What are some examples of figurative language in The Lovely Bones?

When examining figurative language, keep in mind that it is writing that the author does not intend for you to take literally. Figurative language adds depth and beauty to the author's story.
In The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold utilizes figurative language throughout her novel. Mostly she uses simile (a comparison of two things by using the words "like" or "as") and imagery (or writing that appeals to any of the five senses). By using these specific types of figurative language, Sebold is able to strengthen the novel's narrator: Susie.
Susie uses similes to make comparisons between descriptions she thinks her audience will know to those she believes they will not. In chapter 7, Sebold writes "My parents were like sleepwalkers saying yes to his questions, nodding their heads to flowers or speakers." This comparison to sleepwalkers illustrates the pain her parents are going through. They're unable to do anything aside from nod mindlessly while making the funeral arrangements. Later in the chapter, Susie uses a simile again when she describes her first kiss: "Our only kiss was like an accident- a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Later in the book, Susie uses the simile

I watched my beautiful sister running . . . and I knew she was not running away from me or toward me. Like someone who has survived a gunshot, the wound had been closing, closing -braiding into a scar for eight long years.

The powerful simile explains that, for her sister, getting over Susie's death is like getting over a gunshot wound: it is painful and takes time.
Imagery is used throughout the text as Susie describes her view of heaven, what she sees going on at home, and even how she died. When describing heaven, Susie says it is "large, squat buildings spread out on dismally landscaped sandy lots, with overhangs and open spaces to make them feel more modern." In chapter 5, Susie uses her childlike diction to describe her family's home: "the spots on our suburban walls replaced with bright graphic prints meant to stimulate children." Later, in a flashback in Chapter 15, Susie remembers a thunderstorm and reminisces about how she and her sister enjoyed them: "We both listened together to the rain pour down and the thunderclap and smelled the earth rising to greet us."