The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
http://www.amazon.com/Lovely-Bones-Novel-Alice-Sebold/dp/0316666343

I had such a hard time putting this book down!  I really enjoyed the story and the different perspective.  The main character is a 14 year old girl who was murdered in 1973, she tells the story from her heaven.  She watches her family through their hard times as they heal and grow.

Quote from Amazon-
The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Another friend of mine told me that she couldn't get into it because it was such a difficult story for a parent to read.  Especially a parent with a little girl of her own because the story is so real and jarring, it's a very realistic fear.  Having a serial killer for a neighbor is a horrifying possibility/reality.  I have to admit that it definitely spooked me a bit, thinking that this has happened somewhere at some time to an innocent child is an unspeakably devestating thought.
I was very uncertain reading it because I knew that it was going to be graphic and saddening book and it was very sad at first, but she writes it so well that you just can't put it down.  At one point I was sobbing, but couldn't take my eyes off the pages!  I gave it to my mother to read and it took over her life too, she fell in love with the story just like I knew she would.  It was so fun to talk about it with her and share the excitement of the story! 
I just love books like that! 

Alice Sebold, the author of Lovely Bones, also wrote Lucky: A Memoir, an interesting recount of her rape as a freshmen at Syracuse University. It's a very memorable read. If you liked Lovely Bones you also like Lucky.

Hi, Kirsten, and welcome to DivaTribe