The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

In preparation for the release of the film adaptation - directed by Peter Jackson, no doubt! – I read this book in the past month or so. In America, parents actually complained about this book in school libraries as it was more appropriate for an adult audience, not a young one, as the opening describes how Susie Salmon, a 14 year old is raped and killed. The book is narrated by Susie, from heaven, as she watches her friends and family grow up follow the tragic incident of her death. This novel not only tackles the social issues of death and bereavement, but also trust, love, friendship and growing up. Sebold writes in a way that lets you feel the emotions that Susie’s family go through as their lives go on. Reading from Susie’s point of view, you can see each family member’s distresses, but cannot do anything about it. You genuinely feel Susie’s frustration, especially as the police fail to find her killer. The writing style is really interesting, jumping from one thought to another, yet it all interlinks wonderfully. My imagination was rather limited when reading this as I saw the trailer for this film first so I had some faces – primarily that of Susie Salmon (who is that little girl from Atonement!). I found the ending quite surprising, as I didn’t expect anything big to really happen, but it was very uplifting. Despite her age, you can sense Susie growing up as her family does, as she sees them go through obstacles in life that she would otherwise not be able to. All in all, this was an excellent read and I can’t wait to see the film!