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A review by livinginmyfantasy
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
review - september 2016:
Just a summary of how this book makes me feel: As if someone stabbed me in the chest 10 times, ripped out my heart with their bare hands and stomped on it, pushed me off a cliff and left me to drown in an ocean of my own tears.
I read this book for the first time about five years ago and absolutely loved it, even though it broke my heart. Maybe because it broke my heart, because that meant I was so invested in the story and the characters that it was able to take over my emotions so completely. I am still amazed by how someone can be so affected by words on paper, by someone else's thoughts, by how that the author's ideas can be worded and portrayed so beautifully.
It's still hard to pinpoint what exactly makes me feel so connected to this particular story. I guess it's just a combination of everything: Ronnie's journey, Steve's love, Jonah's innocence, ... I think I just read this at the right time in my life. I was about the same age as Ronnie and everything just felt so real, so honest, so true. Although she has her flaws, she's a great character altogether and I looked up to her. I could go on and on and write things about every single character, but I feel like my words wouldn't do them justice.
I remember the first time I read this book very clearly. Especially the day when I finished it. I had a dentist appointment and was reading it in the waiting room and had to do my best not to cry. The same thing happened on the car drive home. I was welling up but just about held myself together because I didn't want to cry in front of my dad and brother. When I finally got home and retreated to the safety of my room, I started crying my heart out as I read the last couple of chapters. I was crying so hard that my vision got blurry and reading got difficult. It was the first time that had ever happened when reading a book and that is probably the main reason why it stuck with me through the years.
I've reread it several times over the past few years. There's just this need inside of me to reread it every so often. But now it had been about two years since I last read it and I was afraid that I wouldn't like it as much anymore. Luckily that wasn't the case. The story still has the same place in my heart, I still smile at all the cute little moments and love how everything unfolds. As I got to the part where I know all my heartbreak starts I found a note from past me, telling me to pretend that this was the end and everything was great. I did that for about a week until I knew I had enough time to get through the last bit in one go. So I faced the truth and spent most of a Sunday crying my heart out until my vision went blurry, aching for the characters I love, wishing I could protect them and make everything better. Unfortunately I never can. So I finished the book feeling emotionally drained, but somehow I still had a (small) smile on my face. It's a bittersweet feeling, but one I never want to lose.
Just a summary of how this book makes me feel: As if someone stabbed me in the chest 10 times, ripped out my heart with their bare hands and stomped on it, pushed me off a cliff and left me to drown in an ocean of my own tears.
I read this book for the first time about five years ago and absolutely loved it, even though it broke my heart. Maybe because it broke my heart, because that meant I was so invested in the story and the characters that it was able to take over my emotions so completely. I am still amazed by how someone can be so affected by words on paper, by someone else's thoughts, by how that the author's ideas can be worded and portrayed so beautifully.
It's still hard to pinpoint what exactly makes me feel so connected to this particular story. I guess it's just a combination of everything: Ronnie's journey, Steve's love, Jonah's innocence, ... I think I just read this at the right time in my life. I was about the same age as Ronnie and everything just felt so real, so honest, so true. Although she has her flaws, she's a great character altogether and I looked up to her. I could go on and on and write things about every single character, but I feel like my words wouldn't do them justice.
I remember the first time I read this book very clearly. Especially the day when I finished it. I had a dentist appointment and was reading it in the waiting room and had to do my best not to cry. The same thing happened on the car drive home. I was welling up but just about held myself together because I didn't want to cry in front of my dad and brother. When I finally got home and retreated to the safety of my room, I started crying my heart out as I read the last couple of chapters. I was crying so hard that my vision got blurry and reading got difficult. It was the first time that had ever happened when reading a book and that is probably the main reason why it stuck with me through the years.
I've reread it several times over the past few years. There's just this need inside of me to reread it every so often. But now it had been about two years since I last read it and I was afraid that I wouldn't like it as much anymore. Luckily that wasn't the case. The story still has the same place in my heart, I still smile at all the cute little moments and love how everything unfolds. As I got to the part where I know all my heartbreak starts I found a note from past me, telling me to pretend that this was the end and everything was great. I did that for about a week until I knew I had enough time to get through the last bit in one go. So I faced the truth and spent most of a Sunday crying my heart out until my vision went blurry, aching for the characters I love, wishing I could protect them and make everything better. Unfortunately I never can. So I finished the book feeling emotionally drained, but somehow I still had a (small) smile on my face. It's a bittersweet feeling, but one I never want to lose.
review - january 2013:
I've loved this book since the first time I read it. There's just something that makes me connect to the characters, Ronnie especially. They just feel very real. I've read it several times so far and even though I love it, it also breaks my heart and makes me sob like a little girl every time. It's heartbreakingly beautiful and one of my favourite books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death