The Last Song: A Novel

Bibliographic Information: Sparks, N. (2009). The Last Song. Boston, MA: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN: 0446547565


Plot Summary: Ronnie, the main character of The Last Song, is a rebellious teenager. Ronnie and her brother, Jonah, are set to spend the summer at their father's house but Ronnie has not spoken to her dad, Steve, in three years. Steve was a Julliard piano professor and Ronnie believed he left his family to tour as a concert pianist. Ronnie was angry because she felt her father didn't love her or her brother. As the story unfolds, Ronnie finds out how wrong she was about her father. Steve lives in Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina. He is building a stained glass window for the church and he is close with the pastor. Jonah immediately bonds with his father but Ronnie takes off. She becomes fast friends with Blaze, who is troubled and hangs out with bad kids.

Blaze thinks that Ronnie is after her boyfriend, Marcus, so Blaze frames Ronnie for shoplifting. Ronnie gets caught and she is in big trouble because she was previously arrested for shoplifting. Ronnie told her dad she was framed, and he believed her. Ronnie starts to see what a caring and gentle person her father is. Ronnie strikes up a romance with Will who is from a wealthy family. Ronnie and Will fall deeply in love but will be going their separate ways when summer is over: Will will be attending Vanderbilt University. Ronnie's father ends up seriously ill with stomach cancer and Ronnie stays with him until his death. After her father's death, Ronnie finishes the song he had been working on and takes up piano and composing. She had stopped piano altogether after her father had left. Ronnie found out later that he left because her mother was having an affair. Ronnie applied and was accepted to Julliard and Will transfers to Columbia to be close to her.


Critical Evaluation: The Last Song is typical Nicholas Sparks: melodramatic on the verge of corny but difficult to put down. Two high school students I work with told me I must read this novel. One of the girls finished it in one day. For lovers of romance, overcoming obstacles and dealing with death of a loved one, it is an excellent read.

Annotation: A rebellious teenager finds love with a young man and love for a father she had not spoken to in three years.

About the Author: Nicholas Sparks is a famous author of romance novels. He was born in Nebraska and ended up in Los Angeles while his father worked towards his Ph.D. at USC. Nicholas was a good student and received a full scholarship for track at the University of Notre Dame. Nicholas started writing after getting injured in track. His mother told him to stop moping around and "do something". His first book, "The Passing", was finished eight weeks later but was never published.

Nicholas fell in love and married, but his mother died from a horseback riding accident when she was only 47 years old. The family was devastated. Sparks' next novel was also unpublished, so he worked in various jobs until he decided to try writing again. In 1995 The Notebook was published and it was extremely successful and made into a popular movie.

Retrieved March 21, 2010 at: http://www.nicholassparks.com/

Message in a Bottle followed in 1998 and was also made into a major motion picture. Sparks has continued to pump out extremely popular novels including: A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodathe, The Wedding, to name a few.

Genre: Fiction: Romance, Tragedy

Curriculum Ties: None

Book Talking Ideas: Read the latest Nicholas Sparks novel, The Last Song, that is to be made into a major motion picture starring Miley Cyrus. It's a must read for lovers of romance and heartache.

Reading Level and Interest Age: 13 and up

Challenge Issues: Sexual references, drug use.

Reason for Inclusion: For readers to "escape" into a world where family relationships are healed and tragedy is overcome.