Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold is an enjoyable novel about an unenjoyable topic. The main character of the novel, Suzie Salmon, begins by telling us the reader she was murdered by her neighbor and is telling us her story from her personalized heaven. In her personal heaven this young teen girl she can skip school, play with dogs, and read fashion magazines all day but she chooses to spend a great amount of time watching her family, friends, and murder as they continue their lives after her death.

This was a really compelling story and a page turner. The characters are heartwarming and likable, yet not without flaws. Their actions are compelling. The only criticism I would have is the book seems not to have an ending. Well I should say it has an arbitrary ending. According to Suzie's spirt guide in heaven she can only reach the pure utopia in heaven when she accepts her death. I think it would have been nice to see Suzie accept her death at the end of the novel. As it stands the novel ends arbitrarily. Many of Suzie's friends and family achieve milestones and then the end.

However, that being said this is a light compelling read that I would recommend highly.