In this book, fourteen year old Susie Salmon is raped and murdered. She spends majority of the book ‘living‘ in heaven and she is adjusting to life up there. Meanwhile, her family and friends are dealing with loss and tragedy down on earth. Susie watches her family, friends, and even murderer, continue their lives on earth, after that terrible day, as they learn to grieve and move on.

In this book, Lale Sokolov takes us through his life in the time of WW2, when he was a prisoner and the Tätowierer in Auschwitz-Birkenau, due to being a Slovakian Jew. His experiences are horrific and brutal, but he still keeps room for compassion and love in his life. In the concentration camp, he meets the love of his life, Gita, which gives him hope that they will survive.