Over spring break, I read A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks. Normally, I wouldn't read a book like this, but I decided to test some new genres. I usually read contemporary fiction or real life dramas, but not love stories. However, I wanted to try something new.
This books focuses on the romance of Jamie Sullivan and Landon Carter. Like many other high school romances and fairy tales, Landon is the popular guy and Jamie is the least popular girl in school and is very Christian. They are both in a drama class and grow very close when Landon needs help with his lines. Predictably, they fall in love. Later, Jamie tells Landon that she has leukemia and has stopped responding to her treatments. They marry, which was Jamie's dream, and she later dies.
Though this would not be a normal read for me, I did enjoy the book. It was a tragic tale of two innocent humans who fell in love, but in the end their love wasn't enough to keep Jamie alive. Something that I really enjoyed about the book was that it was realistic. When someone has untreatable cancer, it's very obvious that they will not survive, no matter how much love they receive. So, I was pleasantly surprised that Sparks kept the ending very believable. Now, I wasn't happy that Jamie died because I wanted to see her die, but I was happy that the book didn't turn into a fantasy world where everything is perfect. I actually compare the death of Jamie to the trial of Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird. In the latter book, if Tom wouldn't have been convicted, the book would be very unrealistic...the same goes for if Jamie would have lived.
Sparks wrote this book to display the innocence of blind love. Landon and Jamie are high schoolers...they think that they're invincible and that nothing can touch them, especially Landon. He believes that everything is perfect and that nothing can go wrong, but he in fact is wrong. I don't think that Sparks was trying to display that all good things come to an end, however he partially did. I think that he was trying to get his readers to believe that true love has no boundaries; it is limitless. This is the first book of Sparks that I have read, but I know that most of his other books are romance novels. He is trying show that love can affect anybody at anytime, and that is the message/theme. There are endless possibilities of who can be affected by love; like I said, it's limitless. Never rule out the chance of falling in love, because it can happen to anyone. But, you also have to keep in mind that love is not immortal; it can be affected by things. For instance, Jamie dying from her cancer. Something that Sparks makes known at the end of the book is that Landon still has undying love for Jamie. Love, he's trying to say, will go on forever, no matter what has happened previously.
Jamie Sullivan is by far the best character. She was brave, fearless, compassionate, and caring. Jamie was very Christian and wanted to make a difference in other people's lives; and she did. Jamie did everything in her power to make the lives of other's the best possible, and because of that she was a great person. She taught Landon how to be a better person. Sparks, I think, tried to make Jamie be a living model of what it means to live. The only criticism I have about Jamie is that she seems slightly too good to be true. She seems too nice and good...and that makes her a little unbelievable. Overall, though, she was a great character and even inspired me to try and be a better person.
A question that I have for Sparks would be, first of all, did you try to make this story seem almost like a fairy tale? Why did Landon fall in love with Jamie when he didn't even care about her? Also, why was Jamie outcasted so much? I know that she was "different" and was very Christian, but why did everybody not like her? If she was such an incredible person, why had nobody seen that?
Overall, this was a great book that truly did make me want to become a better person. I definitely will be reading more of his books in the future.
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