The Last Song is a story of a seventeen (i can't remember much on the details, like numbers. i finished the novel in two consecutive nights, last week, i think. if i'd thought about posting this on my blog then, this would be a reaaaaaally long one - this is more on the basics and everything that melted my heart on those two nights i spent alone locked in my room while reading the e-book on the computer) year-old girl named Ronnie (short for Veronica) and her little ten-year old brother, Jonah. their parents were divorced. her mom was getting remarried, and her dad lived somewhere else. in a beach-y kinda place. like i said, i forgot the names and dates and other details. her dad was a pianist, who used to teach at the Julliard School for Arts. he quit his teaching job to be a concert pianist when Ronnie was around fourteen or thirteen. his decision to leave Julliard tore his family apart. his two children were left with their mom. Ronnie banished her passion for the piano, which she learned and inherited from her dad. when Ronnie was seventeen, she and her brother were sent to spend their summer with their dad. little did they know that their father was dying. he had stomach cancer, just like his father. it ran in his family. thinking that her dad was the villain in her life (think Veronica Mars' perspective: the hero is the one that stays, and the villain is the one that splits. she probably thought that way somehow), she avoided him at all costs. she refused to listen to him play the piano, and refused to play for him. in fact, she showed so much hatred for her dad's piano that led him to build up a wall around it. she avoided the talks and everything. in short, she pretty much hated her dad ever since he left them. Jonah was alright with everything. he was cute as a bug. her father tried being a normal dad. he tried to rebuild his bond with his daughter. during summer, Ronnie befriends the risky (kinda emo, actually) and rebellious kids in the area and discovers love in Will Blakelee. he was a beach volleyball player, and the son of this rich dude. Blakelee Brakes was the name of their company. they were rich, alright. very. so yeah. they fall in love, kinda like the same in all the other novels by Nicholas Sparks. the mother doesn't like her and thinks that Will deserves better. the bestfriend thinks he's wasting his time on Ronnie. the jealous ex-girlfriend gets mad and tries to break them up. and the dad is the one that stays good about all this. the rebellious kids get in a huge chaos with Ronnie (like, police trouble). oh, yeah. by the way, the one thing that strengthens the bond between Ronnie and Will is a nest of sea turtles. she loves animals. she's a marshmallow, despite the character she tries to pull of in front of everyone. Will was a volunteer at the aquarium (that place in that place that takes care of the animals in the area, blah blah blah). and then the good part comes. (this is where i started to cry the second night) Ronnie's dad starts coughing up blood, and the truth about his cancer comes out. it's spreading through his pancreas and everything, which meant that he was gonna die soon. Ronnie was devastated. Jonah couldn't understand the situation. he thought his dad was gonna get better someday. aaaaaand, fast-forward again. Will leaves for college, which means yes, they broke up (and neither of them took it well - they had a fight). Jonah and his mom go back to New York, while Ronnie stayed behind. for months, she took care of him, regretting every thing she said and did to him. she thought hard on what she was missing. she kept thinking about what God wanted her to do. until she found the right thing. she had to finish the song her dad had been composing (but couldn't get right). she played the song for him, and that's when he dies. in the epilogue, Ronnie auditions for Julliard. Will transfers to a university in New York, which of course, means Ronnie and Will get back together in the end.
i know. when i tell the story like that, it loses the spark. hahaha. if only i had thought about blogging my review for this novel the same night i finished it! gaaaaah. this post would've been very accurate about the things i felt. too bad. 'cause the thought about this novel only resurfaced when a good friend of mine Plurked about it. so yeah. here goes.
i'm a novel person. really, i love them. but lately, i couldn't find the time to read anything that made much sense. all i could read was fiction (like, fantasy fiction. not the inspiring ones.). my busy schedule at school made it impossible for me to grab a good book and read. but this novel, i just had to read. i'm not a fan of Miley Cyrus, but okay. i guess she could do well if she wanted to, right? hahaha. and i'm sure all the other actors in the movie can, too. so anyway. the book.
the book was awesome. it's the typical Nicholas Sparks-Mitch Albom-Paulo Coelho kinda type. i know, they write differently. but still. they all write fiction. inspiring ones. stories that make you think. about life, about love, about friendship, about family. and most importantly, about God. the kind of books that make you stop whenever a good line comes and think, "oo nga, ano? i never realized that!" the ones that make you forget about your fears and everything you're supposed to be busy with (like, say, homework or a dressmaking project - lol).
i knew who all the actors were. well, not *who* exactly. but i knew what they looked like. so i could picture every scene when i read. i could see the emotions they felt, and i felt everything. the part where Ronnie's father's illness was finally discovered, i just had to let it out. i'd never been a good daughter. i must admit, for a second there, i had to think, "what if this was my father? my dad?" i couldn't bear the pain. it made me feel like i wanted to say, i am never gonna talk back to my dad anymore. (but still, i do. sorry. some things just gotta happen) but it did make me realize. changed me, maybe. in my thoughts, i guess. for it to change me in my acts would have to take a little more time. we'll get there. slowly.
this book really made me feel different things about family. love can wait. i'd never experienced that in a really troubling situation yet. but reading the book made me feel like i have. i felt God when i read it. it made me think about how much i'd missed out on my family. all those times i talked back to each of them. every single lie i've told. but then i get confused. i'm graduating. how can i possibly not try to spend every little minute with my classmates and friends when i know that in just a few months, i might not see them for a long time after graduation? but them, my family, they're always there. and if given a chance, i might be spending my college years with my sister. and if that did happen, our parents might even move to Manila. we'd always be together.
whatever. i hadn't decided what to do about that. and i choose not to. haha. the most important thing is that i let it out. this post may not actually contain much. i couldn't say the right words about what i felt when i read this book. i just know that it moved me in every possible way it can. it showed me the things that could happen in my life that i'd never expected nor wanted. and i love every single bit of it.
Nicholas Sparks, i can't begin to explain. i love this novel. you are a great author. you are amazing. mwah. =)
ming! now i know unsa imung na-feel when you read the book!! hahaha :') sweet au sila ni will! :D
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