In the book The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, what are readers' expectations about the story? How can I express a personal connection to this book as...

You have
asked an interesting two-part question here!  First of all, a reader experienced with 's
writings probably has very high expectations in regards to the story of . 
You see, Sebold's first book was actually a memoir of her own rape.  The book was called
Lucky because Sebold herself was told (according to Wikipedia) that she was
"lucky" not to have been killed because another young woman of a similar age (18) was
both killed and dismembered in the same tunnel where Sebold was raped.  Through this memoir,
Sebold herself says that she wished to bring "more awareness to rape."  She certainly
did. 

Anyone who read Sebold's memoir would wonder whether Sebold would
continue to explore this subject in the context of .  She does.  Upon first glance, a title like
The Lovely Bones immediately brings a murder to mind.  One wonders whether
Sebold was considering the "unlucky" woman from her previous memoir while devolping
the character of Susie Salmon.  Considering Sebold's memoir won awards, the expectations were
high for her second work. 

Sebold did not disappoint.

The
second part of your question implies that many readers, perhaps, did NOT know of the high
expectations involved (perhaps not even knowing about Sebold's first memoir).  In that case, the
expectation would most likely be that this is a story about a beautiful young girl who is both
murdered and somehow reduced to bones.  This is true, although ironically not what the title
fully means.  Why a young "girl" instead of "man"?  Because young men are
usually not referred to as "lovely."  Why "murder" instead of, let's say, a
medical school skeleton specimen?   Hmmmm, just a guess.

Further exploring
the second part of your question, you should ask yourself a few questions:  Have you ever been
afraid of being raped?  Have you ever been afraid of being murdered?  Have you ever been afraid
of losing your life too soon?  Have you ever known someone, a certified "loner," who
kept apart from society and aroused suspicion?  Have you ever experienced the variety of ways
people can deal with the loss of a loved one (different ways of expressing grief)?  My answers
to those questions are going to differ from yours.  For me, my personal connection to the novel
is the absolute horror and fear of the same thing happening to one of my daughters.  This
connection makes Susie Salmon's murder scene absolutely unbearable to me.  Your answer will
depend on your response to the above questions.