Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Year Published: 2002
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
ISBN: 0316168815
Pages: 328
Classification: Fiction
Media Format : Book
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Adventure
Interest Level: 9-12
Reading Level: 6
Subjects: Murder victims families, Teenage girls, Crimes against,

Reader's Annotation: While adjusting to life in Heaven, a fourteen-year-old girl watches the effects of her death on those she left behind.

Summary: Susie Salmon takes a shortcut home from school. She takes the cornfield route and meets George Harvey. He tricked her to go to the underground den, traps her, rapes her, kills her, dismembers her body and drops them in a sinkhole. Only Susie’s hat and elbow is found. Investigators did not find suspects for the death of Susie so they drop the case. Susie’s family falls apart. Her father goes through depression, her mother having an affair with one of the detectives and her sister feeling abandoned and confused with her sister’s disappearance. As years go by loved ones and friends find clues, sometimes with the help of Susie, from her personal heaven. It took years for them to figure out who killed Susie and by then Harvey is free to harm other girls. His final attempt to rape another lady in a bus depot lead to a freak accident. Harvey got knocked out by a fallen icicle and tumbled down on a ravine to his death.

Personal Notes: For mature readers. Some contents may not be appropriate for young teens.

Reviews and Awards: Library Journal, New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, Wilson's High School Catalog