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shleythom's review against another edition
5.0
I originally read this in high school when the book was first published and wasn’t a fan. Rereading it now, more than twenty years later, I was hit right in the feels–ones I lacked the first time around, seemingly due to an absence in any real perspective or life experience.
tryst3ditor's review against another edition
3.0
I had this book added before, but decided my review was a little harsh. Problem I had with the book is that I think it fails about three-fourths of the way. It's sort of a modern twist on "Our Town" - the three-act play by Thorton Wilder, except you have a serial killer, the victim who is now a ghost, a young girl. My problem was the ending. It was not good, a little predictable, idealistic and unbelievable. Somehow, she couldn't close the story, so Sebold makes up some wild, unlikely ending for her heroine, the killer ends up dying by his own clumsy mishap. I can't help but think she might have needed to do a tad more research on the psychology of serial killers, however gruesome that task might have been. On the whole, for a first book, I think Sebold did a pretty good job. She can only get better with maturity.
jamilamoure's review against another edition
2.0
Hard to get past the brutal rape and murder of the main character.
obsidian_blue's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book back in 2003. I remember buying the hardcover from a random book shop in D.C. (can't recall the name of the store) and started to read this book while on a bus heading back from the Pentagon metro stop. Within an hour I was in tears and just read it until I finished it sometime before dawn. This book grabbed me back when I was 23 and it still grabbed me more than a decade and a half later at 38. Sebold wrote this book in response to being raped and she takes all of that pain and anger and wrote something that I believe will eventually be considered a classic. That said there are some nits here and there in the book that don't work, she has the main character at one point inhabit someone's body and I don't even want to discuss it anymore cause it was weird and off-putting. The only really false step I got while reading this.
"The Lovely Bones" is about 14 year old Susie Salmon who tells you about how she came to be raped and murdered. Her bones (the lovely bones in this story) are hidden and her family has to deal with the fallout from her disappearance. When a part of Susie is eventually found, her family then has to deal with knowing she is murdered and nver coming home. Sebold provides updates on via Susie about her family, the man who raped and murdered her, as well as a boy she had a crush on before her death.
Susie's character was heartbreaking. Reading about her rape and murder was awful. You want to reach into the pages and keep her safe. I kept wishing for a different ending while reading this book. When Susie is gone, her soul races off to her own personal heaven and from there she keeps an eye on things. Parts of the book made me cry a lot. Reading about Susie meeting and hanging out with her grandfather and the other friends she makes in heaven are wonderful.
Susie's sister Lindsey is dealing with having suspicions on the man she believes killed her sister and trying to hold on to her family as they slowly disintegrate. The younger brother Buckley is having to adjust to having a family that he remembers before Susie disappeared to after where everything seems to be focused on her.
I didn't really like Susie's mother. I get people act to grief in different ways, but how she chose to deal with things made me feel sad. I do applaud Sebold though for not trying to sugarcoat things and also for the family to not rush to bring her back into the family fold.
The writing was poetic at times. Sebold has a very strong grasp of words. I could picture everything that was happening perfectly (sometimes too perfectly).
“My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered.”
“Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.”
The flow for the most part was really good. Things just got slow towards the end in my opinion. You are just wanting to get to the end.
The setting of the book takes place in Pennsylvania in the 1970s and then through the next few decades.
The ending comes for a whisper almost with Susie starting to move on, but still watching her family. She wishes the reader a long and happy life.
"The Lovely Bones" is about 14 year old Susie Salmon who tells you about how she came to be raped and murdered. Her bones (the lovely bones in this story) are hidden and her family has to deal with the fallout from her disappearance. When a part of Susie is eventually found, her family then has to deal with knowing she is murdered and nver coming home. Sebold provides updates on via Susie about her family, the man who raped and murdered her, as well as a boy she had a crush on before her death.
Susie's character was heartbreaking. Reading about her rape and murder was awful. You want to reach into the pages and keep her safe. I kept wishing for a different ending while reading this book. When Susie is gone, her soul races off to her own personal heaven and from there she keeps an eye on things. Parts of the book made me cry a lot. Reading about Susie meeting and hanging out with her grandfather and the other friends she makes in heaven are wonderful.
Susie's sister Lindsey is dealing with having suspicions on the man she believes killed her sister and trying to hold on to her family as they slowly disintegrate. The younger brother Buckley is having to adjust to having a family that he remembers before Susie disappeared to after where everything seems to be focused on her.
I didn't really like Susie's mother. I get people act to grief in different ways, but how she chose to deal with things made me feel sad. I do applaud Sebold though for not trying to sugarcoat things and also for the family to not rush to bring her back into the family fold.
The writing was poetic at times. Sebold has a very strong grasp of words. I could picture everything that was happening perfectly (sometimes too perfectly).
“My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered.”
“Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.”
The flow for the most part was really good. Things just got slow towards the end in my opinion. You are just wanting to get to the end.
The setting of the book takes place in Pennsylvania in the 1970s and then through the next few decades.
The ending comes for a whisper almost with Susie starting to move on, but still watching her family. She wishes the reader a long and happy life.
ing_pelletier's review against another edition
3.0
I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed this book! In our English classes we were asked to chose a novel from a list of around 10 books, there were the usuals like, Lord of the Flies, Catcher in the Rye, etc. I chose this book on a whim for I already knew what happened in all the others due to friends and family who had read the stories.
The Lovely Bones was a heart wrenching tale of one girl who was murdered by her next-door neighbor, the story follows the trials faced by her family still on earth as she watches from heaven.
Though the author isn't the best of writers she captures a raw emotion that sticks with you months after you read! I still to this day will find myself contemplating and analyzing what I absorbed from the story. I definitely recommend!
The Lovely Bones was a heart wrenching tale of one girl who was murdered by her next-door neighbor, the story follows the trials faced by her family still on earth as she watches from heaven.
Though the author isn't the best of writers she captures a raw emotion that sticks with you months after you read! I still to this day will find myself contemplating and analyzing what I absorbed from the story. I definitely recommend!
miggyfool's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, and Xenophobia
erinrouleaux's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, it was a hard one to put down...and I really loooved it up until the last 30 pages or so. I thought the author did an amazing job of explaining the family dynamics...I got a glimpse of what it would be like to lose a daughter to murder....to lose a child at all. I thought the most interesting was the Mother's reaction and the mother and father's relationship, and I thought the author did an amazing job at explaining that type of person and relationship malfunction. There were really touching parts of this book. I guess the end was where I felt let down. I was glad of the ending for some reasons, but I guess I either wanted less, or I wanted more from it.
dgm0607's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
lostbuthappy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0