I really enjoyed The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It started out with an amazing hook, and kept me on my toes until the bitter end. The first thing Alice Sebold explains to you is how the main character, Susie Salmon is killed. The rest of the book is the aftermath, and how it affects her family. This book stood out from other murder mystery books because the mystery wasn’t who killed her (like Criminal Minds), or how she was killed (like CSI).
However the book seemed unrealistic at parts. Like how long they kept Susie’s death from her little brother, because even after a few months when he would ask “where is Susie?” he would forget about it within minutes. I find this unrealistic for two reasons. First if in a family with three kids, one went “missing” for two months, you would think a little boy would start to pick up that something is very wrong. Also from my knowledge with little boys, they are very persistent, and when they ask you something or want something, they do not let it just slip away.
I found it very fascinating how the book portrayed heaven. In Susie’s heaven, she could do whatever she wanted, and she had a mentor, and a friend too. She could look down on heaven, and watch her family, and most of the time nobody could even tell she was there. Except for a girl named Ruth, who is a girl that barely knew Susie when she was alive, but she became obsessed with her after her death. Ruth often dreams about Susie, and upon accepting her lesbianism, Ruth starts to love Susie. Ruth teams up with Ray, Susie’s old crush.
I felt that Alice Seybold accurately showed how people would react to the killing. People looked at her sister like she was Susie, and the police got tired of searching. Although it is sad this is the reality of tragic events, as is the separation of Alice’s parents. We watch as the mother has an affair with the police officer. Overall I would give the book 3.5 stars out of five.
However the book seemed unrealistic at parts. Like how long they kept Susie’s death from her little brother, because even after a few months when he would ask “where is Susie?” he would forget about it within minutes. I find this unrealistic for two reasons. First if in a family with three kids, one went “missing” for two months, you would think a little boy would start to pick up that something is very wrong. Also from my knowledge with little boys, they are very persistent, and when they ask you something or want something, they do not let it just slip away.
I found it very fascinating how the book portrayed heaven. In Susie’s heaven, she could do whatever she wanted, and she had a mentor, and a friend too. She could look down on heaven, and watch her family, and most of the time nobody could even tell she was there. Except for a girl named Ruth, who is a girl that barely knew Susie when she was alive, but she became obsessed with her after her death. Ruth often dreams about Susie, and upon accepting her lesbianism, Ruth starts to love Susie. Ruth teams up with Ray, Susie’s old crush.
I felt that Alice Seybold accurately showed how people would react to the killing. People looked at her sister like she was Susie, and the police got tired of searching. Although it is sad this is the reality of tragic events, as is the separation of Alice’s parents. We watch as the mother has an affair with the police officer. Overall I would give the book 3.5 stars out of five.
-Spoiler alert-I really did not like the ending of this book. I’m glad Mr. Harvey dies, however I would have liked it to be a more satisfying ending. In the book Susie thinks so hard, that an icicle falls and kills Mr. Harvey. Honestly who des of an icicle? It was creative, but not what I wanted. I would have liked it better for the dad, who the whole time was after Mr. Harvey, to get his revenge.
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