The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.

TIME TO READ: 3 days

PAGES: 463

SYNOPSIS: 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 centrepiece 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.

MY REVIEW:
CHARACTERS:  5/5
Ronnie was a unique and truly memorable protagonist. She was fierce, friendly, sarcastic, witty and caring. I loved watching her relationship with Will blossom from a summer romance into love. They were so right for each other. The character of Will was un-selfish and was always looking out for Ronnie, anyone else notice the boys of Nicholas Sparks movies/books are so awesome?! I also loved watching Ronnie and her dad communicate and bond over the course of the summer. Having a bad relationship with a parent is must be a heartbreaking thing. Ronnie's relationship with her little brother was very heartwarming, the way they looked out for each other all the time. At the end, when Ronnie was saying all the activity's she does with him now because of how close  they have grown, really made me smile as that is how I am with my younger brother and sister.
I loved the character of Steve , he was such a nice man who was a good listener. He was caring, thoughtful and generous.
P.s Marcus was so scary! I found him so intimidating throughout the novel (comment if you agree!).

PLOT:  4 / 5
The plot of the book was very interesting and enjoyable. I liked the plot of the broken family, not something I read a lot if. I found it quite interesting and very gripping to find out more about how the family would become close again. The pacing of the plot was just spot on, not overly fast and not snail-paced slow. Although I thought this was going to be a fluffy, light read, it actually had depth in terms of the shoplifting and the characters back stories. (Will's secret, Ronnie's parents, Blaze's family life etc,.) All were very gripping, and not only helped me to get an all around feel for the character's behaviour but the reasons behind their actions and their personalities.
Usually when I am reading a book, I can predict what is going to happen or what the main twist in the plot shall be. With The Last Song, although I could predict a few of the plot twists, I was taken totally by surprise by the main twist! I am not going to spoil it for those who have not read the book but this twist pulled the carpet right from under my feet--If you have read the book I am talking about the one near the end of the book. Amazing plot!

WRITING STYLE: 5/5
I really liked Nicholas Sparks' writing style in this novel. I have not read any other novels by Sparks, although I have a few on my Kindle, and I was happily surprised by his excellent writing style.
Sparks' really gets into the mindset of each of the characters of the book portraying them in a realistic and true to their character light. I thought Sparks pulled this off very well as it is not easy to portray such a realistic teenage girl and her thoughts and opinions. I liked the many short narratives, this usually turns me off books when they are not done well (such as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), too many cooks spoil the broth and all that. I really enjoyed hearing narrative not only from the main character Ronnie but from others such as Steve- The father, Marcus, Will etc,. It was really interesting and I especially liked to read Steve's chapters as he was such a genuine guy and I loved his character!
I really hope to read some more of Nicholas Sparks' novels in the future as I own most of them on my Kindle, maybe The notebook? If you have a favourite Nicholas Sparks novel that you think I should read, tell me in the comments below!

Favourite Quote;
“I call it God Light, because it reminds me of heaven. Every time the light shines through the window we built or any window at all, you'll know I'm right there with you, okay? That's going to be me. I'll be the light in the window.”  -Steve, this scene made me tear up, this quote is beautiful <3 ~

OVERALL RATING : 14/15
a four and a half star book <3 but definitely one of the best romance books I have ever read!
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3 kleenex boxes.