The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Book

The Film- 

The Lovely Bones is an incredibly moving book (and film) that really tugs at your heart strings throughout. It is about a 14 year old girl, called Susie Salmon, living in Pennsylvania in the 1970's who is brutally murdered by her neighbour. She tells the story from the place between Heaven and Earth, showing the lives of people around her and how they try to cope with the grief of losing Susie and trying to find the killer.
Her body is never discovered and her parents suffer an unimaginable pain. The strain is far too much and her mother leaves. Her father continues to investigate and over many years maintains contact with the police officer in charge of the investigation. Susie also gets to watch Mr. Harvey and learns of his long list of victims. She also sees him prepare for his next victim - her younger sister Lindsey.


At the start of the book, we are taken through a detailed chapter of the gruelling murder of Susie. Even though it is excellently portrayed, it is quite detailed and I wouldn't recommend it for people who like to have an easy and nice read. 
Rating


4.5/ 5


It is a very interesting, heart-wrenching and bitter sweet book that I wouldn't recommend to anyone under the age of 12. It includes sensitive subjects (Rape, Murder ect) and strong emotions that young children would find hard to comprehend and understand peoples actions due to their emotions.(Grief, love)


My most memorable scene would have to be when it names the other girls Mr.Harvey has murdered. It's not as if its my favourite scene, but the scene is very effective and very well put together to maximise the full impact of the chapter and as the reader we can't comprehend how evil a human being could be.


Effective quotes and analysis:



“He wore his innocence like a comfortable old coat.” 
This describes Mr. Harvey, the serial killer, who has killed and gotten away with it so often that he almost believes his own innocence.



"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."
Susie explains how her death impacted the world while she was in it and how it has impacted the world without her. This is also the basis for the title of the novel.


Thank you for reading :)