The Lovely Bones Synopsis

When Susie is raped and murdered, Lindsey, Susie’s younger sister, is only 13. Lindsey is a highly intelligent and strong character, who pulls through when her family is in need of her the most. The Lovely Bones is set in suburban Pennsylvania between 1973 and 1981. Susie notes: “It was still back when people believed things like that [murder/missing children] didn’t happen.” (Sebold 5) Lindsey and her family share this point of view with the rest of the world. The story switches between 1st person and 3rd person omniscient point of view. Our narrator, Susie, has been murdered by her neighbor Mr. Harvey, a pedophillic serial killer. She tells her story and the aftermath following from in between heaven and earth. Lindsey is at first sheltered

from the knowledge, but is soon informed of Susie’s tragic ending. Her initial reaction is to throw up, but after the shock and horror recedes, Lindsey begins to isolate herself. “She sat in her room on the couch my parents had given up on and worked on hardening herself.

Take deep breaths and hold them. Try to stay still for longer and longer periods of time. Make yourself small and like a stone. Curl the edges of yourself up and fold them under where no one can see.” (Sebold 20). Lindsey becomes very isolated, but protective of her family.She bravely chooses to attend the last week of school before winter break. ““I wasn’t aware I had lost anything,” she said, and in a Herculean effort she made the motions of patting her shirt and checking her pockets.” (Sebold 21) when confronted by the principal, who offers his condolences for her loss. In school she deals with “... the Walking Dead Syndrome – when other people see the dead person and don’t see you.” (Sebold 39). Seeing as Susie is unable to communicate with her sister from in-between, Lindsey has to find out the truth like every other character - through personal experience. Later in the story, her father becomes convinced Mr. Harvey is Susie’s murderer but there is no evidence connecting Mr. Harvey to the murder. Lindsey breaks into Mr. Harvey’s house the next day, finding critical evidence that will connect Mr. Harvey and the murder. “Now she saw what I wanted her to

know. I had died inside that hole; I had screamed and fought and lost. She ripped out the page.” (Sebold 119). When Mr. Harvey disappears, so does Abigail Salmon, Lindsey’s mother. The family eventually moves on, living life as normal.

Not known to Lindsey, Susie lives vicariously through her as she grows and matures - experiencing things Susie will never experience herself. Lindsey’s first (and last) boyfriend is Sam Heckler. He becomes her rock as she deals with healing from the loss of her sister. Their relationship is described as, “They were shy about their affection for each other. They did not hold hands in the hallways at school, and they did not pass notes. They sat together at lunch; Samuel walked her home. On her fourteenth birthday he brought her a cupcake with a candle in it. Other than that, they melted into the gender subdivided world of their peers.” Ironically, they have sex for the first time away at a gifted camp under an old rowboat when Lindsey is 14. Susie tells us “At twenty-one Lindsey was many things I would never become, but I barely grieved this list anymore. Still, I roved where she roved.” (Sebold 150). Lindsey graduates college with Sam, and they decide to get engaged. When Abigail comes back to the family, after traveling to California and working in a vineyard, Lindsey shows how much anger she has bottled up from her mom leaving and becomes very protective of her dad. After a period of uneasiness, Abigail is eventually welcomed back into the

family. As the book begins its falling action, it is revealed that Sam and Lindsey are finally married. “It was a surprise to everyone when Lindsey found out she was pregnant.” (Sebold 210). Lindsey has finally healed by the end of the story, calling her baby girl Abigail Suzanne and leaving her sister in her thoughts. The book closes with the final lines, “I wish you all a long and happy life.” (Sebold 213).