Childhood and adolescence is a period in life where one finds out what their identity is. Questions such as “who am I?” and “why am I here?” are just some of the questions that are asked during this fragile part in one’s life. In Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones and Heather O’Neil’s Lullabies for Little Criminals, the loss of innocence at a young age seems to be the main theme. Childhood is innocence and people must try to preserve that innocence for as long as possible or else it might cause complications and difficulties later on in life. The protagonists in both of these stories, Baby and Susie, have been exposed to too much “adult like” things for anyone their age Both protagonists are deprived of fundamentals of life at such an early stage in their lives which causes them to struggle with trying to find their true identity and their self worth. Being exposed to drugs and violence, changes in environments and not being in control of their own lives play key parts in their struggle throughout. Ultimately they struggle to realize their full potential and find independence from these experiences. At such young ages, especially ages 12 and 14, Susie and Baby are already deprived of their innocence in life. At such tender ages where one is trying to discover themselves, they find themselves not knowing if they are children or adults. Being exposed to things such as violence, death, and drugs does not help them in their journey. Susie Salmon and Baby are independent, there is no doubt about that, but they are still children and need to be nurtured and cared for. In the book the Lovely Bones, the protagonist Susie Salmon is 14 years old. Unfortunately she is murdered and is brutally raped in the beginning of the story by George Harvey, her neighbor. At such a young age to be exposed to this level of violence and even have one’s life taken away from them is a