By Caitlyn Stephens
Staff Writer
Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones has captured the hearts of millions. I am no exception. This masterpiece of a book will touch your very soul, break your heart, and warm it all at once. Sebold’s writing is perhaps the most personal and riveting piece of literature that I have experienced in this newest generation of novelists. I literally could not make it through a single chapter without crying.
The book begins with the greatest tragedy that could befall a family, the murder of a child. Susie Salmon was fourteen years old when she was raped and murdered by her neighbor. As she looks down from heaven, she watches as these events both tear the people who love her apart and, at the same time, bring them closer together. Susie uses all her power to help her father find her murderer. She does this not for herself, but for the sake of the other girls. Susie Salmon is not the first, but she vows to be last. As she fights to bring her family peace and to bring justice to her killer, she learns what it really means to be human.
This book will make you cry, and it will make you laugh. This captivating story will change you. Susie has a lesson to teach us all: a lesson about life, death, and courage. Most of all, she teaches us that out of the greatest tragedy can come hope, joy, and love.
