Before ads for the movie version of The Lovely Bones came out I had never heard of the novel upon which it was based.  Now that I've read the book I never want to see the movie.  After the book, the movie could only be a disappointment.

This a story as much about a murdered girl coming to terms with her death as it is about her family dealing with the same.  The vision of heaven is somewhat of a mix of views common to popular contemporary Western Christianity, New Age and Spiritualist concepts.  It felt something akin to What Dreams May Come.  There was no judgment, resurrection and New Heavens/New Earth, as found in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures.  God was also strangely absent.  If you were to read this book for the theology you'd be making a mistake and missing its real value.

Susie, the young lady who in her early teens was raped and killed (this was graphically portrayed in the book, with the rape apparently absent from the movie), has a sort of omniscience and near omnipresence as she follows the path of grief taken by friends and family coping with her disappearance and then confirmed death.  She also watches the man who violated and killed her.  Her ability to interact with the living is, for the most part, quite limited.  There were some stunning exceptions, but nothing I dare give away.

This is also the story of Ruth, a "weird girl" who saw Susie's departing spirit without at first realizing it.  Again, there's not much I can say without giving away important parts of the story that are better read in the book itself.

The Lovely Bones is the sort of book that sucked me in, one that I resented having to put down to deal with real life, and one that I know will linger with me for days and quite likely leave a mark on my consciousness.

If you haven't seen the movie, realize that I haven't either when I say: "Don't bother."  Just pick up a copy from your local library, bookstore or on Amazon and read it.  You'll be glad you did and will probably see why I say to avoid the movie.