The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold's novel, The Lovely Bones, is a story that follows the perspective of its leading lady, Susie Salmon. With an opening line of, "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973," this opening is sure to gain the popularity of such famous book opens as Moby Dick's, "Call me Ishmael," and Mrs. Dalloway's, "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."

Susie Salmon was a fourteen-year old innocent girl who was unabashedly raped and murdered by her pedophile of a neighbor, Mr. Harvey. The novel follows her stay in her heaven, which consists of a gazebo and her middle school, and through her eyes we are able to witness how her family copes with her murder through the years and the whereabouts of her murderer. All that remains of her is her elbow, found by the neighbor's dog, and a charm from her beloved charm bracelet. Susie demonstrates a longing to have life once again when she watches her sister Lindsay's beautiful metamorphosis into a woman. She keeps a keen eye on her school crush Ray and the school's outcast Ruth, who seem to be the only people to sense that Susie is watching them.

As the secondary characters grow and develop, so does Susie. She continues to keep watch on her father's persistent search for her murderer and Mr. Harvey's new claimed victims. The book defies the conventionalities of most murder mysteries in that it is abundant with human emotions and promising characters. If you are searching for a book that is a fun read, yet a literary piece, then I suggest The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.