The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Chapter 1:
Study Questions
1. Where is Susie Salmon killed?

2. Why does she go with him?

Answers
1. In a secret hiding place Mr. Harvey built in a cornfield near her home.

2. At first she is just being polite to a grownup who is a neighbor. Later, though, Susie is drawn in by the idea of the secret hiding place.

Chapter 2:
Study Questions:
1. How did Fanny die?

2. What is heaven like in The Lovely Bones?

Answers
1. She was killed by a man who was looking for his wife, who shot her in the face.

2. Everyone's heaven is different. It changes and expands to match their needs and dreams.

Chapter 3:
Study Questions
1. What is the picture that Susie thinks of as "the picture," and why is it important?

2. What happened to the ships in bottles that Susie built with her father?

Answers
1. It is a picture of her mother looking strong and not tired—not the mother Susie knew, but an emotional and spiritual stranger.

2. Mr. Salmon smashes them in his grief over her death.

Chapter 4:
Study Questions
1. What "souvenirs" does Mr. Harvey save from his killing of Susie?

2. What does he do with most of Susie's remains and effects?

Answers
1. He saves he bloody knife with which he killed her, and a book of sonnets.

2. He puts them in a safe and throws them in the community sinkhole.

Chapter 5:
Study Question
1. What piece did Susie usually play with when the family played Monopoly?

Answer
1. The shoe. When Mr. Salmon tells to Buckley that Susie is dead, he uses the pieces of the game to explain it.