This story is a twisted tale that involves a fourteen-year-old girl named Susie Salmon, being raped and murdered, and how her family falls apart over the years after her death while they try to move on. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones made me cringe with fear but at the same time yearn for more of its mystery and depth.

A life lesson that this book displays is that time heals all wounds, no matter how bad the situation is. Sebold’s writing style is very intimate; her distinct and detailed descriptions of all aspects of the story paint a picture in your mind to help create the feeling that you belong in the story as well. You can imagine yourself as a spectator standing beside the characters; watching and being absorbed into the drama and crisis’s that are taking over their miserable and depressing lives.
This story portrays many different and complex characters that seem sensible and rational. The main characters: Mr. and Mrs. Salmon, Susie, Lindsey, Buckley, Ruth, and Ray could easily be mistaken as realistic people in the ways they react to Susie Salmon’s tragic and unexpected death. Although I feel that I have created a connection with these characters, there is one of them in particular that I despise with a burning and fiery passion. Abigail Salmon. She found, “a doorway out of her ruined heart, in merciful adultery” with Officer Len Fenerman after her daughter’s murder (Sebold 197). She not only cheated on her husband with the chief department head of the police that was in charge of her dead daughter’s murder case, but also deserted her family shortly after, when they needed her most. It seems like they were lingering in the process of their denial and mourning for Susie’s death; Abigail couldn’t settle for a life like this. She had recovered from Susie’s death much more quickly than her family had and she felt they were dragging her down with them. Thus, resulting with her fleeing and “escaping” the nightmare she seems to be living in and attempting a fresh new start in California; somewhere that she thought she would never have to face her problems. I personally think that Abigail is a coward for leaving and not having the guts to live where everyone and everything reminded her of Susie and for shunning herself from her family. If they had stuck together as a team, the plot would have gone down differently.
The descriptive and sensual words in this novel really set you in the mood to wrap up in some cozy blankets and snuggle with your book until the wee hours of the morning. The author’s voice and choice of diction is very catchy and intense. You can get hooked on to this book very easily and never want to set it down until you find out what happens next, unlike something you’re required to read by Charles Dickens who can write pages and pages about the most annoying and unnecessary things.
I personally cannot relate to this book because I have never been through anything so tragic. However, the author helped me see what the Salmon family went through by seeing it through their eyes with her incredible and gifted writing abilities. She also helps me visualize the picket-fence, small town setting that this story takes place in during the 1970’s. I can literally close my eyes and picture a small white house with your average family living in it, the cute picket-fence, dog barking on the front lawn, children playing in the wooden and creaky old tree house, while the parents sit on the porch and enjoy the view of the glowing and golden sunset in the small town atmosphere.
If you enjoy reading about things like suspension, betrayal, lust, and acceptance, I highly recommend this book. It is a very thrilling novel that will keep you on your toes. This is by far my most favorite novel that I have read in this genre, give it a chance!