In tune with my out-of-the-closet Nicholas Sparks book and movie obsession, I decided to read "The Best of Me" in preparation for the release of the movie. Four or five hours after picking it up at the local bookstore, I put down the completed novel, and was not at all covered in the typical afterglow I get after a good, cheesy Nicholas Sparks read. The story felt like a conglomerate of all previous Nicholas Sparks' novels, particularly The Notebook and Dear John. It lacked originality and creativity, and felt like someone had just combined all the "proper" elements of an "epic love story". Lots of cheesy, lovey-dovey moments, a splash of separation, a pinch of family drama, and a dash of sacrifice. Needless to say, I was not impressed.
Teenagers Dawson Cole and Amanda Collier are from complete opposite sides of the track. Despite the world being against them, and their radically different socioeconomic backgrounds, Dawson and Amanda fall head over heels in love until the tragic events of one night send them reeling and onto different paths. Nearly twenty-five years later, the death of Dawson's mentor, Tuck Hostetler, re-unites the two former lovers. As they carry out Tuck's last wishes, Dawson and Amanda are pitched head first into the countless memories from their past, their regrets, and their long lost love for one another. Can their love ever be re-kindled or has too much transpired in the last twenty-five years for them to be those two people that were once crazy about each other?
I suppose it's worth a read, especially if you want to watch the movie, but I wouldn't expect too much of it (I stopped watching the movie twenty minutes in....what can I say, I get bored easily). Nicholas Sparks really needs to up his game and come up with some new material instead of recycling his usual "tear-jerker" material.
