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A review by romanaromana
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
3 stars.
(Here are some trigger warnings. Nothing in this review).
Good, but not spectacular.
Landon is less than thrilled when his school's resident outsider, Jamie, near enough guilt trips him into performing in the town's annual Christmas production. Especially since Jamie's father - the Reverend at Landon's local church - also wrote the play. But as Landon begins to spend more time with her, he realises that he is far from immune to the goodness of Jamie's heart, or the desires of his own.
Nicholas Sparks, as we know, has one serious rep. I've seen almost all of the film adaptations which have sprung from his works, but A Walk to Remember is one of the exceptions. Whilst I must admit that I kind of knew the vague storyline of this novel, I hoped to have a nice fresh reading experience of Sparks.
I didn't particularly love the way Sparks writes. It was pretty basic, but also repetitive, with a number of phrases feeling forced for the sake of injecting Landon with some type of 'voice'. Funnily enough, I think even without these repetitions, Landon's character wasn't too bad. I think he went on a clearly marked journey at least, which was appreciated.
By contrast, I thought Jamie was really lacking in depth for a love interest. She was flawless in her goodness and wholesomeness, in a way that was unbelievable. This ultimately led to her partnership with Landon being relatively unexceptional, as I struggled to understand why Landon falls so hard. It was simply a case of them spending enough time together and neither of them being horrible.
Another issue I had was with Sparks' trademark - the retrospective narration, coupled with an outer narrative from a later timeline. I have never loved this in Sparks' films, usually because I cared a lot more about the internal narrative following the characters when they were younger. Similarly, in A Walk to Remember I would have rather Sparks dedicate his full attention to Landon and Jamie in their youth. Ultimately I felt that the outer narrative was pointless and spoilt my experience of the core story.
In conclusion this novel was alright. It was sweet at times, and easy, but nothing I haven't found in much better form in a YA contemporary. Unfortunately, I haven't been hooked by Sparks on this occasion.
(Here are some trigger warnings. Nothing in this review).
Good, but not spectacular.
Landon is less than thrilled when his school's resident outsider, Jamie, near enough guilt trips him into performing in the town's annual Christmas production. Especially since Jamie's father - the Reverend at Landon's local church - also wrote the play. But as Landon begins to spend more time with her, he realises that he is far from immune to the goodness of Jamie's heart, or the desires of his own.
Nicholas Sparks, as we know, has one serious rep. I've seen almost all of the film adaptations which have sprung from his works, but A Walk to Remember is one of the exceptions. Whilst I must admit that I kind of knew the vague storyline of this novel, I hoped to have a nice fresh reading experience of Sparks.
I didn't particularly love the way Sparks writes. It was pretty basic, but also repetitive, with a number of phrases feeling forced for the sake of injecting Landon with some type of 'voice'. Funnily enough, I think even without these repetitions, Landon's character wasn't too bad. I think he went on a clearly marked journey at least, which was appreciated.
By contrast, I thought Jamie was really lacking in depth for a love interest. She was flawless in her goodness and wholesomeness, in a way that was unbelievable. This ultimately led to her partnership with Landon being relatively unexceptional, as I struggled to understand why Landon falls so hard. It was simply a case of them spending enough time together and neither of them being horrible.
Another issue I had was with Sparks' trademark - the retrospective narration, coupled with an outer narrative from a later timeline. I have never loved this in Sparks' films, usually because I cared a lot more about the internal narrative following the characters when they were younger. Similarly, in A Walk to Remember I would have rather Sparks dedicate his full attention to Landon and Jamie in their youth. Ultimately I felt that the outer narrative was pointless and spoilt my experience of the core story.
In conclusion this novel was alright. It was sweet at times, and easy, but nothing I haven't found in much better form in a YA contemporary. Unfortunately, I haven't been hooked by Sparks on this occasion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer