What are some social issues presented in The Lovely Bones? Is grief an example of a social issue? If yes, how so?

Great question!
There are a number of social issues in just about every book out there. Some social issues
include bullying, obesity, divorce, moving, unemployment, death and yes, grief. A social issue
is essentially anything that negatively affects a person's life. 

In  all of
the members of Susie's family, including Susie herself experience grief. Susie feels grief over
her death as well as Mr. Harvey's freedom. Susie's father also experiences grief in many parts
of the book including when he smashes all of the ships in the bottles. His sadness is so great
that he destroyed the objects that reminded him of his daughter, but then he feels grief after
he has ruined them. Susies father also "had not been outside the house except to drive back
and forth to work or sit out in the backyard, for months, not had he seen his neighbors."
(P. 209) He is so distraught over the death of his daughter he is unable to carry on socially
 

Lindsey, Susie's sister, also experiences grief but does so more quietly
than her father. Susie "avoided mirrors. She now took showers in the dark...She would be
safe in the dark." (P.59) Susie not only feels grief over the loss of her sister and the
loss of her family, but also over the loss of her freedom. Susie's death has greatly impacted
the way her parents will treat Lindsey.