Review on: The Lovely Bones

Imagined what heaven is like? Ever stop to wonder what it was like to ascend into the sky above? What if you were a rape victim and died at a fairly young age? Hopefully you wouldn't like to die that way, because that's what happened to Susie. The Lovely Bones, composed by astounding writer Alice Sebold, both perfectly portrays the experience of Susie Salmon's, the victim, heaven and the morals of what really matters in life.

Alice Sebold, born in Madison, Wisconsin, bases most of her writings off of her experience in college. She was raped and beaten at the age of 18 while studying at Syracuse University in New York. After several months, she walked along the campus to find her assailant, and quickly reported him to the authorities. She stayed in Manhattan where her writing career would eventually take off. Her memoir, Luckly, was published in 2002 based on her account of the night she got raped. Later in 2004, The Lovely Bones was released as her very first novel and an instant number one best seller.

Susie, a fourteen year old girl, becomes a victim of a rape murder. She ascends into heaven where, she watches as the rest of the family cope with her death. Lindsey, her sister, tries to handle the death on her own, which is easier said than done. She was offered a lead position of the new girls soccer team, but declined because “it's approximately twenty feet from where [her] sister was supposedly murdered.” Sebold gives Lindsey the qualities that Susie had when she was alive to explain exactly what kind of person she was since she was killed at an early state. Jack, Susie's dad, has a very hard time coping with this as well, despite the role of the strong dad should play. He constantly is reminded of memories with Susie and always pondered about her death. He starts growing a sudden suspicion “like an electric shock” early on, which would consume him to do unexplainable actions.

Susie at the beginning wants her killer to pay for what he has done to her early on. But, as she watches what happens from her gazebo the events that take place, she begins to change what she really wants. “All [she had] to do is desire it…enough and [understood] why…it [would] come.” The experiences that she only wished of proceeding drastically changes. Sebold cleverly shapes Susie early one as immature and young, but begins to mature and grow up towards the end to find what she truly desires.

Lovely Bones is one book you can not put down, even for just a sip of coffee. The thrills of every plot twist thrown into a perfectly woven novel are worth reading on the sofa. A number one best seller crafted by Alice Sebold is highly recommended to teens and adults due to the content of what it holds.