This book has been on my TBR forever and I finally picked it up this year. Reading it during a global pandemic was probably not the best idea, given the subject matter, but I appreciated the beauty of Sebold's storytelling all the same.

While the story is told through the eyes of Susie who is up in Heaven watching her family and friends, it is really their story that we are told. We see how every member of the family and community reacts to her untimely death and the subsequent events. It is a fascinating study of grief and tragedy, in which everyone reacts a little differently to her death. You see how the tragedy of a little girl's disappearance affects everyone that she interacted with, no matter how minimally.

Sebold's writing is poetic and profound, with her characters giving their insights into death and grief both through words and actions. However, the story does move slowly at times. You are teased with these moments of the chase for the killer, but just when you think it is going to be a thriller, you are brought back into the quieter character studies. This is not a fault of the book but was somewhat jarring at times.

Overall, though, I can see why this book has touched so many different people -- much like Susie herself in the story.

TW: Sexual assault of a minor; murder; loss of child; grief

4 stars