The Lovely Bones: Alice Sebold

" "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her--her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy."

Well...right off the bat, any of you who has seen any of my other blog posts knows that this is so not the typical book that I read and review. First off, this is a teen novel. Second, it's one of those book-turned-film type deals (though The Time Traveler's Wife doesn't count...I read the book before the movie came out). I'm actually reading this book because a friend and I decided to begin reading the same books so we could go out to lunch once a month and have little discussion-thingys.

I haven't seen the film that was made from this book, but I know for a fact that there are some huge differences. Obviously, the plot really had to be simplified because there was just so much information and passage of time in the novel that they couldn't possibly fit it all in the movie. Not to mention, (and I don't want to give too much away) is that I have a feeling that the ending is slightly different because not many would be satisfied by the finish of the novel. It's not quite "neat" enough.

I devoured the first part of this book. I couldn't get enough. However, this was not the case when I got about three-quarters of the way through. Everything got so routine (for lack of a better word). I enjoyed the plot (and I'm not sure if that actually makes me a bad person) and the writing was enjoyable.

***Slight spoiler.

I was more than a little disappointed at the fact that Harvey is taken care of in a way that echoes a Gray's Anatomy episode I saw. Call me sick, but I wanted him to suffer...greatly...like in a way that is way too graphic on to write on here...

***Spoiler over.

Anyway, this book was good, if the ending wasn't quite as satisfying as I wanted it to be (though I guess it made it more realistic). I recommend this book, but maybe for a slightly older teen. I was surprised at the sexual tones this contained. However, don't let this sway you from this book. I still liked it a good deal.