Walk to remember, A
by
Sparks, Nicholas





Description:
A nostalgic look back at the 1950s in a story of first love
set in a small North Carolina town.
Review:
Booklist Review: In this nostalgic look back at the late
1950s, Sparks, author of Message in a Bottle, proves once
again that he is a master at pulling heartstrings and
bringing a tear to his readers' eyes. Beaufort, North
Carolina, is a typical small town, and Landon Carter is just
a regular guy poised to enjoy his senior year of high school
until his father, the congressman, insists that because of
his poor grades he needs to do something extra to get into
college. Reluctantly, Landon runs for class president and
wins. With his election comes responsibility, which includes
attending the school dance. This puts Landon in a panic
because he doesn't have a girlfriend. He decides to ask
Jamie Sullivan, the minister's daughter, because she is the
most acceptable of the geeks and probably hasn't been asked
yet. They have a good time but Landon doesn't think much
about her until they both star in the Christmas play, which
her father wrote about his search for love after her mother
died. Everyone is excited about Jamie starring as the angel,
and Landon takes to walking her home after rehearsals. He
finds himself falling in love, but Jamie has a secret that
will break his--and Sparks' readers'--hearts. Told in
Landon's down-home voice, this bittersweet tale will
enthrall Sparks' numerous fans and should be a big hit
during the holiday season. ((Reviewed August 1999)) -- Patty
Engelmann
Publishers Weekly Review: Sure to wring yet more tears from
willing readers' eyes, the latest novel by the bestselling
Sparks is a forced coming-of-age story concerning a pair of
unlikely young lovers. In a corny flashback device that
mimics The Notebook, 57-year-old Landon Carter spirits
himself back to his fateful senior year in high school in
Beaufort, N.C., when he was an archetypal troublemaking
teenager of the 1950s, changed forever by an unexpected
first love. Jamie Sullivan, the Bible-toting minister's
daughter, with her drab brown sweaters, spinster hairstyle
and sincere, beatific advice, is the obvious target of high
school ridicule. Despite conspiring in Jamie's derision,
class president Landon, desperate for a date for the
homecoming dance, finds himself asking Jamie. Afterwards,
Jamie asks him to participate with her in the metaphor-laden
school Christmas play (Jamie plays the angel). Landon
endures the taunting of his friends and forms an uneasy
friendship with Jamie, which is carefully supervised by her
father. The teens visit needy orphans, give Oscar-worthy
performances in the school play and share dreams watching
the sunset. Landon realizes he's in love with Jamie, but, of
course, she is hiding a devastating secret that could wring
her from Landon's arms forever. Now tortured by his
knowledge of what will be her terrible fate, he must make
the ultimate decision that catapults him into adulthood.
Readers may be frustrated with the invariable formula that
Sparks seems to regurgitate with regularity. Although the
narrator declares, "My story can't be summed up in two or
three sentences; it can't be packaged into something neat
and simple that people would immediately understand," this
is the author's most simple, formulaic, and blatantly
melodramatic package to date.
Editors Choice -> Adult Fiction for Young Adults