I read this book about two years before the movie came out, when there was just talk of Emma Watson playing in it. I just thought it was sort of okay. This was one of the rare moments when I thought the movie was way better than the book, and usually I try really hard not to even compare the two mediums, just because it's totally pointless to do so. But after watching the movie, I went back to the book and reread it and enjoyed it more than I did the first time. Maybe because I could actually see the story played out more? I'm not sure, but the book itself just never really held my attention as much as other people have said. I would definitely recommend it though, as it had some great lessons and some really great characters. It just wasn't exactly my cup of tea.