Rating: 
Summary: New Way to Tell An Old Story
Review: Actually, I give The Lovely Bones 3 3/4 stars. For me it's better than 3, and almost a 4, but just a hair short.Granted the goings-on in society today, this tale of a missing, murdered girl is a very relevant one. It can help us explore the possibilities behind such events, seeing the situation from several angles, including what goes on in the killer's world, and how friends and family cope behind closed doors. I found it quite a nice concept to write the story this way. It is not in any way a whodunit, and even has a spiritual, New Age-ish feel. I just don't know why I had certain expectations of the novel that led me to give it less than 5 stars. It's really a rather interesting book, but maybe because I knew it involved crime, I thought it was going to be a very "grounded" read. Sure, Susie's already in heaven when the story begins, and that alone is a very ethereal thing for those of us still on Earth, but I really continued to think that that would be the only distinctly spiritual thing about it. But then, the novel reaches its climax and that's where it turns New Age-ish, like I descibed earlier. Being into psychic and metaphysical matters myself, I love stories with such themes. But in this case, just because Susie's in heaven yet manages to tell us her story doesn't mean I was prepared for the very surreal ending of this book! It was fun to read, but I'll admit... I was thrown a little off track by what happens in the end, like the story was heading in a certain direction, but then we find ourselves somewhere else entirely. Read it to see for yourself. Entertaining and eye-opening.
Rating: 
Summary: Therapy For the Author - Unpleasant For the Reader
Review: If you want to cry and like seeing other people in anguish and pain, this is a book for you. I'm not sure why this is such a popular book? A wrenching murder and then the painful aftermath are studied in great detail. This isn't an experience I would wish for anyone, so why do we need to read about it? I guess I was expecting something more based on the book's popularity. Probably it's my fault. High expectations often create a difficult hurdle for an author to overcome. I hope others found some solace or value in this. It was just a difficult downer for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating pleasure to read
Review: This book is difficult to read if you have children. It also reminds those who do have children that life does have to go on regardless of what happensm during a lifetime. The read was enjoyable because the story was believable and told from the perspective of a young adult. It was interesting to see the lives of the characters unfolding and frustrating because of the way it ended for the killer. This is worth the short amount of time it took to finish the book.
Rating:
Summary: the lovely bones
Review: this was a beautiful book. susie is a well-written character. i loved alice sebold's description of how she lives vicariously through her sister and is still the young girl she was when she died. the characters ruth and ray both developed artfully and realisticly. this is a wonderful story about the afterlife.
Rating:
Summary: Fresh look at death and what it does to us...
Review: I had read the first chapter of this book here on Amazon.com and then went on to buy it later. I couldn't put it down, and read Susie's story with many tears and much laughter. See, I was a girl in the seventies, so much of the pop culture rang so true. This book is a great read and very moving. I must say, I will not give it to my own mother to read as it would be too much for her (I too easily could have been Susie). I would reccommend it to anyone who would like help dealing with death. As a footnote, I applaud both Susie and her Author for including dogs in our own heavens - for what would heaven be without them?
Rating: 
Summary: The Lovely Bones
Review: Now I have read the worst book of my entire life. This book had no redeeming values what-so-ever! Believe me, it is a waste of time. The characters were shallow, and you really could care less what happens to them. The story didn't flow right, and was all over the place. She would introduce characters (Ruth) and then you never knew or cared what happened to her. And her idea of Heaven, for gosh sakes, Woman, read the Bible! Who wants to live a life for God only to end up in a place like what she describes Heaven to be! Please don't waste your time like I did, and pick a better book for Book Club. Life is full of enough despair without adding more to it.
Rating:
Summary: Two hours I can never get back....
Review: You know, I usually pass on the hyped-up books, but I heard such great things about this one for so long I figured there had to be something to the reviews. I was very wrong. As I read I kept thinking that something would happen soon that would make all the fuss pan out. I didn't enjoy reading this book, I didn't even hate it, I was bewildered and somewhat annoyed on every page. My most common editorial comment, out loud of course, was "Oh, please!!" while rolling my eyes and holding my stomach to prevent my nausea from overtaking me. There was no poetry of language, no spiritual connectivity; it was just depressing and irritating. Two hours I can never get back.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: This book does not live up to its hype. It is an interesting concept, but the writing does not meet my standard for good literature. I had no desire to reread a phrase or a sentence because it was so beautifully written. This is a beach read at best.
Rating:
Summary: I'm stumped
Review: I just don't understand how this book rose to bestseller status. The writing is average at best, and the concept too weird to sustain my interest. Granted, the first fifty or sixty pages held me, but after that I put the book down and didn't pick it up again. Maybe timing is the answer to this book's success. Yeah, that's it. Has to be.
Rating:
Summary: Is this supposed to be literature?
Review: I can't believe that there isn't one criticism of this book found in the editorial reviews. Maybe it is out of respect for the author and what she has survived that no one dared to write a negative review publicly. I (reluctantly) read this book for a book club, and I admit that the first 100 pages or so kept my attention. But there could have been so many themes here -life after death, faith, the mind of a serial killer, marriage issues, etc that were touched upon but ultimately left hanging. The book didn't seem to have any real message or coherence. Aside from the unusual perspective, I felt like I might as well have been reading a Judy Blume novel about adolescence.
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