The Lovely Bones
This book review is written for Honors 9th Grade Literature and Composition under Ms. Amanda Feldmann. The book is titled The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. The book has 328 pages and published by Little, Brown and Company in 2002 (First Edition). I decided to read this book because it was on a required reading list at Jenkins High Honors 9th Grade Literature and Composition. The book sold over a million copies and remained on The New York Times hardback bestseller list for over a year. Dreamworks also turned it into a movie in 2009.
The novel is about the violent death of 14-year old, Susie Salmon, the main character and the narrator in the story. On her way home from school, Susie was lured by Mr. Harvey into his house where he later raped and murdered her. Mr. Harvey, a seemingly innocent guy, is the Salmon family's neighbor. Susie later discovered that Mr. Harvey is a serial rapist and killer. The story continues as Susie narrates the devastating effect of her tragic death from her point of view in the in-between heaven. Susie watched her family and friends coped with her death and how each of them found healing. Jack Salmon, Susie's father was devastated about Susie's tragic demise. He's the one who developed the idea of Mr. Harvey being involved in his daughter's death. Abigail Salmon, Susie's mother, was so gripped with her sorrow over her daughter's death that she decided to leave her family for another man. Lindsey Salmon is Susie's younger sister. She watched ow Lindsey struggled with her identity as "The Dead Girl's Sister" and how Lindsey grew up into a woman that Susie didn't have the chance to become.
Some of the minor characters in the novel are Ray, Ruth, Samuel, Hal and Grandma Lynn. Ray is Susie's crush and her first love. Ruth is Susie's friend whom she met recently. Samuel Heckler is Lindsey's crush, who became her boyfriend and eventually became her husband. Hal Heckler is Samuel's older brother. He became close to Lindsey and Buckley especially when Abigail left. Grandma Lynn is Abigail's mom. She helped cheer the family up from Susie's death and she was with Jack and the kids when Abigail left.
The Lovely Bones is a fantasy drama fictional novel set in Philadelphia in the 1970's. The Lovely Bones is a story of coming-of-age as Susie watched her family and friends grow and mature while they're moving on from her death. It is about love, forgiveness, and healing. At the end of the novel, Susie saw her parents reunite and realize that they have finally accepted that Susie is no longer coming back. They have moved on but continued to carry the sweet memories of Susie in their hearts.
My final impression on the novel is that it is a poignant look on how families move on after a death of a loved one. Having not experienced death in my family it is a compelling glimpse of the sense of loss and grief a person may have over a death of a family member. I would hate to experience what Susie went through in the hands of George Harvey, but I think it would be harder to see family grieve for me if I were Susie. In a way, I admire Susie for having the courage to watch her family mourn her death and watch them celebrate Christmas, holidays and birthdays without her. It would be especially bittersweet for Susie to watch Lindsey experience everything that she wasn't given the chance to experience like graduate, have a family, and have a career. All in all, I really like this book, however I would have liked it even better if there was less narration and more character dialogues and interaction. There were instances when the storyline becomes a little dragging especially after the high-action scenes at the beginning of the story. But having said that Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones is worth your time reading and would recommend this book to my peers. .
Some of the minor characters in the novel are Ray, Ruth, Samuel, Hal and Grandma Lynn. Ray is Susie's crush and her first love. Ruth is Susie's friend whom she met recently. Samuel Heckler is Lindsey's crush, who became her boyfriend and eventually became her husband. Hal Heckler is Samuel's older brother. He became close to Lindsey and Buckley especially when Abigail left. Grandma Lynn is Abigail's mom. She helped cheer the family up from Susie's death and she was with Jack and the kids when Abigail left.
The Lovely Bones is a fantasy drama fictional novel set in Philadelphia in the 1970's. The Lovely Bones is a story of coming-of-age as Susie watched her family and friends grow and mature while they're moving on from her death. It is about love, forgiveness, and healing. At the end of the novel, Susie saw her parents reunite and realize that they have finally accepted that Susie is no longer coming back. They have moved on but continued to carry the sweet memories of Susie in their hearts.
My final impression on the novel is that it is a poignant look on how families move on after a death of a loved one. Having not experienced death in my family it is a compelling glimpse of the sense of loss and grief a person may have over a death of a family member. I would hate to experience what Susie went through in the hands of George Harvey, but I think it would be harder to see family grieve for me if I were Susie. In a way, I admire Susie for having the courage to watch her family mourn her death and watch them celebrate Christmas, holidays and birthdays without her. It would be especially bittersweet for Susie to watch Lindsey experience everything that she wasn't given the chance to experience like graduate, have a family, and have a career. All in all, I really like this book, however I would have liked it even better if there was less narration and more character dialogues and interaction. There were instances when the storyline becomes a little dragging especially after the high-action scenes at the beginning of the story. But having said that Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones is worth your time reading and would recommend this book to my peers. .
