The Choice

Nicholas Sparks

Sept 2007 · Sold by Grand Central Publishing

About this eBook

Opposites attract in this moving #1 New York Times bestseller of love lost and found between a medical student and the man who captures her heart.

Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life—boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies—he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door.

Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him . . . and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn’t help. Despite himself, Travis can’t stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. 

Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage, and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heart-wrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

Ratings and reviews

How far should you go for love? The Choice by Nicholas Sparks is a wonderfully descriptive piece about the choices in life. Sparks connects the reader to the characters by showing their thoughts and feelings. Each character is believable, and the reader can easily relate to them. Through his story, Sparks shows romance and drama intertwined impeccably, while also adding touches of suspense. In the quiet, waterfront town of Beaufort, North Carolina, in May 1996, Travis Parker meets his new next door neighbor, Gabby Holland. First impressions are not the best on both sides, but after spending some time together, the two grew close. Gabby’s long-time boyfriend, Kevin, made things complicated, and she was faced with a choice between Travis and Kevin. The story flashes forward eleven years to February 2007. Gabby has been lost in a coma at the local hospital for three months, due to a car accident, leaving her husband with a formidable decision. All he kept asking himself was: “How far should you go to keep the hope of love alive?” Sparks uses these decisions to send the reader on a dramatic journey through the aspects of love and faith. Sparks wants the reader to feel sympathetic towards the characters and to learn to cherish life. The Choice shows the power of true love and the need for hope. Sparks uses the characters’ love to teach the reader the importance of hope and life. The characters have an undying bond that keeps them close, even in each others’ absence. When it seems like there is nothing left to hang on to, the characters pull themselves up and move on, coming out much stronger in the end. The Choice is a very heartfelt novel with a heavy and heated romance, giving vivid descriptions of every scene. An example that illustrates this is: “With the motorcycle zipping along, they left the quiet confines of their neighborhood. ...they were making their way through Beaufort and over the small bridge that separated them from the Morehead City limits.” The reader can almost taste the salty sea air, as Sparks creates a light, carefree atmosphere with depictions such as, “They trudged toward the low dune, a spot shaded by a sickly, salt-poisoned tree, with branches all pointing in the same direction, bent by years of ocean breezes.” Although the action picks up in the second part of the book, the first part is very slow, leaving the reader anxious for some action. There was so much time spent on developing the characters and their relationship, that it took away from time spent on any action. I’m a hopeless romantic, so Nicholas Sparks always grabs my attention and keeps me wanting more. In The Choice, I learned to love life and find hope in every situation, no matter how hard. Love is a beautiful thing and should be cherished and taken full advantage of, because a person never knows when he/she will leave this world. Sparks shows that even through the most trying times, hope can be found, and a person must hold onto that hope, rely on it, and hold it dear. Even though there were parts of the book that were slow and average, as a whole, I enjoyed the book. I would recommend this book to someone who likes romances, as it is a great love story. Sparks shows his affectionate, emotional side in The Choice, bringing to life modern characters through a fictional story. The plot wasn’t complicated, and the book was easy to read, making it perfect for anyone in their teens or older.

Its a reminder that sometimes as much as you want to pick love outside forces pin your back against the wall and make you choose otherwise for reasons beyond your control. A very good book in literally every word, he usual writing style

It was just ok. I have read a lot of this author's books and this is my least favourite so far. I felt like the story jumped around too much.

About the author

Nicholas Sparks is the author of twenty-four books, all of which have been New York Times bestsellers. His books have been published across more than fifty languages with over 150 million copies sold worldwide, and eleven have been adapted into films. He is also the founder of the Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences. He lives in North Carolina.