The Lovely Bones Review

The Lovely Bones was a chilling, beautiful read. 

It was the story of so much more then simply Susie Salmon. 

It is a heart wrenching story that will grab hold of you and capture you. 

The writing was really good. It had a lyrical, unearthly tone to it. Yet it was still the voice of a child, not a grown women who dominated the pages. Just as it was the voice of Susie in her purest form. I thought that her voice and her, in a way, acceptance of the murder and rape,  made the story. If you had to get over something like that, it would take years but Susie didn't have to. Not exactly, she was murdered; and therefore she stays in the mind set of a thirteen year old girl, yet at the same time uses the words "rape" and "murder" without hesitating. 

I think Sebold chose the perfect point in history to set this story in. The murder of children didn't happen in this small community. Children didn't go missing. All the kids knew each other. Today we hear about rape and murder, and abductions. It is almost a constant buzzing behind everything, back then it wasn't. 

This novel is set in a small rural community where everything is basically typical. 

Children play outside, go to school, pick berries in the forest, and are at home for dinner. 

Susie was an engaging view character. You're heart can't help but squeeze every time you hear her talk about her dreams. Her voice was startlingly authentic. Even after what she had been through she didn't really loose her innocence.  

This novel was about so much more then just her though, she was looking down at earth and watching her life.  You see the lives of everyone she wants to. And you watch her family's shock and despair when they're told there was too much blood. You see life from her eyes, as she tries to figure out what exactly is important. 

I think maybe this novel will present some concepts about life you wouldn't have thought of before.  

I cared deeply for Susie Salmon, and was so hoping that Mr. Harvey would get what is coming to him. But soon you realize that it isn't about what happens to Mr. Harvey, whether the father gets him or the police do. It is actually about change. Being able to accept the life you are given. 

I think this book was written beautifully, it was almost lyrical at times, and despite everything Susie was still innocent-that was something that Mr. Harvey didn't take away from her and that was how the book read. I've heard a lot of people saying how bad the book and movie was, and how Sebold can't write. 

I disagree with all of them. 

It was a horrible story-as in how tragic and just completely heartbreaking it was, but it wasn't about how destroyed the family is after her death. It wasn't about how much Susie was missed. 

I invite you to take a guess at what it was about. Let me know what you thought of it. What did you think it was about?

I was shown different ways individuals heal from something so tragic, and how it affects a community. 

This book was sad. 

And the beginning of the story was horrible, Mr. Harvey, is a disgusting, vile character. 

But at the end of the book you see how they heal. You also see a little bit of how your actions come back to you. The family learns to live without her, because they choose to focus in life. 

But it takes a long time.