我叫蘇茜。十四歲那年，我被謀殺了。
我被困在完美的天堂裡，眼睜睜看着家人在痛苦中迷失，又漸漸地開始忘記。我知道兇手是誰，卻無法傳達，隻能任他逍遙法外。
我當然希望爸爸能徹夜守候，直到永遠；但我也希望他放手，讓我就此成為過去。
我死之後，他們所經曆的一切就像綿延伸展的可愛 的骨頭，把大家緊密聯結在一起。我終于開始認清，沒有我，他們依然可以活得很好，猶如身體中的骨骼，盡管有時會有缺失，但在不可知的未來終将長出新的骨幹，重新變得圓滿完美。
這是一場漫長的告别。等到說再見的那天，我将吹熄蠟燭，轉身離去……
My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her -- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.