The Five People You Meet In Heaven (2003)

From the man who brought you ''Tuesdays With Morrie'' comes another trite-and-true primer on how to live, this time a simpleminded and shamelessly sentimental novel. Eddie, an 83-year-old amusement-park maintenance man, dies in a freak accident while trying to save a child from being crushed under a malfunctioning ride. He promptly ascends to heaven and runs into five people, including his dead wife, a Filipino girl, and an elderly woman in old-fashioned clothes, who help him make sense of his ''ordinary'' life. Here's what he learns: We're all connected, we're all special, and ''strangers are just family you have yet to come to know.'' Given Albom's track record, this skinny little book may become a runaway hit. It's still profoundly icky.

You Might Also Like

• Book Commentary EW's critics name 2003's 5 worst books
• Best-Sellers 'Heaven' Sent