Lovely Bones, Lovely Book!

The lovely bones captivated me with its unique blend of fantasy and reality—a combination I was hesitant about at first but later found enjoyable. From the first sentences on the first page, “My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie” to the very last sentence on the final page, “I wish you all a long and happy life,” The Lovely Bones was both intriguing and mesmerizing. I believe I felt this way while reading it because it had several appealing qualities. One, that is was able to open my eyes to whole new world filled with happiness, joy, self-discovery, and sadness; a world that is only what you make of it. Two, it allowed me to understand the process of grief and recovery in dealing with death. I personally have not suffered from the loss of a loved one or a close family member, so being able to see the aftermath of death through the eyes of one who has helped me in getting a better understanding of what that might be like. The characters’ emotions were so clearly and effectively described, that getting a glimpse of what dealing with death is like is easy to do. This topic of death or tragedy, when joined by a brilliant and descriptive narration is one that can easily be captivating as it is a common experience for many humans therefore, very relatable and true to life, which I found makes a good book.


Another important aspect of the book is its characters. Susie Salmon, the main character, a young girl who is raped at the age of fourteen by her serial killer neighbor, narrates the book with a keen eye from her celestial heaven on her friends and family back on earth. Her naïve perspective on life in heaven after her death was one that I found to be interesting and meaningful. Watching over the life she is no longer apart of, Susie learns many life lessons and is able to see her family and friends for who they really are. For example when Susie watches over her mother, she sees a side to her that was very different from the one she saw when she was alive. Only once had she seen her mother like this before her death but she had not been able to really understand why she was so different. Then in heaven she begins to understand that the women she sees is not her mother anymore but rather just another human being. Seeing Susie grow mentally as she discovers the meaning of life and who she is was refreshing as I am going through this same self-discovery at this point in my life. Susie’s mom, Abigail also goes through a discovery period where she realizes her unhappiness and boredom in life. Her character related to me in that she as am I is looking for what she really wants in life. The Lovely Bones does a great job relating to many different people on many different levels in ways I found to be more effective than other books I have read.
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The Joys of Reading and Writing

To be completely honest, I have never been much of a reader. Reading was always something I did when I had to and not when I wanted to, frankly because I never really had that strong urge to pick up a book for fun and start reading it. Maybe it stems from my early years as a child not having been read to every night or forced to divulge myself in a juicy children’s book that I now find myself without a strong desire to read but rather a desire to play games and socialize with people. There are times, however, when there is an exception to this. This is when I come across a book that I really like, one that captures my attention from start to finish, which is not an easy feat. It takes a book that is not only exciting and enthralling but also relatable and true to real life for me to completely enjoy reading it. Recently though I have learned to enjoy reading a lot more. For example, over the summer with the abundance of free time I find that reading for fun can be both relaxing and rewarding. It is when I do not feel rushed or forced to read a book that I am most able to enjoy it. A typical Laura book would be a simple romantic novel that has interesting characters and is not dull or boring. Occasionally I will drift away from this subject and indulge myself in a dramatic book such as The Lovely Bones, which I read this summer and surprisingly loved.

I would have to say the same for my writing. It is definitely not something that I love to do, but when I have to, I will get it done. I believe that I have never enjoyed to write because it is not my strongest area of academics and therefore, it is not easy for me to do. It is very hard for me to get my point across in my writing and because this is so difficult for me to do I find writing a very frustrating activity. I do look forward to work more on my writing and improve my skills to a point where I might start to finally enjoy it!
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