: This book had me in the first paragraph. If you are the type of reader who likes books that are full of suspense, murder, mystery, and love this is your book. Here's the catch, this story is told by a murdered 13 year old as she gets used to "her" heaven. This is a fantastic book and I recommend that you read it.
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