Our narrator Susie Salmon is already in heaven. Murdered by a neighbor when she was just fourteen, Susie tells us what it's like to be in her new home. "When I first entered heaven, I thought everyone saw what I saw. That in everyone's heaven there were soccer goalposts in the distance and heavy women throwing Shotgun and javelin that all the buildings looked like northeastern suburban high schools built in the 1960s.” Later, she learns that heaven is what you really want it to be, and sometimes other people's version of heaven intercepts yours. Susie meets another girl, Holly, on her third day in paradise and they end up sharing their ideal home: - a duplex. Franny, their reception advisor, helps them adapt. As Susie gets used to life in Heaven, she watches her family and friends on Earth realize that she is gone forever. His murder took place on December 6, 1973; at a time when people still didn't believe such things could happen. Unlike later, when “children of all races and genders began appearing on milk cartons or in the daily mail.” She watches her parents begin to understand the irreducible horror that has entered their lives. At first, they try to reassure themselves that “nothing is ever sure”; that Susie is just lost in the rain somewhere and alive. But there is no speculation on our part, Susie tells us the details of what happened to her straight away. As the days pass and the evidence mounts, his parents still refuse to believe it; that is, until Detective Fenerman tells them that all the evidence points to their daughter's death and that the police will treat this as a murder investigation. And in that moment, Susie sees each of her family members withdraw... middle of paper ... into the novel, largely adding mild suspense. The best part is how easy it is to love your family and friends. And the ending is surprisingly satisfying. Yes, it comes packaged in a nice tidy package, but it still leaves a smile. While some writers might not be able to pull it off, this one does. And after reading the book, it's like what Susie says about her and her family, sometimes she still runs away to watch her family because she can't help it, and sometimes they still think to her because they can't do anything about it either. . I find myself thinking about this novel, because, well, I can't help it either. It's not that The Lovely Bones makes light of this kind of tragedy, but it provides healthy insight into the role of death in our lives. lives. "That in the air between the living, the spirits sway, weave and laugh with us. They are the oxygen we breathe."