The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Emalee McClurg
Summary
At the age of 14, Susie Salmon went missing on her way home from school. This story of her disappearance/murder and how her family managed is narrated by Susie while she is up in heaven. Susie's father, Jack Salmon has suspicions of a man who lives the neighborhood named Mr. Harvey. The detectives looked into Mr. Harvey, and said he wasn't apart of Susie's murder. The only evidence they found that related to Susie's death was an elbow that a neighbors dog found. Susie watches her family, friends, and Mr. Harvey who are all still alive on Earth. She tries to send signs to her family to prove who her murderer is, but it takes awhile for them to figure it out. After many years of not being able to move to the other side, Susie decides to quit watching the living and make peace with herself.
Review
I seen the movie "The Lovely Bones" a long time ago, and really enjoyed it. I started reading the book and enjoyed the book just as much as the movie. This story really makes you wonder if there are people up there watching our every move. It's creepy to think about, but also kind of neat. It was sad reading how the family had such a difficult time with the situation, as anyone would, but also touching that they never forgot Susie. It was a wonderful book, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Characters
Susie Salmon- Main character, victim of murder, 14 years old, narrator
Jack Salmon- Susie's father, feels Susie's presence constantly, investigates the murder himself, believes Mr. Harvey committed the murder
Lindsey Salmon- Susie's younger sister, feels Susie's presence, believes Mr. Harvey committed the murder, struggles at school after the murder, always thinking of Susie
Abigail Salmon- Susie's mother, struggles tremendously with Susie's death, starts to resent herself as a mother
Mr. Harvey- man that lives in the neighborhood, murderer of Susie Salmon, never gets caught, creepy old man, builds doll houses
Favorite Passage
"These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections—sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent—that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the earth without me in it. The events that my death wrought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous body had been my life."
This is my favorite passage because it explains the title of the book, and it explains how the relationships Susie watched grow on Earth helped her move on to the other side and come to terms with her horrific death. She didn't have a body on Earth, but she made so many connections after she passed which helped her "grow up" and mature.