"The Lovely Bones"

I just finished book #2 towards my New Year's Resolution of reading at least 10 books this year.  This time I chose "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold (fiction).  I decided on this book because of it's good reviews and because I thought it would be interesting to read a book and then go see the movie based on it.  I have yet to see the movie, but plan to soon. 

"The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons "

MY THOUGHTS
While I did enjoy the book, I did have some issues with it. Primarily, I didn't like all of the flashbacks (which often seemed like flashbacks within a flashback). At times it seemed like that was what the book was mostly - flashbacks....and all so out of order. Many seemed unimportant and could have been left out. There were things sometimes mentioned that you thought would later be developed or explained - but nada. The story was supposed to be from the viewpoint of a murdered 14 year old watching her family/friends on earth. Some of her 'observations' didn't seem plausible as coming from an observer - let alone a 14 year old. Overall, I did still enjoy the book but I have a feeling I might like the movie better.