The Lucky One — by Nicholas Sparks

I'm a Nicholas Sparks fan. Not only does he weave a brilliant love story, but he is able to do so without the pervasive language and graphic smut that his contemporaries so often do. With that in mind I was happy to hear about the newest book and movie (starring Zac Effron) by Sparks- The Lucky One.

The basic story line is about Logan Thibault (pronounced T-Bow) who discovers a picture of Beth in the Iraqi desert. With nothing but a few clues in the photograph, he starts on a cross-country trek of self-discovery, determined to help the woman in the photo who has become his lucky charm. As seems to be the M.O. of Sparks, each chapter of the book is written from one character's perspective, and is therefore titled the name of that character to differentiate the narrator.


What I liked about the book:

• The characters are likeable but flawed.
• I'll say it again, few curse words, and a love story that didn't go into the graphic details.

What I didn't like about the book:

• We're introduced to Beth/Elizabeth at her best friend's house, but after that the friend is never mentioned. And she never introduced her later boyfriend to the friend.
• The ending of the book, where there is a major action scene, is a bit confusing.
• I didn't feel like the end of the book had a good enough of a resolution. I know that life continues on for these characters after the last page, but I don't like wondering too much about what happens to them.

With that being said, I give the book 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. I liked the book a lot, I'll likely enjoy the movie too. For more information on the story, check out this trailer/interview with the actors and the writer himself. Based on the trailer the movie is a lot steamier than the book though, so I can't tell you for sure how "clean" it is.

The Last Song — by Nicholas Sparks

The other day at work I was looking for a good book to read and someone recommended that I read anything by Nicholas Sparks. I admit that while I haven't read anything by Sparks, I was of course familiar with the movies based on the books.

One of the interesting things about Sparks' book "The Last Song" was that the screenplay was written well before the book was finished. From the author's notes at the end of the book, he indicated that the Miley Cyrus camp (Cyrus starred in the movie) contact Sparks about a new project. Likely the differences between the book and the movie are because Sparks had more time to flush out storyline for the book.

While the book was good, it certainly wasn't great. I wish that I would have seen more of a relationship between Ronnie (the daughter) and her dad. And I certainly wish that the writer would have allowed Steve to hear the completed song he'd started composing.  For this reason, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.