Natalie Koch
Period: 1& 2
I recently read the novel written by Nicholas Sparks, entitled The Last Song. The book
detailed the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of a teenage girl who was bitter about her parents
divorce, angry that she has to spend the summer at her father’s house, falls in love, learns to
forgive, and grows up as she deals with her father’s failing health.
Ronnie is a young, rebellious teenager who is struggling to find herself. Not only is she
dealing with teenage issues, she’s forced to deal with issues she never chose to face. Strengths of
this book include allowing the reader to view and relate to Ronnie and the relationships she
shares with her parents, younger brother and new boyfriend. Ronnie, discovers the real value of
family and love. The author held the attention of the reader and there were no weaknesses in his
writing. It continually remained interesting and was hard to put down.
My favorite character was Ronnie because I understand what it means to be frustrated
with parents and feeling like you cannot communicate with them. I also know what it feels like
to be misunderstood. Ronnie is strong willed and stubborn. She’s a lot different than most girls
and stands out in the crowd because she doesn’t feel the need to fit in by dressing and acting like
most girls. In the beginning of the book, Ronnie’s only loving relationship was with her younger
brother. She resisted a close relationship with her father and turned away from a friendship with
a young man named Will. As Ronnie’s father and Will continued to reach out to her, Ronnie’s
heart eventually softened. When Ronnie offers forgiveness to her father and accepts his love, she
is able to honestly tell him that not only does she love him, but that she needs him. The same is
true in her relationship with Will.
The writer targeted this novel towards teenage girls. This book offers romance, comedy,
drama and sadness. My favorite part in this book would have to be when Ronnie realizes that her
father’s health is decreasing. This is my favorite part because this is when healing and change of
heart takes place in Ronnie and true love is shown. While this is my favorite part of the book, it
is also the saddest part because her father only has a short time to live. During this same time
Ronnie’s boyfriend admits to knowing the truth about a church fire that Ronnie’s father had been
blamed for months and has been carrying around the guilt. Will begs his friend (that caused the
fire) to admit the incident and ask for forgiveness. The grace of Ronnie’s father to forgive the
young man’s choice for hiding the truth for so long brought peace to both men and allowed
Ronnie to see the strong character of her dad.
The Last Song connected with me because I understand how easy, and how wrong, it is to
hold grudges against the people you love. I strongly recommend this book to all teenage girls.
Not only did the author describe common thought of all teenagers, he was effective in presenting
a great plot with a powerful ending.