Join BookBrowse today and get access to free books, our twice monthly digital magazine, and more.

What readers think of The Lovely Bones, plus links to write your own review.

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Lovely Bones

by Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold X
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
  • Critics' Opinion:

    Readers' Opinion:

  • First Published:
    Jun 2002, 288 pages

    Paperback:
    Apr 2004, 352 pages

    Genres

  • Rate this book


Buy This Book

About this Book

Reviews

Page 12 of 15
There are currently 118 reader reviews for The Lovely Bones
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

S.L.B. (05/16/03)

I gave this book a three...I was really looking forward to this book because I saw it highlighted on the "Today' show and it really sounded good and intresting...it was disappointing to say the least!Ok,it was a good plot line,very good plot line but then it weered off into,foolishness...unnessary plots(like Ruth,what was she for?),the main character coming back by the end of the book into her friend's body and having her boyfriend make love to her! What was that for? I was saddened by how the writer treated heaven..treated it like it was a vacation with no real satisfaction in the charater longing to be back on earth but the main thing was like somebody else wrote,the character of the killer,no real punishment,just 'iced' away! THe book had it's good points and bad points,the bad more outweighed the good and I'll never really recommed this book but you make your own judgement.
Kaze Yamamota (05/12/03)

I loved this book - The Lovely Bones. The message it had, to me, was that life is worth fighting for, and even if you lose it, death can't be all that bad. It shows that we can't fear everything that is offered to us. I loved how observant Susie was of her family on Earth. She watched them grow and live, but it wasn't like she was jealous of them either. She could handle the fact that everyone had to move on without her...which is what they should have done. I also enjoyed the author's description of heaven. It was a place where anyone could have a great time and get what they wanted. That is my idea of heaven. Overall, it was just an excellent book that tells the truth and makes a statement. Good job Alice Sebold.
Megan Fuller (04/01/03)

The Lovely Bones - an excellent book on a literary and personal level. Although the first chapter is quite harsh in how the main character dies, the whole book is honest and sincere in its description of what Heaven may be like and also what life is like for those who are left here on Earth. The fact that "justice is/is not served" just reiterates the main theme - if we want people to move on, we have to let go. I can't imagine being able to see what happens in the world without being part of it, and that is what makes the novel such a page turner - the suspense of how the characters will handle what happens next. I started this book one evening on a two hour drive to the mountains and finished it the next morning - could not sleep until I knew the ending.
ReadinGenna (03/31/03)

Hello fellow avid readers.
(At my age of 13, I finally realized that reading is an enjoyable must for a happy life.)
I recently, precisely 20 minutes ago, concluded my journey of reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It is THE novel, one that touched every sense in my body as I sat at the kitchen table smelling, hearing, seeing, and mostly importantly, feeling every word and 'snapshot' depicted by the author. Every sentence of this novel seemed to add significantly to the plot, urging me to want to read ahead..maybe even sneak a glance at the bottom of the page...but I never allowed myself to 'cheat' on this test of your own personal character. (Sebold's BOLD writing style not only made me envy her skill at the written word, but made me want to inject myself with some sort of 'writing improver' supplied, personally, by Ms. Sebold herself.)
The way that Susie, the narrator, developed every character...from beloved family member, to ever hated enemy, and her evolving feelings towards them kept me enveloped in the story from cover to cover. Through embarking my journey through these pages--luminesent with imagery and powerful wordings--I silenced even the slightest sound around me so I wouldn't miss a beat, a beat of the heart of a young girl telling the story that has been--yet never was, and definetly will never was--and the story of those whose lives must, and are, going on.
This book is a MUST READ for anybody who is looking for a book of anytime--including loss, love, memory, humor, mystery, crime, and an endless amount of topics strewn through the precious pages of The Lovely Bones. "
These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absense: the connections--sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent--that happened after I was gone."
If anything happened through the seemingly endless story of Susie Salmon, I have discovered the true beauty and joy of life on earth. [I have also (at least attempted) to pick up the writing style of this magnificent author, who is bound to become a favorite of every literate individual, if not already.]
Winnie McCarraher (03/30/03)

This was the most mesmerizing book I've read this year...twice. The characters and setting of the actual murder was the same time and location where I grew up. Only locals of Northwest Philly would know where the sink holes of King of Prussia were. Suzie was a sister. I laughed at some of the character's dialogue and cried with the family. I couldn't predict what was going to happen so I stayed with the story just to see how it would all come out. In the end, I loved Suzie's perfect murder and cheered for her real sister. This was incredible storytelling.
Chris (03/26/03)

A good read, somewhat reminiscent of the movie "Ghost", but stands well on its own. Tension was created for me as a reader at key points in the plot, when I expected Susie, our narrator, to do things quite differently than she chose to.
Caroline O'Grady (03/25/03)

This book was great I loved it it really makes you want to read more.
Foster (03/18/03)

I couldn't put it down, i actually skipped classes so i could finish it...i did my book report and i got a pretty decent mark :)

Support BookBrowse

Join our inner reading circle, go ad-free and get way more!

Find out more


Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Clear
    Clear
    by Carys Davies
    John Ferguson is a principled man. But when, in 1843, those principles drive him to break from the ...
  • Book Jacket: Change
    Change
    by Edouard Louis
    Édouard Louis's 2014 debut novel, The End of Eddy—an instant literary success, published ...
  • Book Jacket: Big Time
    Big Time
    by Ben H. Winters
    Big Time, the latest offering from prolific novelist and screenwriter Ben H. Winters, is as ...
  • Book Jacket: Becoming Madam Secretary
    Becoming Madam Secretary
    by Stephanie Dray
    Our First Impressions reviewers enjoyed reading about Frances Perkins, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
A Great Country
by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
A novel exploring the ties and fractures of a close-knit Indian-American family in the aftermath of a violent encounter with the police.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The House on Biscayne Bay
    by Chanel Cleeton

    As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.

  • Book Jacket

    The Stone Home
    by Crystal Hana Kim

    A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.

Win This Book
Win The Funeral Cryer

The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu

Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.

Enter

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

M as A H

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.