The Lovely Bones in Audiobook Junkies

May 02, 2010 Linda (un)Conventional Bookworms rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, kindle, read-in-2015, 2015hw, coyer-summer-15-read, coyer-summer-15-scavenge

The Lovely Bones was not at all what I expected, and while the beginning was quite emotional, I felt detached both from the characters and the storyline as it continued on.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

COYER scavenger hunt item #48: Berls is a glutten for punishment when it comes to books sometimes. So read a book off of Goodreads Make You Cry (3 points) ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Sep 23, 2009 Haley Mathiot rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. **Spoiler Alert!**

First of all, let me say this. I really wanted to love The Lovely Bones. But I didn’t. I didn’t like it very much.

This comes as a surprise to me, because while I was reading it, I found it almost impossible to put down. It was cryptic and mysterious. The problem is that at the end, it still felt cryptic and mysterious—like I’d missed something. I felt throughout the book that I’d find a plot line, or a key, or something, and it would all fit together perfectly. But it didn’t. T **Spoiler Alert!**

First of all, let me say this. I really wanted to love The Lovely Bones. But I didn’t. I didn’t like it very much.

This comes as a surprise to me, because while I was reading it, I found it almost impossible to put down. It was cryptic and mysterious. The problem is that at the end, it still felt cryptic and mysterious—like I’d missed something. I felt throughout the book that I’d find a plot line, or a key, or something, and it would all fit together perfectly. But it didn’t. The writing was hard to read, and I had to really focus to understand the words. The plot was very original and creative, but there just seemed to be something missing through the whole book. When I got to the end, I was very disappointed.

I didn’t feel engaged in The Lovely Bones. I felt like an outsider looking in. I related to the characters on a certain level—but then again I felt totally disconnected and withdrawn while reading.

I didn’t at all like what happened to Mr. Harvey. He needed to be caught and put in jail, or killed by the father, or something a little more than getting an icicle in his back and falling into a ravine. His death was very unsatisfactory.

I didn’t like the end at all. As I said earlier, it felt like something was missing. I got to the end and said “Hu? Did I miss something? Maybe I skipped some pages, or missed a paragraph…” and literally flipped back through the past few pages. Nothing. It was like the end of a chapter, not the end of a book. There are unanswered questions sitting right in front of you, and there are blank endings for some of the characters. By blank I mean empty, like it’s not an ending at all. Like there is another few chapters to read and then maybe it will all make sense.

As I said above, find it very difficult to stop until I got about halfway through. When I got to the halfway point, it started to feel like it wasn’t going anywhere and I put it off for about a month. The book felt like it was boring, and dead like Susie. The mystery wasn’t going to be solved. It got old. Blech.

But some of it was very fast paced and exciting, and the characters are very well developed. The dialogue flows freely and comfortably.

Also, however painful Mrs. Salmon’s leaving was, and watching the family get torn apart, it was beautiful in the end when she came back. And I loved the interaction between the characters, and I loved the characters themselves. Lindsey and Samuel were wonderful, and her baby was wonderful, and the grandma was wonderful. Poor, sweet little Buckley who grows up too fast and too hard…

So I rest closer to the negative side than the positive side. This was a good (depending on your definition) book—I just wasn’t connected to it. There were some things that I liked about The Lovely Bones. However, most of it I didn’t like. If I’m not connected to a book, how can I read it? Will I read this one again? probably not. Will I read the sequel? Not unless I get it in the mail for review and I’m really really bored.

I wish I could say more good things about this book. I wanted to love it. My friends all loved it and my mom loved it. But it felt odd and foreign and uncomfortable to me, and the ending was awful. If you consider it an ending.

Audio Review: The audio-book was read by the author, who read incredibly slow and seemingly forced. Wouldn't an author take some joy in reading their book out loud, even if it was as depressing as this one? wouldn’t the author, of all people, read with a little more energy? Alice sounded tired. Tired of her book, tired of Susie and Lindsey and Mr. Salmon and everyone else. If you’re going to read The Lovely Bones, read The Lovely Bones. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2009 Tiara rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-turned-media-and-vice-versa

In the winter of 1973, Susie Salmon, age 14, is raped and killed by her strange neighbor, Mr. Harvey, but Susie's story doesn't end there. The novel is told by Susie from Heaven as she continues to watch over everyone she loves--and those she doesn't love. Susie describes Heaven as being a place that caters to your whims -- your own personal heaven. Susie finds she can have anything she wants in Heaven except her life on Earth back.

This turned out to be completely different from what I was expec ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2009 Darcy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, 2009

I read this book with a group and had it not been for that I would not have picked it up, but am glad that I read it.

What I noticed about the book and I think that I did because of the way I read it in 3 big chunks at a time was that it seemed to be about the 3 phases of the crime itself. It seemed like first there was the crime and the immediate aftermath, then about dealing with the repercussions something like that has in your life, but the last was about accepting it and getting on with your ...more

3 likes · Like · see review