Exactly how steamy is this story?
R
The R rating is earned at the beginning of the novel, where narrator Susie Salmon recounts, from her heavenly post, the details of her rape and murder. There are also details of her killer's previous violent crimes. There are also plenty of loving, consensual sexual moments (none very graphically described) to counterpoint the sexual brutality. The Lovely Bones always depicts healthy, consensual sex as a positive healing activity.