The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold | As Realistic As It Gets

Title: The Lovely Bones
Author: Alice Sebold
Publication Date: July 3rd, 2002
Add to Goodreads | Buy from The Book Depository

Susie Salmon is ambushed after school one day. Suddenly, Susie finds herself looking down her neighbourhood below.

So Susie continues to observe from her Heaven as her family and friends continue on with their lives, constantly wondering if her killer will ever be caught.

Review

"Because horror on Earth is real and it is every day. It is like a flower or like the sun; it cannot be contained."

The Lovely Bones is realistic. It's uncomfortable and raw, every bit memorable. I don't like it because it promises sunshines and rainbows at the end of a crap storm, but that it portrays the pain and grief that occurs from traumatising events. It also addresses issues that are usually ignored or forgotten, despite being glaringly obvious. I found that it threw these matters into my face and forced me to realise that maybe I'm suppose to face them and try to reconcile or resolve them. 

Susie's family is the main focus in the story, and their methods in dealing with Susie's death varies. I liked that they each had their own coping mechanism, and it was so easy to feel their attempts in trying to start living again. There was a whole ton of emotion weighing them down - especially Susie's sister, who I really sympathised with. Susie's mum, on the other hand, was the character I disliked the most, right after the rapist. I can understand her portrayal in the novel, but I don't condone or justify her actions. Yet, it's the way she's represented so realistically that makes her memorable, and perhaps most relatable. 

Using a dead person's voice as the narrator was also something that really interested me. Susie doesn't age in her heaven per se, but as she witnesses her former life grow, so to does her mind. Her narration is heavy with maturity and life lessons, and it's really sad to see her trying to help her family but cannot actually do anything. 

I am so glad I got around to reading this, finding it emotional and thought-provoking. There was a lot to process by the end of it. I don't love the entirety of it - right before the end something really weird happened and I'm not sure worked best for the actual story. What doesn't sit too well with me is maybe the justification of the rapist's actions through a brief background story. The experience as a whole though, really struck me. I loved that Sebold stripped everything back to reveal something so raw and gripping. It does become a little graphic, especially during the actual violent act, so just a warning. 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Completed Series I Haven't Finished

Hosted By: The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish, where we list our top ten according to a topic of the week. Check out future topics here

Top Ten Completed Series I Have Yet To Finish

Hourglass - Myra McEntire

Slated 

Study 

Obernewtyn 

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

Bad Kitty 

Code Name Verity 

Wicked Lovely

Daughter of Smoke & Bone 

Penryn & The End of Days  

Which Series Do You Want To Finish?

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Print to Film: Coraline

Coraline moves into a new apartment where she finds a locked door in the wall. Behind it she discovers a brick wall, but the second time she tries a passageway appears. She is surprised to find a flat identical to hers and her parents in it, although they call themselves the "Other" parents and have buttons for eyes. Coraline is fascinated, but when she realises that the "Others" are trying to keep her in the alternative world she is determined to escape. 

The Book 

 Coraline was a short but entertaining read. It was creepy and thrilling enough to keep me reading. I love how vivid the story was, so that I could easily picture the setting and characters. The fantasy elements really enhanced the read. Despite that, I still found really meaningful messages about family, love and understanding.

 It was easy to dive into and enjoy, and very suitable for all ages. Personally, my favourite character would be the cat  - which says a lot because I usually dislike cats. 

 The Movie 

 Visually, the animation in the movie was creative and suited the context. It was done really well so that whilst the creepiness was retained, it wasn't overdone to the point where it would scare off children watching it. I particularly loved the garden in the Other World - it was vibrant and stunning - pretty much my favourite scene. There were also some moments that were grotesque, but a particular scene really surprised me. A dance scene, which was in the book, but had really suggestive elements in the movie. It was a little uncomfortable to watch considering this is a children's movie.

 Much like any other movie adaptation though, there were a few changes made, although some of which I wasn't too sure why.

