By Nicholas Sparks
Grand Central Publishing, $25.99, 292 pages
ISBN 9780446547659

The Best of Me is another touching love story by Nicholas Sparks. With some great moments that are emotionally moving, there are also some elements of predictability with this story.||In Oriental, North Carolina we meet Dawson Cole and Amanda Collier. These two are an unlikely couple being from different classes. Dawson is linked to the violence of an infamous local family, while Amanda has high aspirations of going to a university to further her studies. The two fall in love with each other in their senior year of high school. Due to several circumstances, their relationship comes to end and each of them moves on with their lives along separate paths. Many years later, twenty-five years later to be exact, they reunite in Oriental for the funeral of their mutual friend Tuck Hostetler. Amanda is now married and the mother of four children. Tuck has left last wishes for Dawson and Amanda to carry out. As they do, they find out things they never knew about their friend, and come face to face with the choices they have made in their lives. Sparks is always skillful at putting forth strong romances. However, this romance has some violence that goes with it. It is obvious as the story progresses, where Sparks is going with the conclusion.

“After all, she had known the kind of love that was worth risking everything for, the kind of love that was as rare as a glimpse of heaven.”

There are many touching moments throughout this love story as well as a sweet sentiment that can bring tears to the reader, making The Best of Me worth a read.

Reviewed by Jennifer Ochs