Did you read the book?
I looked it over at Borders and read an essay in another book by the author about the genesis of the story when her son had a friend who drowned and she had to try and explain to him how such things could happen.
Having seen a number of really bad pre-adolescent movies last year (Hoot, How to Eat Fried Worms) I passed on this. But the other critics I know liked it. Now I'll have to wait for the DVD to see if I'll like it or not