The book is kind of preachy...

But I would say it's significantly better than the movie, although this is yet another case where if they had decided to make adaptation with the budget they had closer to the book, it would be so much better. Although they would have to change certain things, like how much time passes in the book, which I thought was a bit silly. Cline is awful with dates and establishing a proper continuity. You are given specific dates in the book and they don't correspond with the dialogue.