Reviews

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

captainmoggytink's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

jaedee09's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

#TravellinGGbookclub book

Finally got around to reading this one! It was much more reflective and less "murder mystery" than I was expecting, which I suppose is silly because you know who did it all from the start. Having the narrator/FMC be in Heaven looking down was an interesting way of writing in first person omniscient. It was slow to start, but then I became very interested in all the characters and how their stories would play out. I almost wish I had read this before I had children, but having the perspective of a mother adds a different element to reading this story. Thought the ending was still heart warming, even though it didn't have that sense of justice.

erinsca's review against another edition

3.0

Super depressing but kind of beautiful in a way. I suppose the title says it all. Don't read this if you are paranoid about your children getting abducted and then killed. Personally, I found it very interesting and not TOO disturbing.

geezenstack444's review against another edition

4.0

I confess I didn't finish this book. I read maybe 125 pages. I had to return it to the library because it was too depressing for my tastes. I did give it four stars because, despite the fact that it was depressing, I couldn't stop reading it(which is why I brought it back). I did look up the ending online. It was pretty bad that the man who murdered her didn't get caught. I think I'll pass on seeing the movie. Another thing that really bothered me was how easy it was for George Harvey to get Susie to go with him to her death. She went with him because he was older and you're not supposed to disrespect adults. I know the novel was set in the 70's, but she still should have known better.

kkoerth613's review against another edition

4.0

It was okay. I read this for my english isu and it was good for analysis. The ending was really cute but the very beginning when Susie dies was kind of disturbing.

murderousscottishgremlin's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Such an intriguing exploration of grief and haunting. Sebold’s writing evokes a surreal sense of liminality (is that a word?), or the feeling of being in a liminal space, and I really enjoyed that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Rape

usnebojemesa's review against another edition

5.0

This book and this story is heartwrenching, beautiful and it made me cry. I loved every second spent over this pages, beautifully characted characters and plot. My personal favorite was Ruth and there were more than few quotes in the book that I am really fond of.

2nd read - 8th of Dec 2021 ; dunno why I made myself read this book again, to cry probably
But other than that this is such a lovely read, so heart breaking and yet so comforting at the same time.

cbgreen's review against another edition

2.0

I enjoyed the story itself, however I feel like the entire story could have been told in 150 pages or less. It felt as though the story dragged on. I had a difficult time connecting to the characters throughout the entire novel. The basis of the story and the idea of it is extremely beautiful however I found it poorly executed.

the_gothic_nerd's review against another edition

4.0

A heartbreaking story, that gets you hooked.

makynlee_kay's review against another edition

1.0

That was traumatizing… thanks english class for that read…