#4.1 Read 25 New Books – The Lovely Bones

Let me start off this post by saying that it's been a while since I've read a book. My free time is usually spent on social media and/or Netflix (a habit I'm trying to break, mind you), so reading hasn't been a priority (whereas the Internet has. Sad).

Believe me, I used to read ridiculous amounts. It wasn't uncommon for me to read a 200+ page novel a day back in seventh grade, and I remember spending Saturdays at the public library collecting so many books to take home it physically hurt my arms. I miss that. I miss that time in general (the first six months of 2009 has, so far, been the best time of my life), but reading as much as I did especially.

Anywaaaaaaay, The Lovely Bones was a Christmas present from my mom's friend. She's a big reader herself, and I know whatever she recommends will be great. And that's just what The Lovely Bones was: great.

"'My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.' So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her – her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy."

I've never read anything quite like it before. The whole premise of a character narrating everything that happens on earth from heaven was foreign to me, but I realized how genius it was a few pages in. Susie's situation offers such a unique perspective of her family's (and killer's) lives. The whole book had a very somber tone to me, possibly because death is such a huge theme, and I felt very discombobulated whilst reading it. The abrupt ending definitely contributed to that; I was left not knowing what exactly to think or feel. Just as Susie was unexpectedly and prematurely torn from her world, I was taken out of the Salmon's. If it was intentional, I must tip my hat off to Ms. Sebold.

Bottom line? I loved this book, and it was refreshing to read something that both made me think and made me feel. If you're on the hunt for new reading material I highly recommend it.