Nicholas SPARKS (2009), The Last Song, Grand Central Publishing, International Editions.

By Pablo Fernández Jover, 2º Bachillerato EFL

Ronnie Miller’s parents are divorced, so she and her brother Jonah are sent by their mother to spend the summer with their father in Wrightsville Beach, North Cardina. Before the divorce, Ronnie was passionate about the piano, an instrument that she had been playing since she was little, like her father. But, after the divorce she gave up on it, as a kind of revenge towards him. Walking by the beach, Ronnie meets Will, a volleyball player who throws the ball to her. With the excuse of apologizing for his act, he invites her on a date, but she has not gone there to find a boyfriend, so she rejects the offer. One day, Ronnie finds turtle eggs near the beach, and spends the nights protecting them from being eaten by other animals. The Aquarium is informed about the eggs and sends a volunteer to protect them: Will. Will and Ronnie spend much time together and soon they fall in love. All the happiness stops when Ronnie and Jonah find out about their father’s illness: stomach cancer. He hasn't told them anything because he wants to spend a real summer with his family. Love and music will bind Ronnie and her father again, helping them to confront his illness.

The theme of this book is love. There are other themes, such as regret. However, the most important is love; not just the romantic relationship between a girl and a boy, but also love within the family. Ronnie falls in love with Will, but she can’t forgive her father. It is sad that she only starts to be a real daughter when she knows about his illness, but this is the moral of the story: it is a foolish act to let time pass being angry with someone so special in your life, because when you realize it, it's too late, and you have wasted a lot of time and moments by his side.

I would recommend this book to people of sixteen and over.
For more information on the writer and his books http://www.nicholassparks.com