The Best of Me

Nicholas Sparks

Oct 2011 · Sold by Grand Central Publishing

About this eBook

In this #1 New York Times bestselling novel of first love and second chances, former high school sweethearts confront the painful truths of their past to build a promising future—together.

"Everyone wanted to believe that endless love was possible. She'd believed in it once, too, back when she was eighteen."

In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in their small town in North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.

Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back home for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew—about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear—was not as it seemed.

Forced to confront painful memories, the former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?

Ratings and reviews

This is the first Nicholas Sparks book I read after watching so many of the films based on his books. At first the book was going like a nice love story, but the end totally killed me..... I expected a story that was more realistic and not as tragic. I'm not saying the book is bad, the Author is great, but the ending could have been different.

It's a beautiful love story. Not a fairy tale at all. It does not have your typical Hollywood novel ending where two people who deeply love each end up together. The book made me sad through out every page and in the end, you can't help the tears... However, the end was predictable to me...right at the point where Dr announced that Jared needed a heart transplant... Yet, I would still highly recommend reading the book.

It a great love story of two unlike people to date,and even end up almost running away together. Later down the road the two met again only to find there love still remains strong even after all this time,even when Dawson passes he still leave behind a piece of him, his heart donated to Amanda son Jared.

About the author

With over 100 million copies of his books sold, Nicholas Sparks is one of the world's most beloved storytellers. His novels include sixteen #1 New York Times bestsellers, and all of his books, including Three Weeks with My Brother, the memoir he wrote with his brother, Micah, have been New York Times and international bestsellers, and were translated into more than fifty languages. Eleven of Nicholas Sparks's novels—The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven, The Lucky One, The Last Song, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle—have been adapted into major motion pictures.