Monday, September 7, 2009

Review: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks



release date: September 8th, 2009

Recommended for: people who love a quick, easy read about life and love

Teaser quote:
Life, he realized, was much like a song.

In the beginning there is mystery, in the end there is confirmation, but it's in the middle where all the emotion resides to make the whole thing worthwhile (pg 376, ISBN 978-0-46-54756-7)

My rating: 5/5

My thoughts:
Being a teenager is hard enough, throw in a divorce and, well, it's like adding fuel to a fire. Ronnie is experiencing the typical life of a 17 year old, just waiting to turn 18 and live her own life her way. She is hanging with the wrong crowd and in the rebellious stage constantly arguing with her mom. Three years earlier her Dad left and she hasn't spoken to him since. When her parents decide Ronnie and her brother should spend their summer vacation with their Dad, you can imagine how happy it made her. Surprisingly, over the course of the summer Ronnie not only falls in love, she discovers herself.

As a parent, there are so many things you want to shelter your children from. There is the desire to share your stories in hopes that they learn from your mistakes and yet some lessons that just can't be taught. Ronnie's Dad allowed her the freedom to evolve from the resentful teenager to the loving, caring, intelligent woman that was always present and it was beautiful to read. You are left with a feeling that everything works out in the end.

Reading Nicholas Sparks, I knew Kleenex would be a requirement. What I didn't know was when and for how long! Let's just say that the last 1/4 of the book took twice as long to read as I attempted to wipe away tears, a runny nose & read through blurry eyes.

http://www.nicholassparks.com/

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4 comments:

  1. Have you read his most recent few books? I loved his first books but after a while I thought they all sounded the same. Now I'm becoming interested again and was wondering what others thought.

    This one does sound good... though I read somewhere that this was originally a screenplay he wrote to star Miley Cyrus and then he turned it into a book! That makes me not want to read it as much but it does sound good!

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  2. Interesting -- it's from the teen's point of view? I've loved his other books so I gotta try this one.

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  3. Jenny ~ you are right, the book & screenplay were written simultaneously. I hope Miley can pull this off, it will make for a really good girlie flick :) I can't wait to see Will!!!

    Sara ~ each chapter alternately focuses on a different character from the book (Ronnie, her Dad Steve, boyfriend Will, bad guy Marcus etc)and how she ties them all together.

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  4. Jenny, I just finished reading this book last night after it sat on my bookcase for about a month. It sat there for so long because I too had grown tired of the same type of stories from him. (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE his stories but they become predictable.)

    I started and finished this book in two days because it was so good. It was different for him because it is from so many different perspectives. You grow attached to Ronnie because of all the things she deals with in the book. Knowing that Miley would be playing her on film allowed me to picture her as the character instead of being disappointed in the casting later.
    Definitely a great read. One of my favorites by Sparks. And Mel is right, keep the tissues close.

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