This book changed my opinion because in Susie's heaven, there will never be peace until she can let go of life on earth. The Lovely Bones does not make me question my faith that there is a heaven, but I now question what my heaven will bring for me.
In The Lovely Bones, Susie's death has a great impact on the lives of everyone who knew her. She has a younger sister, Lindsay, who she realizes, only too late, idolized her in every way. This part of the story made me think of how I would react if my older sister was mysteriously murdered. After Susie's death Lindsay becomes the core of her family and tries to pull herself together as everything and everyone crashes down around her. Susie watches the destruction of her family but also realizes that they find unity in losing her, "They kept sharing when they felt me. Being together and talking about the dead became a perfectly normal part of life." In a sense, I became relatively close with Lindsay and felt that I would act the same way as Lindsay does after Susie's death. The marriage and individual lives of Susie's parents are also changed dramatically by her death. Her parents grow apart and stop speaking. A detective working to solve the mystery of Susie's disappearance becomes romantically involved with Susie's mother, who is so desperate for love and attention that she fills the void in her heart with the tumultuous affair. Reading this book taught me how people deal with grief in very different ways; some people keep it all inside while others lash out and do things they wouldn't otherwise do.
I now see how death can bring people together. Susie's death brings together people whom she did not know very well during her time on earth. A boy named Ray who had confessed his affection for Susie just weeks prior to her rape and murder becomes depressed and lonely after she is gone. He finds solace in Ruth, an outcast who becomes obsessed with Susie's disappearance.