 Wybie, a boy in the neighbourhood, was added as a companion to Coraline. It wouldn't have bothered me too much if his character didn't alter the storyline or Coraline's role, but it did. Still, it also conveyed the importance of friendships, loyalty and trust. The objects Coraline must find to escape was different as well. It's nothing major, but it still confuses me as to why it was changed. Perhaps to make the movie more simple to understanding, it was done that way?

 Coraline's trips to the Other World happens more frequently than in the book, although that's probably to fill in time and also give a better understanding of the alternate universe. I liked that there was a clear difference in terms of colour and set up between the two worlds. 

 The biggest difference though, which might me based on my personal perception, was Coraline. From what I gathered, in the book she's a child who's neglected by her parents, but she's not snarky or rude to them. In the movie she has an attitude that surprised me. I found Coraline annoying for the first half, being absolutely rude and stubborn. However, she did redeem herself in the end. 

 In saying that though, I did find the movie enjoyable and it was great to see the setting come to life. I felt that they nailed that in the movie.

 Verdict

 As much as the movie was visually stimulating and pretty impressive to watch, I like the book that much more. There's something that irks me when a movie changes a bit too much or adds in things that wasn't in the original. 

Read it if you have time. Or grab some snacks and settle down for some pretty cool animations.

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August Wrap Up

On The Blog

Can I get a hi-five for being consistent in blogging this month? Blogging game on fleek tbh! Check out what I posted in August.

"Top Ten Tuesday"

Fairytale Retellings I've Read/Want To Read | Authors I've Read The Most Books From | Auto-Buy Authors | Books in My Syllabus If I Taught "Books To Movie 101" 

"Talking Personal"

Hear all about my trip to South Korea. I know I should shut up about it now

"Discussion Posts" 

5 Shows Taking Over My Life | What To Do When The Reading Slump Attacks

"The Waiting List"

September New Releases

Posts For Thoughts

• Tea Between Books' "In Defence of No Scheduling" is a great post outlining why sometimes scheduling posts isn't always the best option in blogging.
• Want to get organised with blogging? Check out "Getting Organised With Your Blog & Content" by From Roses. 
• This is by far my favourite post this year - The Ultimate Throne of Glass Recap by Reviews from a Bookworm. 
• Fun little post on what Tea and Titles thinks would be Lara Jean Sun's (To All The Boys I've Loved Before) Bag. I would love to try out this myself actually!

Book Haul

Reading Time

Ok, I know I shouldn't brag but I am super proud of myself!! See what I've read for this month.

Favourites

Reviews

               

How Did Your Month Go?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I Didn't Click With

Hosted By: The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish, where we list our top ten according to a topic of the week. Check out future topics here

Top Ten Characters I Didn't Click With

1. Alice from Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
I feel so mean writing this but Alice was not a character I could sympathise with, even though she was suffering from cancer. She was vindictive and manipulative, and I couldn't justify her actions.

2. Joe Goldberg from You by Caroline Kepnes
I didn't like Joe and I didn't like the book either. It's pretty hard to "click" with a psychopathic stalker.

3. Cath Avery from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Cath is such a controversial character to add to this list, but I just found her character to be irritating. Her stubbornness was probably one reason why.

4. Margaret Beaufort from The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
Nope to this overly ambitious lady who lived in her delusional world.

5. Frankie Landau-Banks from The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart  
I have a review for this book coming up soon, which will definitely outline why I dislike Frankie. Keep an eye out for that.

6. Catelyn Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R. R Martin
I didn't like Catelyn right from the get go. Her attitude to certain people around her and actions that may or may not lead to other events in the novel really annoyed me.

7. Chloe from Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas
Chloe is an interesting character because she was written very realistically but her actions didn't sit well with me.

8. Tessa Gray from The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare
Tessa was an okay character to me. Nothing exciting - I felt like she added nothing to the story.

9. Tucker from Unearthly Series by Cynthia Hand

There's something about Tucker that, despite his rough yet sweet nature, I just can't seem to fall for. On the contrary I was all for Team Christian.

10. Dimitri Belikov from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead 

I'm not sure if Dimitri really belongs under this topic, but I loved his character right up until Blood Promise. From then on I just could not deal with him.

Who's On Your List?

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