Book & Movie Review ~ The Last Song

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Blurb: A drama centered on a rebellious girl who is sent to a Southern beach town for the summer to stay with her father. Through their mutual love of music, the estranged duo learn to reconnect.

Usually I read a book first then see the movie, but I did it the other way around this time...

The movie: I found Ronnie in the movie to be quite pouty and annoying. Then suddenly she takes an about turn when the turtles show up and becomes caring and passionate. The dad on the other hand I like straight away and love his parenting attitude when faced with his surly daughter. Of course his parenting choices become clearer near the end when we hit a bump in the road. I liked the movie, it had a few deeper issues than just teen rebellion and I love teen movies about first love. I'd give this movie a 3 out of 5.

The book: You expect a sad ending when you read a Nicholas Sparks novel. This one delivered but with a happy twist as well. I love the journey of Ronnie, a surly teen, as she gets to know her father again, finds out the truth of what happened between her parents and falls in love. The book scores slightly higher than the movie with a 3.5 out of 5.

The Movie vs Book (spoilers): The book, as usual, provides a heap more details than a movie ever could. Why the father left the mother is explained in the book, which I would have liked to know in the movie (and I would have liked the father even more!) The book gave Ronnie much more reason for her bad behaviour and explained much more about Marcus and Blaze. I liked both book and movie for different reasons. I'm a sucker for seeing lovey dovey stuff on screen and first kisses. If you liked the movie, give the book a go, you won't regret it!