The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

I have so much to say. I pre-ordered this book weeks ago from Amazon, but it wasn’t expected to arrive at my house until ten days after the release. Unacceptable. I canceled my order and drove to the nearest Barnes and Noble so I could start reading right away. (In case you didn’t know, I’m a big fan of Nichoals Sparks.)

The story is about Amanda and Dawson, two high-school lovers from drastically different backgrounds. Amanda’s good-to-do southern family disapproves  of Dawson’s family, full of villains and troublemakers. Dawson tries to separate himself from his family’s associations by taking up refuge at an old man’s house. Tuck provides a safe haven (you like that pun?) for Dawson, and him and Amanda spend a ton of time together at Tuck’s. The relationship ends when Amanda goes off to Duke and Dawson ends up in jail.

Fast forward twenty years. Amanda’s married and successful. Dawson is lonely and works on an oil rig. Tuck’s death brings them back together as Tuck’s will asked each of them to carry out a ceremony for him. The fire is re-kindled but things happen. (This post will be spoiler free.) I will say the ending has a lot of twists, although as it develops the ending becomes predictable.

The backgrounds for each character are overly dramatic, even for a Nicholas Sparks book. Dawson’s family is feared and has the run of the town, but it doesn't seem like real life to me. The depth of character development is captivating. As always, the reader understands the characters’ feelings and easily falls in love with the story.

My rating for The Best of Me: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!

P.S. If you remember, I had a huge surprise for this week…well, guess who I met!!!

That’s right! Mr. Nicholas Sparks himself. A good friend alerted me of a book signing at The Coop in Harvard Square. I went there right after my half-marathon in Newport (by the way, I half-marathoned in 1 hour, 45 minutes). As soon as I got off the train I hopped in line. Before I knew it, I standing next to Nicholas Sparks. The meeting went something like this…

“How are you doing?” – Nicholas Sparks

“Good, good. I am one of your biggest guy fans. I'm guessing you're used to girls but as a guy I really like your books.” – me

“Don’t see too many guys. There are a lot of women here today. It’s usually them at these book signings.” – Nicholas Sparks

“That’s not a bad thing. It was great to meet you. Can we get a picture?” – me

"Sure." - Nicholas Sparks

In my copy of The Best of Me, he wrote: 

Nick - 

All the best. 

Nicholas Sparks

Laugh at me for being so giddy but this is one of the first “celebrities” I’ve ever met. It was awesome. The perfect ending to a perfect weekend.