The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones is a 2002 Crime-Fantasy novel written by Alice Sebold, following a murdered girl who watches those she loves from "the In-Between". The book became an instant bestseller, received critical acclaim, several awards, and was adapted into a movie by Peter Jackson in 2009 and a play in 2018.

Plot
14-year old Susie Salmon is an average high-school girl who's beloved by her family and friends until she's suddenly raped and murdered by her next door neighbor George Harvey. While awaiting judgement in her own personal heaven, she watches as her family fractures with grief and try to find the one who killed her.

Why it Rocks

 * 1) A very interesting and creative concept, asking questions like how deeply grief can really destroy someone and what we leave behind in the aftermath, also asking some other questions like if anybody really gets away with their actions or if there's always justice in some form or another.
 * 2) Many likeable characters who are all affected by Susie's death.
 * 3) Susie herself is a very likeable character who did many good deeds in life and is the antithesis of a mean girl unlike many depictions of teenagers, making it no surprise as to how people are mourning over her so much.
 * 4) Her father, Jack, is especially affected by her death, and is the most proactive in finding her killer, even at the expense of his health and sanity.
 * 5) Her little brother, Buckley, is the only one who can see her at times when she observes him.
 * 6) Her younger sister, Lindsey, actively puts herself in danger by trying to help Jack find the killer.
 * 7) Her first kiss, Ray, is a wonderful would've-been boyfriend who finds it difficult to move on from her death even when he finds someone else.
 * 8) Ruth, who barely knew Susie in life, saw her spirit as she left earth and becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her.
 * 9) Susie also meets several of George Harvey's other victims, all girls around her age or even younger, who share their tragic deaths with her.
 * 10) Her grandmother, Grandma Lynn, is an alcoholic, but one who immediately goes to help the family cope after her death and even helps raise her grandchildren.
 * 11) A very interesting writing style that feels very realistic, but also feels somewhat ethereal like a dream at times. It describes scenes in detail, but not so much detail that it becomes exhausting.
 * 12) Interesting depiction of the life after, it doesn't follow any sort of religion but makes several references to the Christian God and has a touch of irony as Susie and her family didn't believe in him yet she's possibly in his presence.
 * 13) George Harvey is a very interesting villain, it goes through his backstory explaining why he did such horrible things in his life, but it doesn't try to sympathize with him and instead depicts him as the truly abhorrent monster he is, which is quite interesting.
 * 14) A very tragic tone throughout, showing how difficult it can be for a family and friend group to heal after such a tragic death without justice, but also how they can heal with time of all things, though the scars still remain. It manages to easily balance tragic or even horrific events with a dramatic and emotional tone pretty well.
 * 15) Several artifacts from Susie's life lead to flashbacks to important events, like how Buckley keeps a stick that he choked on and that Susie drove him to the hospital to save his life from.
 * 16) Many memorable lines like "Grandma Lynn told me I would live a long life because I had saved my brother. As usual, Grandma Lynn was wrong." and "I was here for a moment, and then I was gone. I wish you all a long and happy life."
 * 17) It's satisfying to see how Susie's family members move on with their lives after a while, like how Lindsey marries her boyfriend, fixes up a house, and have a daughter named Abigail Suzanne.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Susie's death is VERY disturbing, as George Harvey rapes her in a prolonged and disturbing scene with graphic detail then kills her. This scene was cut from the movie both because Susie's actress, Saoirse Ronan, was actually 14 at the time and George Harvey's actor, Stanley Tucci, steadfastly refused to be involved in such a scene and was very reluctant to play the part in the first place.
 * 2) Susie's mom, Abigail, is pretty unlikeable as she abandons her family after Susie's death by having an affair with Detective Len Fenerman. Even when she returns years later when Jack has a heart attack, Buckley criticizes her for her actions.

Trivia

 * 1) Author Alice Sebold based Susie's death after she herself was raped by a man and had difficulty moving on with it.