Book Report in English: A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Book Report in English: A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

“Love is like a wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it”
The book “A Walk to Remember” is a novel by Nicholas Sparks. It is a story of two teenagers who fall in love with each other despite of their different attitude and character. The story was set in the mid-1950 in Beaufort, North Carolina. The book was adapted into a film with the same title in the year 2002. The movie was directed by Adam Shankman. The movie stars were Shane West and Mandy Moore. The movie won several awards like “Year Ceremony Category Result 2002 MTV Movie Awards Breakthrough Female Performance won by Mandy Moore, 2002 Teen Choice Awards Film - Choice Breakout Performance, Actress won by Mandy Moore, 2002 Teen Choice Awards Film - Choice Chemistry (Moore/West) won 2002 Teen Choice Awards Film - Choice Actress, Drama/Action Adventure nominated for Mandy Moore (lost to Natalie Portman)”. Nicholas Charles Sparks was born the second son of Patrick and Jill Sparks on December 31, 1965 in Omaha, Nebraska.His first published work was a book with the Olympic athlete Billy Mills that published in 1990. He moved from California to North Carolina as a pharmaceutical salesman in 1992 and wrote The Notebook, which was later published in 1996. That really sparked his writing career and since The Notebook (1996), he has been the best selling author of several books, including: Message in a Bottle(1998), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), Three Weeks With My Brother (2004), True Believer (2005), and At First Sight (2005), which is his latest and will no doubt be as popular as all his others have been. This novel, A Walk to Remember, published in 1999, was made into a movie which grossed an estimated $13.57 million on its opening weekend. It is inspired by his sister’s life and courage. He is also the co-author of Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding. This novel was a main selection for the Literary Guild and the Doubleday Book Club. Interesting fact: Sparks and J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels, are the only two authors to ever have both a hardcover and paperback on the New York Times Best seller list at the same time for over a year. The book was Sparks third novel. The manuscript for A Walk to Remember was written in the summer of 1998 in North Carolina. The prologue of the book was in the last part which was like his first novel, The Notebook. The book’s title was taken from one of its tail end page. The book’s point of view is in first person. Sparks’ inspiration in doing the novel was his sister, Danielle Sparks who died in June 2000 due to cancer. Even the story is fictional, some of its part were taken from real life experience like his sister’s husband who propose marriage despite of his sister’s sickness. After the death of her sister, Sparks said in the eulogy "... I suppose I wrote this novel not only so that you could get to know my sister, but so that you would know what a wonderful thing it was that her husband once did for her.” The novel was published in the fall of October 1999 in hardcover print, and later in paperback edition. It spent nearly six months in the best-seller list on hardcover, and an additional four months on paperback The novel received mixed reviews from critics. Examples are The Sunday New York Post holds that it "never fails to be interesting, touching, at times riveting ... a book you won't soon forget", African Sun Times echoes the former's comments, saying, "A remarkable love story that, like its predecessors, will touch the hearts of readers everywhere.", New York Daily News compliments Sparks, commenting that he "has written a sweet tale of young but everlasting love, and though he's told us to expect both joy and sadness, the tears will still come", Clarissa Cruz of Entertainment Weekly, however, panned the novel, saying, "With its cliche-riddled prose and plot twists that can be predicted after skimming the prologue, Nicholas Sparks' latest, A Walk To Remember, reads more like the script for a bad after-school special than anything approaching literature." Although the novel is number 12 on their list of 1999 Bestsellers Fiction, Publishers Weekly described it as "a forced coming of age story" and "the author's most simple, formulaic, and blatantly melodramatic package to date". The book has moral on it. You will learn from it and can be an inspiration to those who lack faith.
The story was told through the memories of a fifty seven year old man, looking back on his past, a past that he will never forget. This man is Landon Carter. He immediately begins his story, taking the reader back in 1958, in the town of Beaufort, North Carolina. Landon has to choose between a chemistry class and a drama class at his local high school. Landon decides to take the dram class and there he is reacquainted with Jamie Sullivan, a classmate of his. Being the president of his high school , Landon must find a date for the upcoming homecoming dance to fulfill a duty as a president. After desperately searching for a date, he comes to the conclusion that he’ll have to ask Jamie, something he would have never even considered a few weeks before. Jamie, his preachers daughter, was never accepted at school. She always wear the same clothing, carried the same worn-out bible, and never did anything wrong. Jamie accepts hs proposal to go to the dance, and after a collection of events, Landon slowly realizes that he has fallen in love with the most unlikely girl. After many dates Landon learns that Jamie had terminal leukemia and has stop responding to treatment. Landon wants to fulfill Jamie’s wish list example by building a telescope so she can see a comet. Through this process, Landon and Jamie learn more about the nature of love. The book end with Jamie’s death, but only after the couple are married in the same chapel as was Jamie’s deceased mother, the event that tops Jamie’s wish list. The novel explores into the themes of love, faith, and spirituality. Raised a Catholic, Sparks incorporated spirituality in the novel because, according to him, it is "a story of the beauty, power and innocence of first love". This theme is depicted, at most, in Jamie's character who always bring a Bible wherever she goes. The theme of love conquers all is the most prevalent theme. Every time Landon tries to deny the impact Jamie is having on his life, the love that she is slowly building in him and around him refuses to allow him to turn his back on his better nature. She also spreads her love to everyone else in the community and changes everyone for the better. The theme of God’s Plan is also an important idea.

The writer’s style is great because it shows intellectual and emotional qualities. Intellectual quality because the story is clear and realistic due to the true experience of the author. Emotional quality because it is interesting and show the true meaning of love. The stylistic device that the author use is the Bible which shows that faith in God can make you witness strength and miracles.

The book suggest that in life whenever there is faith in God, miracles can happen. The book left out a moral and an inspiration to me. Faith is the best weapon to defeat any illness and love really conquers all. I’m inspired to live life to the fullest and study harder because God gave one life and it is up to us how we use and spend it wisely. There are no parts that are not convincing. For me all are real and true to life. I can relate the death of my cousin to the story because of faith in God, he pass the limit of the doctor and live for almost one more year. The lesson is like a wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it.


Melchoy C. De Jesus
IV-Einstein