Publisher: Little Brown (2002)
ISBN: 9780316044936
Reading Level/Lexile: 9th grade and up/ 890L
Genre: Adult Crossover, Mystery
Annotation/Teaser: Susie is raped and murdered on her way home from school. This story is told by Susie from heaven as she watches her friends and family struggle with the grief of her death. How will her family move on with their lives as they deal with her death?
Plot Summary: Susie Salmon is persuaded by her neighbor to take a look at an underground den he has recently built. When he has her there he brutally rapes and murders her and dismembers her body. The police talk to her neighbor but find no reason to suspect him of Susie's disappearance. However, Susie's father, Jack and her younger sister, Lindsey, begin to suspect he is not telling the truth. Susie finds herself in a place that is not quite heaven. This place allows her to observe the lives of her family and friends as they grieve for her loss. Susie watches as the lives of her parents are torn apart and as her best friend and her boyfriend nearly beat her dad to death. Life moves on and her sister becomes engaged and goes to college. Susie's body is never found and her neighbor is never convicted but eventually is killed in an accident while stalking another of his many victims.
Critical Evaluation: Foreshadowing is a strong element in this book. The foreshadowing is obvious for the reader but from a child's point of view, which is how the story is told, it is not. The first time there is foreshadowing is when Mr. Harvey is in the field and Susie is walking home she smells his cologne before she sees him. Another warning that she should have seen was the fact that he knew her name and she didn't know him. Also the fact that a grown up had a hiding place. These three things could've served as warning for Susie but as a child she didn't know.
Another incident in foreshadowing is when Mr. Harvey packs up all his trophies and throws his knife in the hole. We see that he will escape before the Detective can question him.
Another element that is important is the irony in this book. One of the first examples of irony is the when Mrs. Flanagan asked Mr. Harvey, "What do you have in here? A dead body?" as he brings her the safe that holds the actual body of Susie. She obviously doesn't know what the reader knows.
Another example of irony in the story is when Jack goes into the field to kill someone he thinks is Mr. Harvey and he is attacked. But the most resonating example of irony is at the end of the story when an unknown man finds Susie's charm bracelet in the field. He takes it home and his wife washes it off and cleans it up. Her words are so ironic when she says, "This little girl is grown up now." And Susie's reply to the woman is, "Almost. Not quite. I wish you all a long and happy life."
Curriculum Ties: English, Language Arts
Book Talk Ideas: Use the quote in the book where Suzie introduces herself. "My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie.. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973..."
Controversial Issues: Death, Rape, Murder (although not very graphic)
Defense:
*I will keep
the library's selection policy on hand and memorized with a good
understanding of the standards and
policies to show that the selection meets the standards.
*I will keep
good and bad reviews (both electronic and print) and make sure they are from
reliable and respected sources such as School of Library Journal, Booklist, and
YALSA. I will have copies of these reviews to give away.
*I will confirm
the library's position to provide intellectual freedom as stated in the Library
Bill of Rights and keep a copy of this.
*I will keep
a written rationale to justify the reasons this material is included in the
collection, such as educational significance and curriculum ties.
*I will be
respectful and calm and practice "active listening".
*I will make
sure I read the material and are very familiar with it.
* I will keep a reconsideration form on file
in the event that my other strategies don't work.
Why I Chose This Book? I chose this book because it has been included in our local's high school summer reading program. It is also a beautifully written account of how a family can be affected when a tragedy happens.
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