Chapter Summary: The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones tells the story of Susie Salmon, a 14 year old who was murdered. After her death, Susie watches everyone she left behind from up in heaven. Susie struggled with being unable to help her family with their grief and being able to tell them who her killer was.
Susie was walking home from school, taking a shortcut through the cornfield that was often used to get to the junior high, when Mr. Harvey surprised her. He said that he did not want to startle her, her response in her head was, “Of course, in a cornfield, in the dark, I was startled.” (page 6) He asked her if she wanted to see something he built back in the corn, reluctantly she agreed. He walked with her a little way into the cornfield then suddenly stopped. He said that

Harvey. As the investigation starts, Susie watches from her heaven. Susie’s heaven includes the things that she desired the most when she was still alive, like high school. Other people’s heaven overlap with hers, this is how she meets Holly, her new roommate. Susie also meets Franny, her new intake counselor, who becomes a mommy figure to Susie and Holly. Franny teaches them about Heaven, she tells them, “All you have to do is desire it, and if you desire it enough and understand why – really know – it will come.” (page 19) Holly’s and Susie’s heavens get bigger, so they have less overlap so that means less time together.The police find some of Susie’s papers from school and a love note from Ray Singh. They accuse Ray of murdering Susie, but he has a perfect alibi. Susie watches Mr. Harvey go on with his life uneffected. With Susie's elbow and the amount of blood in the dirt as evidence Detective Fenerman tells Susie’s parents that Susie is dead. Susie’s mom, Abigail, does not believe him until the find Susie’s pompom hat that was used as a gag. Susie’s dad tells Lindsey, Susie’s little sister, about Susie’s elbow and Lindsey throws up. Lindsey is filled with grief. Meanwhile, Susie fills her heaven with dogs, lots of them, “When I opened

Mr. Harvey was in the cornfield, he “...collapsed the hole in the cornfield and [then] carried away a sack filled with my body parts.” (page 33). He brought her body parts in a bag and put them in his garage, her blood staining the floor, while her went upstairs and took a shower. While her was in the shower he relived the pleasure in killing her. After his shower he puts Susie in a safe and locks it, he drives to the sinkhole near the neighborhood, where he tells the lady who lives there that it is an “Old safe of my father’s, finally got it out here,” he said “Been meaning to do it for years. No one remembers the combination.” (page 35) the first lie of many. On the way back from the sinkhole, Mr. Harvey felt something in his pocket. It was Susie’s charm bracelet. He can not remember how it got there, so he drove to a new man made lake and threw everything but the Pennsylvania keystone charm. Mr. Harvey gets a new trap idea from a book he is reading, he goes outside and starts to build it. Jack, seeing him, goes to help him. Little does he know that he is helping Susie’s killer build something that he is going to use to kill someone else. Mr. Harvey goes inside and messes with the knife he used to kill Susie. While Jack begs Susie to talk to him, he then suddenly suspects