ISBN: 978-0-446-57096-1
Rating: A
Typically when reading a Nicholas Sparks book, one must definitely be in the mood to cry and although THE LAST SONG took me a bit longer before I started, but once I started I couldn’t stop.
When Ronnie and her little brother Jonah are forced to visit their dad for an entire summer in Wilmington, 17 year old Ronnie wishes that she could have turned 18 sooner so that she could skip out on this summer of forced parental imprisonment. Ronnie has spent the last 3 years ignoring her dad and worrying about how everything impacts her, as with every 17 year old the center of the universe is herself. She is in for a journey of self discovery during her summer in Wilmington, and one that will forever change how she see’s the world.
I knew before picking up THE LAST SONG that I was in for an emotional roller coaster. However the subject matter hit home in a lot of ways. When parents get divorced it’s hard for the kids to understand why or even to begin to know how to feel about it and speaking from experience I knew exactly where Ronnie came from. So when confronted with the visit to her dad and being forced to acknowledge those feelings Ronnie takes the only action that can protect her, she pushes people away. She dresses and acts unapproachable however if you look close enough there is a soft underside that very few people in her life have ever seen.
THE LAST SONG took a delicate subject and portrayed it honestly and compassionately and brought back those emotions for me, and put me in Ronnie’s shoes. The reality of this story was told with the right voice, and I am still amazed at the emotions that Sparks can create for me as a reader.
The Journey Begins with the Turn of a Page 