Loving The Lovely Bones

For a long time, I think I was the only person in publishing who hadn't read The Lovely Bones. No more. I finished it after this morning's train ride and am ready to see the movie (Can Peter Jackson please be the director for all books to film?).

When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn't happen.

In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets.

With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their grief, her father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honor and begin the difficult process of healing.

Anyone who hasn't read this fantastic novel needs to. I can't help hope the movie holds up!