Rating: 
Summary: Weak plot, strong pathos
Review: The beginning that has been immortalized ... on her way home from school in December of 1973, fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon (as in the fish) is lured by a neighborhood man into his underground hideout, raped, and murdered. Now up in a peculiar sort of heaven where her textbooks are Glamour and Vogue, her favorite place is a gazebo, dogs frolic all around her when she wishes for them, and she is desperately alone and motherless, she looks down on her bewildered and broken family and friends as they search for her killer and try to pull themselves together to face a life without her. This is her story.It seems no one in this country (except possibly my mother) has missed at least thumbing through THE LOVELY BONES. Seldom has there been more fuss over a debut novel. I must confess, I am bewildered by the hubbaloo. While this novel certainly has a promising beginning and a first chapter strong enough to propel the reader onward, it soon founders in paragraphs that have seemingly little to do with the main plot -- whatever that is. The characters are flat, their emotions unrealistic, heaven a dismal proposition, and the ending unsatisfying. However, that said, somewhere in this story there must be a certain power because I found myself so depressed and heartbroken after the first five or six chapters that I had to either put the book down or forfeit a good night's sleep. Whatever Alice Sebold has created here, it is haunting. Readers interested in a coherent storyline without sentimental ramblings will probably find this book disappointing, but if you are touched by the odd, the lost, the mourned, and the strangely beautiful, THE LOVELY BONES will break your heart.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I absolutely loved this book. I thought that the viewpoint from which it was told was very interesting. It shows a side of the story that most would not think of. My only disappointment (without giving too much away) was her reincarnation on earth for a short time. I thought that hurt the story, but the rest of it makes up for that part. I have already started "Lucky" by Alice Sebold and am loving that just as much.
Rating:
Summary: lovely???
Review: I began reading The Lovely Bones and thought Alice Sebold had a great idea -- the story of a girl who is in heaven watching her family go on with their lives without her. I could not put the book down. It sent a bittersweet message to me regarding heaven and earth -- how similar they are meaning that in both worlds, you can never get what you really want. The book disturbed me, though, and I don't see how the bones were tied into the story.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing, disturbing and beautifully written
Review: For those who disliked this deep and thought-provoking book, I suggest they develop some neurons. This book is not for the intellectually challenged.
Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: I thought the book was wonderful! I found myself reading it at every spare moment! It could just be the sap in my, but I really loved it. The only thing that was disapointing was the ending, but even that was a wonderful end to a spactatular book!
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: The idea of this book, a dead girl in heaven seeing her family and murderer, was such a good idea! I was enjoying the book in the first couple of chapters and looking forward to reading the book. But the more I read, the more I was disappointed. I continued reading the book hoping it would pick up my interest again; but it never did and I felt the ending was just so dull and the one instance in the book of Suzie entering Ruth's body just didn't fit with the rest of the book. I felt it was a waste of my time and money. Come on Alice, it was a good idea, you could have done better!
Rating: 
Summary: Why is this book a bestseller?
Review: Kept reading, waiting to understand why this book is so popular.
Completely disappointed. Far from a shining star, Sebold is simplistic and boring. Didn't care a whit for anyone. And the lead detective is going to seduce the victim's mother? Puhleeze.
Rating:
Summary: Overrated
Review: If you lie awake at night wondering if you'll see your pet in heaven, then this book is for you. Although praised for its graphic opening, the author paints a very simple picture of complex subjects (rape, murder and divorce to name a few) and has trouble finding an ending. Save your money and take a walk in a park the next time you are seeking answers to life's questions.
Rating:
Summary: A good story that moves too slowly.
Review: I usually run screaming from movies and books that top anyone's "Best Of" list, or reach such a mainstream, wide audience. I read this book at the recommendation of a friend that I trust implicitly. I have to say that although I think that the concept of this book is unique and bordering on pure genius (the narration of the story is from a girl in heaven), I really can't say that I feel it was executed all that well. I know that I am in the minority for saying this and will probably get a zillion people saying that my review didn't help them at all, just because they don't agree with me. That's fine. I know thousands of people have read this book and have been moved beyond belief by it. It didn't do that to me at all. I found parts of the book riveting, but as soon as I would get really into it, I'd find my mind wandering, thinking about other things. I think Ms. Sebold spends a bit too time much on details, and her details were foggy at best a lot of the time. There seemed to be a few characters that the book would have been better off without. I found myself cringing whenever their names came up. "Oh no, not them again. Yawn." Ultimately, these characters really didn't have much to do with the story. Had the book been a bit streamlined, it would have made for a quicker read (at least as far as I'm concerned). I found myself having to go back and re-read passages, because either I was confused by what had happened or because it didn't hold my attention and I started daydreaming! I've never experienced anything like this with any other book that I've read. And I have read a zillion books in my life! In the end, I felt like the family never got any sort of justice. Sure, Mr. Harvey sees a deserved fate, but Susie's family doesn't know about it. It was hard to get behind some of the characters and be on their sides. What happened to Susie is terrible, and the story tells how the family reacts to it. Although their depression doesn't really make for a completely sad book, at the end it's not altogether uplifting. I sort of felt indifference. If anything, I was just happy that I was finally done with the book! It was just very slow moving for me.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Find
Review: When I was first told about this book, reactions ranged from wide-eyed wonderment to blissfull delight. When I first started reading it, same honest feelings came through. That's because it is a book of honest truth, of longing especially. One who has lost someone dear on earth often wonders what is up there. The story of Susie Salmon is the story of any young girl, from the Seventies or now, its the story of doubt, youth, wanting, giving and reassemling pieces of a puzzle- the puzzle of one's life- exept in this story, the protagonists life is finished, and she writes it from heaven, an interuption if you will. As she tries to get though, literally, to all her loved ones, the reader becomes emotionally tied to Susie Salmon. So much so that it imprints your own life and makes you feel: "I'm lucky to be here".
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