The Last Song

The Last Song
by Nicholas Sparks

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 Wrightsville Beach, 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 a beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.
(description from Amazon.com)

I have never actually read any of Nicholas Sparks' books before...*gasp*...I know! I've seen the movies A Walk to Remember and The Notebook, but I'd never actually picked up one of his books. So...when I kept seeing the previews for The Last Song and Dear John, I decided I needed to actually read one of the books.

The premise of Dear John seemed a little too set up for total heartbreak for me, so I decided to go for The Last Song. It was good. I didn't love it, but it wasn't terrible. Ronnie is a character that was relatable and interesting. I really liked the relationships that she had with both her parents. They were realistic...not easy, and her relationship with her brother was sweet, too. The stages that Ronnie goes through in healing through all of her relationships, especially her father, were very realistic and made the whole storyline much more believable.

I don't know if I've become a little jaded or not, but the romantic depths that Ronnie develops for Will seemed to come too fast, too soon. I guess I don't really believe in instant true love. I feel like, yes, you can really care for someone, but you need time to really know anyone. That being said, though, I was very gratified when I got to the epilogue and found the ending I was looking for...

One of the most interesting and compelling relationships in this book for me was the side romance of Marcus and Blaze. Her need for him, his abusiveness...that story drew me more than Ronnie and Will's.

All in all, I was glad when I finished this book, but I'm not racing to pick up another anytime soon. Maybe down the road, I'll try another one...