The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Paperback)

Susie Salmon was raped and murdered in 1973, and, from her perch in heaven, she tells the story of what happened to her, watches her family back on earth as they go about their grief-stricken lives, and describes what its like to be a kid in heaven. Alice Sebolds novel, which draws on some of her own experiences, became a runaway best-seller as soon as it was published. A New York Times Notable Book for 2002.