The Lovely Bones | Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones | Alice Sebold | I loved this book!

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The Lovely Bones

	The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold Little, Brown and Company, 2006 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 96 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope. In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth continuing without her-her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong, and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone. And she explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon as she thinks of it-except the thing she most wants: to be back with the people she loved on Earth. With compassion, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves on, only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event. The Lovely Bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.

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Quit whining

I am sick and tired of hearing that this book is a book for those who "have fun reading about rape and murder" and that it is "a slap in the face for murder and rape victims" cause hey, guess what: Alice Sebold WAS a rape victim. Only, she got through it and through her strength and insight, we got Bones. This book is not about "having fun reading about a rape or a murder", and in fact it is not even a murder mystery; that suspense part of the book takes a backseat to Susie's thoughts and feelings and those of her family members as well. Bones relays an excellent message: Don't say good bye to your dead loved ones, and for God's sake don't try to stop loving them. They are here; they can feel your love and return it. When we acknowledge the fact that "life ends; love doesn't have to" is when those that we loved who have passed on "remain eternal", as another reviewer so beautifully put it. How in the world is that a slap in the face to the dead? If anything, that message is a celebration of the fact that we, the living, have the ability to always remember our loved ones and to celebrate their lives. Sebold's insight gives me chills down my spine; only someone who has had her experience, and only someone with such superb, rare insight and talent can write about something so ambiguous and unknown with such truth.

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I loved this book!

Yes, it is hard to read about the rape and murder of a young girl, or anyone for that matter. But this book is about so much more than that. It is about family, life, death, love, and the cold hard fact that this world is not always a sunny place. This was my first Alice Sebold book and after I finnished it, I was compelled to buy Lucky, her memior, and The almost Moon, her latest novel. If you're read Lucky, then you know that Alice sebold is not just some freak who can make up a gruesome story about the rape and murder of a child. She knows the details because she's been there herself. Anyways, I got a bit frustrated when I read some of the reviews for this book. Some people are just so mean. If you didn't like the book, fine. But don't sit there and bad mouth everything about it or question the author's abilities. All in all, I thought this book was amazing and I would definately recommend it.

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Surprising

To be really honest, I have never really wanted to read this book. It just didn't appeal to me. I didn't want to read about a brutual rape and murder of a young girl. It's the last thing I really wanted to read about but my book club suggested that we read it and since I am hosting the book club, I thought I'd better.

Once I picked it up, I literally could not put it down. I kept sneaking ways to find the time to read it by making the kids lay down for a nap, to take a bubble bath, you name it. I am, honestly, blown away by this book. It is not what I thought it would be. It is nothing what I thought it would be. The story line goes much deeper than the rape and murder (which the author thankfully spared the gristly details of). It goes into how the family fell apart in different ways to cope with the disappearance of the eldest daughter, Susie, who disappeared one winter night on her way home from school. With next-to-nothing clues to go on, the father becomes obssessed with the neighbor who he think did it. The mother drowns her sorrow into escaping from the family. Lindsey, the sister, had to endure the stigma of being the murdered girl's sister and Buck, the baby, had to endure everyone's loss as well as his. Not only did Susie's death affected her family, it affected two of the people she knew in life, her first love and a friend she barely knew.

Written from Susie's point of view as she observes life on earth from heaven, it is written in a very poignant way. This book should have come with a warning on the front cover, kleenexs are necessary while reading this book. It is written lyrically. It is haunting. It is unbelievably rich in spots with details and the sorrow lingers long after the last page has been turned. It is about how people deal with grief and how they move on in spite of the death of a loved one. It is about letting go and remembering. It is about life and death. In spite of its premises, it really isn't a book about revenge. It is about life.

I would recommend it to anyone who has heard about it. It is not what you may think it is, but it is also not a light book to read over the summer. It is a book about grief and loss. But it is also a book about hope and finding the way back to light and life again. It is also a book that will hold you in its grip till the last page has been turned. So, you're warned.

7/2/08

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Try and understand

that this book isn't about happy endings. That is what Alice is trying to tell everyone. With this book she gets to write the story about how screwed up the world is. This wasn't a story that had a happy ending because most stories in life don't. She is a very kind person to share her stories with us. She teaches people (who want to listen) that when something horrible happens some good can come out of it, but in the end the horrible thing should not be forgotten. Just because something horrible happened doesn't mean the world should be ignorant and turn the other cheek. We should learn about it and maybe someday help someone through their struggle or maybe it can help you through one of your struggles.

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Lovely Bones = Lovely Book

I was interested throughout the whole book. Kept me on my feet. I love how strange and twisted it can be at sometimes ,but I also loved the hidden sincerity hidden beneath its controversial complexity.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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