A review by rnmnd
The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

4.0

I'm not exactly sure what to feel about this book. Story-wise, it's not bad, but I can't say that I really like it either. It's an okay story, explained with great details. There are some internal conflicts and also external conflicts in each main character, which is something that is rarely executed well, so kudos for that. Dawson is a very respectable character. He's not a typical fictional guy that everyone simps for, but you can't help but like him, or at least feel for him.

What I don't really like about the book is the pace. I understand that the author wanted to link all the events, but the jumps can be a bit confusing at times, especially before one gets to know all of the characters and problems. The first 16% of the book (at least, I'm not exactly sure how much) was also full of description and that honestly bored me. I had to force myself to read but it got better once Dawson and Amanda met. Up until that point, the only dialog you'd find would be Morgan Tanner's "It's best to speak about it in person", or something like that.

After the two met, the descriptions and dialogues are balanced, and they're pretty enjoyable to read. Indeed, there are a lot of painful moments, but there are also happy ones. The only thing that touched me was the little twist in the epilogue, but overall, this was a nice read. Not a light read, I suppose, since the themes are quite heavy, but also not a super heavy one.