Plot turning points in The Lovely Bones

Some students complained of nothing much happening in the plot; or that it was difficult to engage with the text, hard to keep reading.
I have a few theories
1. It may be a little hard to really get into it because there is a sort of flat, matter of fact tone. It isn't colourful, passionate and vibrant because it is about the sad narration of loss and recovery. It is in fact very similar in its tone to The Reader the novel we studied last year. That is because both books are narrated by a character who is trying to sort out and come to terms with devastating events that cannot be easily "solved".
2. A lot of the events are emotional not physical; thoughts and feelings rather than exciting events.

But look at the things that DO happen. Both Lindsay and Abigail plunge into a love affair to numb the pain of Susie's death

Susie's father attacks a young couple in the cornfield, thinking they are Harvey. He almost becomes the baddie in the eyes of the police while Harvey can play the innocent. The injustice of it makes your blood boil.

Lindsay breaks into Harvey's house to find evidence. This is a dramatic event. Just imagine what it would be like (and the tension that Peter Jackson will be able to put into the scene when he films it)

On the other hand, even this turning point is narrated by Susie in heaven so we don't really get such a direct insight into Lindsay's feelings. After she jumps out the window to escape Harvey, Susie narrates:
"But she was not hurt. Gloriously not hurt. Gloriously young."
We as readers are "positioned" to see Lindsay through Susie's eyes. This is the whole purpose of the book: to give us a bird's eye view of the impact of tragedy on a family.

It also helps to remember that Sebold herself experienced 10 years of pain and chaos in her life after her own rape. You can feel the commitment she has to observe the effects of one person's trauma on those around her.

Another interesting bit is Harvey's back story. This starts on page 187 or Chapter 15. I think Sebold does a very good job of building up a picture of his sorry past. However, I find the previous page, 186, a little corny when Susie meets all his other victims in heaven. That is very intolerant of me though because Sebold has every right to point out that sexual predators often have multiple victims - how do you tell their story? WHAT DO YOU THINK?