The James Logan Courier

By Anjelica Ramos, Courier Staff Artist
In The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, Susie Salmon, is a 14-year-old girl who lived in Norristown, Pennsylvania. On December 6th, 1973, Susie was murdered by one of her neighbors. The book is narrated by Susie, who is living in her own personal heaven that is filled with everything she could ever want and imagine. There she is able to watch all the people she once knew, from her family, her friends, even her crush, Ray Singh, continuing on with their lives after her death.

The only thing that troubles her in her perfect world is that her murderer, George Harvey has cleaned up his tracks so well that he will not be caught. Although her father later suspects that Mr. Harvey was, in fact, the one who did it. He tells the sheriff, Len Fenerman, of his suspicion, but Len cannot charge him for any crime because there is not nearly enough evidence.

Meanwhile, in Susie's heaven, she meets another young girl who becomes her best friend, along with Franny, an elderly woman who helps Susie to adjust in her heaven. Susie closely watches as her family slowly begins to break, while other members are only growing closer together. She sees how their lives have been unraveling with all the stress that has come from trying to accept that she is dead.

From the moment upon reading The Lovely Bones, I was hooked. The first chapter is filled with so much suspense and as I kept reading, I only wanted to know more and keep reading on to see how everyone's lives have been affected from this tragedy.

You'll have to read The Lovely Bones to find out whether her murderer ever gets caught and if the living can finally accept Susie Salmon's death and live on with their lives.

The Lovely Bones has been turned into a film, based on the book, and is set for release on December 11. The movie is directed by Peter Jackson, best known for working on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with Saoirse Ronan starring as Susie. Other actors include Mark Wahlburg, Susan Sarandan and Rachel Weisz.