Fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon's life is tragically cut short by a brutal murderer named George Harvey. While Susie's heaven offers her everything she could ever want in an afterlife, she can't seem to disconnect herself from what the living are doing down on Earth—particularly, her grieving family.
The Lovely Bones can be an intense read for students, as the novel opens with a horrifying scene of Susie's rape and murder. However, the violence presented in the beginning of the book is quickly offset by the ethereal imagery and surrealism of Alice Sebold's portrayal of heaven. Teachers are encouraged to compare and contrast how the murder case is handled in the book's setting (the 1970s) and how it would be handled today in the 21st century. This novel can also be a good introduction to a discussion about themes of mortality, spirituality, and the afterlife. Students might enjoy conceptualizing what their own ideal, personal heavens would be like.
Summary
When the novel begins, fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon is already dead. As she attempts to navigate her way through her own personal heaven, she watches her family down on Earth grieve over the unbelievable tragedy of her brutal murder. Each member deals with the grief in different ways, from the mother ditching the family completely, to Susie's sister attempting to bring the killer to justice, even though he manages to flee town before the police can catch up with him. Meanwhile, up in heaven, Susie comes to learn that she must disconnect herself from what is going on with the living in order to properly move on in her afterlife. Of course, this is much easier said than done. The Lovely Bones begs readers to consider just how valuable life really is and what it means to truly move on from a tragedy.
Content Warning
The Lovely Bones discusses rape, murder, and death.
Movies
A film adaptation of the novel was released in 2009. It received mostly positive reviews and only differs minimally from the original version.