The Lovely Bones

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. How old is Susie Salmon when she is murdered?

2. Who murdered Susie?

3. Who is Franny and why is she in the afterlife?

4. Who is Len Fenerman?

5. What event leads to Susie having a special connection to Ruth?

6. What is odd about the name of Harvey’s deceased wife?

Short Answer

1. What does Susie mean in Chapter 1 when she says of her murder that it happened “back when people believed things like that didn’t happen?”

2. Susie wishes she could tell the principal, Mr. Caden, to comfort Lindsey by making her laugh. What is unique about Susie’s voice and her understanding of her sister Lindsey?

Paired Resource

“Crime Rates”

• This article compares crime rates from 1960 to 2017.
• What happened to crime in the 60s, 70s, and 80s? What were the contributing factors to the crime drop in the late 90s? How does the crime rate relate to the novel’s theme of Isolation and Interconnectivity?

Chapters 6-9

Reading Check

1. What is revealed about Fenerman’s wife?

2. Why is Susie skeptical when Buckley says he has seen her?

3. When is the last time Harvey sees his mother?

4. What does his mother give Harvey before she leaves him?

5. How does Ray say goodbye to Susie?

Short Answer

1. What is likely the reason Harvey attends Susie’s funeral?

2. How does Jack respond to Susie’s death and why is he relieved at Susie’s memorial?

Paired Resource

Make-Up in American History

• This article provides a historical context for make-up in America.
• How has the use of make-up changed over the course of American history? Why might Ruth have frowned upon Lindsey’s use of make-up given the politicization of make-up in the late 1960s? How is this connected to the novel’s theme of Coming of Age and Sexuality?

Chapters 10-14

Reading Check

1. What does Franny tell Susie must happen if she ever wants to move on from the place she is in?

2. Why does Harvey kill animals?

3. How is Jack injured?

4. How does Lynn feel about Harvey after walking past his house?

5. What does Lindsey discover when she breaks into Harvey’s house?

Short Answer

1. What clues does Susie provide to the reader that indicate that Susie’s murder is not the only reason her mother had an affair?

2. How does Harvey deflect suspicion? Why do you think it works for him? 

Paired Resource

“The Stages of Grief: Accepting the Unacceptable”

• This article provides insight into the different stages of grief and how those stages outwardly present themselves in human behavior.
• What stage of grief might Susie’s parents be experiencing based on the article description? How are the stages of grief connected to the novel’s theme of Grieving Traumatic Loss?

Chapters 15-Snapsnots

Reading Check

1. How does Harvey explain away the evidence Lindsey found in his home?

2. Why do the cops assume they dislike Harvey?

3. How do Susie’s friends mark the one-year anniversary after her death?

4. When does Lindsey realize her mother is having an affair?

5. What does Ruana hide in Ray’s luggage as he leaves for college?

Short Answer

1. Describe the clues collected about Harvey’s childhood. Why do you think the author provides these details for the reader? What might these details indicate about the author and her perception of people?

2. What is ironic about Abigail’s carelessness as she grieves her daughter’s death?

Paired Resource

“What Makes a Serial Killer?”

• This article describes the possible reasons people become serial killers based on Peter Vronsky’s research and theories.
• What is the author’s perspective on serial killers? How is this connected to the theme of Isolation and Interconnectivity?

Chapters 17-20

Reading Check

1. Where does Samuel propose to Lindsey?

2. How does Jack fall in love with Abigail again?

3. What happens to Jack when he argues with Buckley?

4. Why does Abigail believe she deserves the punishment of Susie’s death?

5. What does Fenerman give Jack to aid in his recovery?

Short Answer

1. Why does Buckley say that Jack acted like Susie was only his?

2. What does Susie mean when she says Buckley would not be swayed because his heart was “flash[ing] heart to stone”?

Chapters 21-Bones

Reading Check

1. What prevents Harvey from attacking Lindsey?

2. How does Susie return to Earth?

3. What was Susie waiting for before she could progress beyond her temporary heaven?

4. Who joins Susie in heaven?

5. What is the name of Lindsey’s daughter?

Short Answer

1. What is the significance of the way Harvey is killed?

2. Lindsey asks her mother if she is going to hurt Jack again, and her mother replies that she will try not to but won’t make promises this time. What do you think Abigail means by this?

Recommended Next Reads 

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

• This novel is about a 15-year-old girl who dies and wrestles with the realization that she will become younger in the afterlife, not older.
• Shared topics include consciousness after death, the afterlife, and lost dreams.
• Shared themes include Grieving Traumatic Loss and Coming of Age.
• Elsewhere on SuperSummary

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

• This novel is about a 17-year-old girl who is comatose following an accident and must choose between life and death.
• Shared topics include memories, the afterlife, and family.
• Shared themes include Coming of Age, Grieving Traumatic Loss, and Isolation and Interconnectivity.
• If I Stay on SuperSummary