Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Rachel Namenson

When I heard that the book Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold was much better than the movie, I knew that I had to read it.  I finished this book in literally three days because it was so good and I do not have one bad thing to say about it.  It is a suspenseful book that you will never want to put down.  Although this is a mystery book, it is not all about the suspense because there are mostly calm parts.  The Lovely Bones is narrated by Susie, the main character.  On the first page, Susie tells us that she was murdered, so the author is making it clear that the story will not be about whether she was murdered or not.  Throughout this whole story, we know who murdered her, yet her family and the police do not.  She has disappeared and they did not find a body, so the family was forced to keep the hope of her life while the readers knew that she was watching from her heaven.  I would recommend this book because it had a very unique setup.  It wasn't like any other murder stories where it is only based upon finding the murderer.  Susie was looking down on her family throughout the story, so we could see exactly what was happening on Earth with them and her murderer, but all through the young eyes of Susie.  This is an excellent book that shows the struggles of a grieving family over the loss of a daughter and sister while subtly keeping the mystery of the police trying to find Susie's body and the murderer. It will keep you wondering whether this family could possibly stay intact while the murderer of their loved one could be living right next door to them. 

I recommend this book for children ages 12+