The+Lovely+Bones

=The Lovely Bones= Page by: Rachael McDonald

Published in 2002
The year is 1973. Susie Salmon is walking home from her middle school one night, and as usual, she cuts across the cornfield to get to her street. Little did she know that she would be raped, murdered, chopped up, and never seen again by anyone but the sick killer of this innocent fourteen year old girl. Now Susie watches from Heaven as her family and friends grieve, cope, and try to figure out what happened so they can truely let Susie go. There is only one issue: they cannot let go until they have found Susie's killer and justice can be served--or can they?

THE SALMON FAMILY
Susie Salmon: 14 year old soccor player who is raped and murdered--now looks down from Heaven as the after-story unfolds

Jack Salmon: Father of the Salmon family, knows in his heart who the killer is, but has no way to prove it.

Abigail Salmon: Mother of the Salmon family, cannot properly cope with the death of her daughter so she begins to obsess over old hopes and dreams, resulting in an affair, among other disaterous things.

Lindsey Salmon: 13 year old sister of Susie, has one of the hardest times of all the characters after the death of Susie because all people see in Lindsey is her sister, and Lindsey feels as though she is invisible, yet totally exposed at the same time. She doesn't kow how to cope and just make people leave her alone--she's tired of being nothing but "the dead girl's sister."

Buckley Salmon: 4 year old brother of Susie, sometimes claims to see and talk to her after her death. Has a very hard time in the beginning understanding that his big sister was never coming home.

THE KILLER
George Harvey: Neighboir to the Salmons', Mr. Harvey is suspected by Mr. Salmon and Susie's dog (Holiday) the whole time, but there is no way that anyone can prove that George really was the killer.

Other Minor Characters
Grandma Lynn, Ruth Connors, Ray Singh, Ruana Singh, Samuel Heckler, Hal Heckler, Len Fenerman, Clarissa, Holly, Franny, and Holiday. Alice Sebold is a 45 year old author, who wrote __The Lovely Bones__ drawing from her experience as a victim of rape at the age of nineteen. Her first book, __Lucky__, published in 1999, is a memior of that terrible event in her life. Her latest book, __The Almost Moon__, was published in 2007. She has won a few awards for her work.

Personally, I find __The Lovely Bones__ to be an extraordinary novel, as it shows family life beyond the Brady bunch. The whole story is believable and comparable to real life--at least mine. Sebold's style shows experience and understanding of the outside world. Her wording and imagery used was the key to my complete empathy for the characters and their pain.

Most of the reviews that I saw on Amazon.com showed either one complete veiwpoint or the other: They either loved it or hated it.