If you are looking for almost every genre of books rolled into one, reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold would be a great choice. It includes murder, love, and a family getting through the struggle of grief and revenge. The book features a girl name Susie Salmon who died. She was killed by her neighbor who went on with life as usual. She left behind her crush, best friend, her family, and her whole future.

Her story doesn’t end there, as Susie watches her family from above until she is ready to move on from the world. She watches everything they do and continues getting to know her loved ones more in death. She watches her sister fall for a boy, her little brother learn and grow in the world without her, and her mother and father fighting to keep the family together through the crisis. Police do all they can, but the law is the only thing keeping them from finding the killer. Susie wasn’t his first victim. The spree he made just needed to be connected, and all Susie can do is watch from the side lines and let the living solve the mystery of her death.

The book has some mature themes and a rare twist on the way the dead see us, giving the reader thoughts about how the afterlife is affected and how it affects us. There are some deep insights from the point of view from each person in the story, touching everyone’s thoughts and how every part makes a whole and how each detail matters to make a complete life. You even see the soft side of a serial killer and see a father go from a strong figure to a broken man and only recover with the help of family. Susie is just like the reader in the book, she can change nothing and do nothing to affect the other characters.  If you want to know more about the life of the Salmons you’ll need to read The Lovely Bones and see for yourself.