This is the story of Susie Salmon, a fourteen-year-old, who is raped and murdered on her way home from school by a neighbor man.  The beginning of this book is gripping, and I’m sorry if I’ve ruined it by telling you that she doesn’t make it.  This is something you learn very quickly.  The book continues to follow her family members and friends: her parents, her younger sister and brother.  It also follows Susie who is in a heaven that is made up of her favorite things from life.  Susie is able to watch her family from above and in some small ways communicate with them to help guide them as they work in different ways to deal with her murder and find out who is responsible.

There is a lot of grief and mourning in this story.  Susie mourns the life that she had such as the lost relationship with a boy she had kissed just before her death.  Her parents mourn her in very different and separate ways that drive them apart.  Throughout it all they try to find out who had done this and Susie leaves clues and tries to show herself as she is able.

I liked how Susie was still involved in telling her story.  I liked the idea that Susie was in heaven watching over those she loved.  It truly is a beautiful book that I would recommend to everyone and anyone.

This book starts quickly and harshly with the rape that took place.  Chapter One starts with, “This is what I remember.  My lips were cut.  I bit down on them when he grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth.  He said these words: “I’ll kill you if you scream.”  I remained motionless.  “Do you understand?  If you scream you’re dead.”  I nodded my head.  My arms were pinned to my sides by his right arm wrapped around me and my mouth was covered with his left.  He released his hand from my mouth.  I screamed.  Quickly.  Abruptly.  The struggle began.”

I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to write about your own rape.  She details what happened and how she was treated afterward by the her roommates, friends, family and the police.  She talks about how in one instance, everything changed.  People who knew about the rape treated her as though she was fragile and as though they didn’t know anymore how to relate to her.  Others confessed their own past traumas and abuse.  The police initially brushed her off, not expecting anything to come from it.

Alice Sebold later saw her attacker again on the streets at her school and was able to press charges, go to court and seek justice.  A roommate of hers was later raped at school and she was not able to go through the stress and pain of a court trial.  Alice talks about the difference it made for her that she had fought hard and had the physical proof that it was not a consensual act.

This event sent her life on a different path, one that will continue to be a part of her forever.  This book reminds me of the things that people can survive.  And the importance of some of these topics such as rape, being a topic that is addressed rather than hidden.   Lucky is a story full of strength and resilience.  It is very well written and easy to read, even with the difficult material.