The Lovely Bones: A Novel
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$14.93
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Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780316666343
ISBN: 0316666343
Label: Little, Brown and Company
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 328
Publication Date: 2002-06-01
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Studio: Little, Brown and Company
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Editorial Reviews:
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When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didnt happen. In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death, and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. (It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swingset.) With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their griefher father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honorand begin the difficult process of healing. In the hands of a brilliant new novelist, and through the eyes of her winning young heroine, this story of seemingly unbearable tragedy is transformed into a suspenseful, touching, even funny novel about family, memory, love, heaven, and living.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: not as good as expected
Comment: I've heard mostly good things about this book, so I decided to read it. The point of view was interesting and unique and the beginning pulled me in. But, about halfway through I was getting bored and the ending was pretty anticlimactic.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Starts strong, but stumbles to the finish line
Comment: PROS:
- Gripping beginning.
- Unique perspective (that of a 14-year-old looking down from heaven).
- Good writing.
CONS:
- There are several distracting side stories that are unnecessary. Few of the extra characters are developed much. We never really learn that much about the 14-year-old family or friends. We learn a little bit of each.
- The main plot, to discover the killer, has too many boring tangents.
- The end of the novel is disappointing. SEMI-SPOILER ALERT: The fate of the killer is not satisfying and the protagonist's re-appearance on Earth feels out of place.
WHO WOULD LIKE IT: Anyone who has lost someone who is younger than them.
CONCLUSION: If the editors had chopped 100 pages off this novel, it probably would have been a 5 star novel. It feels like a short story that had a filler inserted to give it 300+ pages. A liked the novel (hence, 3 stars), but I didn't love it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointed!
Comment: I bought this book hoping it'd be good because I'd heard some really brilliant praise for it, but it fell short.
The beginning drew me in, but after that it was all downfall.
The characters do not seem to fit together, and they are not in the least bit realistic. What is up with Susie's sister trying too hard to be strong and even coming off as inconsiderate, not caring about her sister's death? What is up with Susie's mother neglecting the family? What is up with the dad in total grief, unable to do anything?
This is supposed to be some sort of fictional memoir about a brutal rape and murder, dictated by a female teenager in heaven. Instead, it doesn't quite come off that way. The first three chapters hold your attention, but afterwards it just gets worse and worse with every page with too many unnecessary details and unrealistic events, taking place with characters who seem, well... for lack of a better word, just not normal.
I agree that the prose is not realistic in the least bit for a girl of fourteen. I consider myself to be very mature due to my bad childhood and the fact that I happened to become bipolar at the age of twelve, and even I didn't talk like this.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Captivating book
Comment: The book takes you on a journey with the character Susie Salmon who was murdered. The book is full suspense and written well. In "The Lovely Bones" Susie is in heaven where she narrates the story and keeps watch over her grieving family. The book begs the question,' what do we do in the afterlife'. I found a great book that explains God and the afterlife called, "The Enlightenment, What God Told Me After One Million Prayers: A Message for Everyone" by John H. Eagan you really get a sense of who God is, what He wants us to do now, and what we'll really do in the afterlife.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lovely Bones
Comment: This is a well written book that helps visualize the scenes and events very well. The story is very intriguing and I had to learn about the ending. However, I have to admit that the story bothered me a great deal for the most part. The story starts with a very troubling event. That event and the fact that similar events kept reoccurring and the subsequent negative events all were very disturbing to me. But, this is a very personal take. I know many folks who LOVED this book!
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