Overview (source: http://www.nicholassparks.com/LearnMore.asp?BookID=15)
"Seventeen year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father… until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie’s father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms – first love, the love between parents and children – that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts… and heal them."
This book is a little different than most novels I have read. Each chapter is written from a different characters point of view. At first, it seemed annoying having to jump back and forth between personalities and point of views, but in the end, it really helps mold the story by seeing how each character reacts to the same situations.
After a few chapters, I felt like the book was meant for a younger crowd. The book is based on Ronnie, who is 17 in the book, so I felt this book was geared toward pre-teens-teens. By mid-book, though, I realized its all about how you look at it, and people of different ages will take on different emotions throughout the book.
There are a lot of characters in the book, and as I stated before, at first its a bit difficult to keep up with whos who, and whos telling the story. You have Veronica "Ronnie", her little brother Jonah, their father, their mother, a friend she meets named Blaze, her group of friends, Will, his friends and family, and the list goes on. Although, not all of them tell the story.
This book was a tear-jerker for sure. In the end, I had streams of tears running down my cheeks. Nicholas Sparks, in my opinion, is famous for really pulling his readers into his stories and having them empathize with his characters.
You would like this book if you:
- enjoy reading stories about first love and coming of age
- love to read a good tear-jerker
- enjoyed "A Walk to Remember" (as I find they are rather similiar in terms of plot)
- like to read a book you can't put down
You probably won't like this book if you:
- hate love stories
- hate Miley Cyrus (Lol)
If you read this book, or have read it, leave a comment!
I know I left a ton out, but I read this book a few weeks ago and am trying to jog my memory!
