thelovelybones

the lovely bones, an english 11 project.

"At the end of my reveries, I sat in the back of the car as my father drove. I was beyond reproach, I would overtake highschool
in a matter of days,not years, or, inexplicably, earn an Oscar for Best Actress during my junior year."

- The Lovely Bones, pg 17

SUMMARY

SETTING

CHARACTERS

THEMES

SYMBOLS
CREDITS
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Characters

Susie Salmon: The main character and narrator of the story. Susie has 14 years old when she was murdered, and she described herself with pale skin and brown hair. She moves through different stages of her death while watching the living, giving them hints of her murder along the way, until she moves into a 'greater' part of heaven with deeper understanding of death.

Abigail Salmon: The mother of Susie Salmon. She is described as the stereotyped, tired suburbian housewife with broken dreams. After her daughter's death, Abigail grieves and wonders about the things that she had never been able to do. Wanting to return to her teenage dream, she runs away to California and works in a winery. After 8 years, she returns back to Philadephia when her old husband suffers from a heart attack, proving that she loved her family all along.

Jack Salmon: The father of Susie Salmon, who was completely devastated by his daughter's death. Jack felt guilty because he thought that he had to protect his children, and never really moved on. The thought of letting Susie's death go was enough to give him a heart attack. Jack believed that Susie's murderer was Mr Harvey, and was determined to see him charged with murder.

Lindsey Salmon: The younger sister of Susie Salmon, who quickly got over her sister's death. She was also determined to find her sister's killer, but was not was driven as her father. She eventually grew up into a young woman who married and had a child named Abigail Suzanne.

Buckley Salmon: The younger brother of Susie Salmon. He was very young when Susie was killed, and did not understand what death was back then. He feels angry at his mother and father for not giving him attention and love. In the end, he was able to accept everything and let go.

Grandma Lynn: The grandmother of Susie Salmon, obviously. She recognized Mr Harvey as her grand-daughter's murderer at the funeral, but did not have much evidence against him. She comes to live with the Salmons to comfort her family.

Mr. Harvey: Susie's murderer. He had killed many other girls and women but was never caught. George Harvey had a very tramatic childhood and has refused to let go of this, and he also refuses to understand that he had murdered so many people. In the end, he is killed by falling into a steep ravine from getting hit by a falling icicle while stalking another young girl in New Hampshire. His death echoes Susie's - as the death was literally cold and lonely.

Summary

The prologue is set several years back to the current story, with a young girl sharing a special moment with her father. They turn a snow globe upside down and watch as the little penguin figurine inside is surrounded my falling snow. The little girls is worried that the penguin might feel alone, but her father reassures her that the penguin is happy in his little world.

The story starts with the narrator, Susie Salmon, beginning with the story of her death. It starts after school, Susie takes a shortcut through the cornfield to her home. There she meets Mr. Harvey, who lures her into the hole saying that it is a little clubhouse for the neighborhood children. Then, he rapes and kills her. He locks up her body in a safe and disposes it in a sinkhole. Susie goes to her personal heaven, and meets other young girls there. Susie’s parents try to convince themselves that Susie still lives.

Len Fenerman, a detective, calls Susie's mom and dad, and tells them they've found Susie's elbow bone in a cornfield. They try to find more evidence there, but there was previously a huge rainstorm that would have washed away any traces. Later, all the leads go to nowhere and the police drop the investigation. Ray, who was Susie’s old crush, was originally a suspect because of the lovenote they had found in her textbooks. Ray is proven innocent, and he meets a new girl named Ruth in a cornfield. Ruth had felt Susie’s spirit leaving earth before.

Jack Salmon, Susie’s father, later helps Mr Harvey assemble a tent without knowing that he was his daughter’s killer. From heaven, Susie tries to tell her father this. It works, and Jack Salmon calls Detective Len Fenerman to tell him aout the suspicsions. Detective Fenerman checks out Mr Harvey and his house one last time, but finds no clues. Jack Salmon now has to teach Buckley, his youngest child, that Susie will never come back. He uses monopoly as an example, with Susie’s gamepiece.
Lindsey, Susie’s sister, meets a new boy named Samuel. They start dating.

Susie learns that Mr Harvey had a rough childhood that would eventually lead to his behaviour. Susie has a funeral and her grandmother, called Grandma Lynn, stays with the family for a small while. She recognizes Mr Harvey as her granddaughter’s killer. Jack sees a light in the cornfield from his window one night. He leaves his house with a baseball bat, and nearly beats a boy (who was meeting his girlfriend in the cornfield) with it. Instead, the boy (named Brian) takes the bat and beats Jack Salmon with it. He is sent to the hospital, and while at the hospital, his wife starts an affair with Detective Fenerman. Lindsey breaks into Mr Harvey’s house for clues, and although she finds some clues, it is not enough to support their suspicions. Susie meets other girls who died at the hands of Mr Harvey, and she ‘grows up’ in a psychological way because of this.

Abigail Salmon, Susie’s mother, runs away from the suburbs and her family to chase her teenage dream of living in California. Holiday, the family dog, dies and goes to Susie’s heaven. Later, Lindsey and Samuel get engaged and buy a little Victorian house. Ruth is now in New York, studying art, She finds out that the sinkhole, where she thinks where Mr. Harvey disposed of Susie's body, is going to be filled in. She returns to Philadelphia, and goes to the sinkhole with Ray.
Buckley, who is nearly a teenager at the age of 12, asks his father to let Susie’s memory go and live in the present. His father has a heart attack and is sent to the hospital. Abigail returns back home from California and the two fall back in love. He later returns home.

The novel returns to Ruth’s part of the story at the sinkhole. When Mr Harvey’s truck drives past by, Ruth sees all the girls that Mr Harvey had killed. Susie comes down from heaven and borrows Ruth’s body, and makes love with Ray. Ruth’s spirit spends some time in Heaven with the other victims of Mr Harvey. Susie has finally ‘grown up’ and moves to a larger part of heaven.
Mr Harvey is seen stalking another girl, before he is hit with falling snow and icicles. He is dead.
Lindsey and Samuel have a baby girl, and name their daughter Abigail Susie. A couple finds Susie’s old charm bracelet near the sinkhole, but don’t know about the importance of it. The book ends with Susie wishing the reader a long and happy life.