The Last Song By Nicholas Sparks

Hey everyone!

This week, I’m reviewing The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I read this one back when I was in high school, after receiving it as a gift for Christmas. I devoured this book, it is definitely one of my favorites I’ve read, and one of the first Nicholas Sparks books I had ever read!

First, I have some stats from Goodreads..

This book is 390 pages, and was published on September 8th, 2009. The average rating on Goodreads is 4.13 stars out of 5! 

This is a story about Veronica “Ronnie” Miller and her brother Jonah going to visit their dad over the summer. Jonah is excited, and Ronnie is not, she’s rebellious and angry with her parents, who divorced 3 years ago. Over the summer, Ronnie and her dad begin healing their broken relationship through music. 

I can’t say much more in the summary without giving away what happens… which is KILLING ME. This book was made into a movie, and I made myself read it before watching the movie, and I am seriously so glad I did. Every time I watch the movie (starring Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth), I cry and cry… and always at the same part! Nicholas Sparks has a way of getting you so invested in a story, and feeling so warm and fuzzy and happy for the characters, and finds a way to sneak in a plot twist, and break your heart. 

No, he doesn’t just break your heart, he shatters it.. Into teeny, tiny pieces that you just don’t want to clean up because you’re too busy sobbing and melting into your puddle of tears. The way he writes the characters is incredible, because when I read The Last Song, I felt what each character felt, and I went on the crazy, emotional rollercoaster ride that is this book. For me, a big part of reading is being able to relate to the main characters, or any of the other characters, for that matter. If I can’t relate to anyone in the story, if I didn’t feel any emotion while reading, and if I didn’t laugh, cry, or want to scream, I feel like I wasted my time. Luckily, I have not had that experience very much, and The Last Song never made me feel that way. 

You will laugh, you will cry. You might even cry a lot, despite your best efforts to stop the tears. I remember when I was finishing up this book, I was sitting in the living room reading while my mom and stepdad, Deric, were listening to an audiobook. I’m a very emotional reader, so naturally, when the plot twist was revealed, I got very teary eyed and basically was wiping my eyes and had to go find Kleenex so I didn’t reveal the fact that I was ugly, snot crying over a book. This wasn’t new to me, however my mom and Deric had never seen me cry over a book before, and they laughed and laughed at me! I looked at my mom and I remember telling her, “Oh, you just wait until you read it or listen to it, and let me know when you cry, too!” And what was really funny about that was that she did! She texted me a few weeks later when she borrowed the audiobook from the library, and said that she was in tears at work over this story! It gave me a giggle, but having read the story before her, I laughed and then cried inside. 

All of this being said, I really did enjoy this book. I absolutely loved seeing all of the changes Ronnie went through, and I love seeing characters grow and develop more as people, and Ronnie certainly did that. She was a character I really did not like and identify with in the beginning, but as I kept reading, she grew on me, and she got better and better. 

The rating I gave on Goodreads was a 5 star rating. I gave it this rating because when I closed the book, I had no questions, and though I felt incredibly sad, I was also satisfied with how the story ends. I was heartbroken for this family, and it hit close to home at the time, but I loved how everything was resolved, and everything came together nicely. Now, I definitely wouldn’t mind a sequel or another short story, just following up on Ronnie, Will, and Jonah… but it’s definitely not necessary. 

What is necessary is some super glue, so I can hopefully get my heart put back together before reading Nicholas Sparks’ newest novel, See Me. I hope to read See Me before the end of the year, and there will definitely be a review once I read it!

Alright everyone, that’s all she wrote for now… If there is anything you would ever like me to read and review, or any book you would like Ariel and I to talk about on the podcast, feel free to give me a shout and let me know! You can also use Goodreads to recommend books to me, or keep in contact through Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram! 

Until next time, happy reading everyone! 

~Hayley