“What Remains”, by Katherine Bouton, is a summary and analysis of Alice Sebold’s novel, The Lovely Bones. Bouton commends Sebold’s ability to take the dark and pessimistic topic of the brutal murder of a young girl and turn it into a positive story. The book is narrated by Susie Salmon, who retells her murder in the first chapter of the story. The rest of the novel is told from her perspective in heaven, where she has an omnipotent view of her family and the world she left behind. Susie views the dilapidation of her family after her murder from behind closed doors. This gives the reader a unique perspective on how grief can tear apart lives. Susie is a guide through life after death much as her mentor in heaven, Franny, is to her. Not only
