Books

The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold

After reading The Effects of Light, I looked up some reviews for it online to find out what others had thought of it. It was in one of those reviews that The Lovely Bones was recommended. I started reading passages online and before I knew it, I got wrapped up in the story. So the next day I went to the local library to check out a copy.

The Lovely Bones tells of the murder of the narrator, 14 year old Susie Salmon. Up in her heaven she watches her family, classmates, and even her killer as they go about their lives. She sees how her death has affected them. She observes the heartache and the struggle each member of her family experiences. She spies on Ruth, the awkward girl she accidentally brushed up against as her spirit left Earth. She also keeps an eye on Ray, the boy whom she liked. The boy she had the chance of kissing just once before her life was taken away. Susie takes the reader through the years before and after her death. What life was like before she was brutally killed, and how her small town copes with the loss after she's gone. I thought the author did a good job with this book. She spends time developing each character in a way that the reader easily becomes attached to them. The author's writing style is a bit different than most books I've read. She has a way of describing things unlike I would or even other authors would. While most of the language was very visual and beautiful, sometimes I'd read a line and laugh out loud because it sounded so cheesy. But those times were few and far between. I've got to admit though, I was impressed with the way the author approached the whole murder/rape of the main character. Yes, it was a bit uncomfortable to read about, but the whole incident was very point-blank. The author didn't go into gory detail or linger over it. The book didn't carry a lasting negative feeling. I thought the book was actually somewhat uplifting, insightful and entertaining. It was an easy book to get through and digest. Most importantly it kept my attention. I wouldn't recommend this book to "sensitive" readers, however.