The Last Song- Nicholas Sparks

Veronica "Ronnie" Miller won't be eighteen until the end of the summer, so she has to follow her mom's rules and is off with her younger brother, Jonah, to spend the summer with her dad in a North Carolina beach town. Ronnie hasn't talked to her dad in over three years. He left New York City and their family and moved back to his hometown. Ronnie is rebellious and having been arrested for shoplifting back home, a quiet summer in North Carolina might be the best thing for her. At least that's what her mother thinks.

Ronnie arrives with the intention of ignoring her dad. On her first night there she wanders the beach and meets a girl, Blaze, who seems okay. But Blaze is addicted to Marcus, and Marcus is bad news. And Marcus is interested in Ronnie. Ronnie can tell Marcus is trouble and tries to avoid him. But the triangle will ultimately create problems.

On a brighter note, Jonah is totally content in North Carolina and with spending time with his father. He has no desire to return to New York City. Jonah has joined his father in creating a replacement stained glass window for a church that burned in town.

As the summer unfolds, Ronnie falls in love with a local boy, Will. She discovers the wonders of Loggerhead turtles. And she learns to trust her father all over again. As the summer comes to a close, more than one tragedy occurs, and Ronnie must face some hard truths in her life.

I have to admit that it's been a while since I truly loved one of Mr. Sparks' novels. Don't get me wrong, I do adore his work. But it's been ages since I sat down with one of his books and found myself with tears in my eyes. This was one of those rare stories. With about forty pages to go in the novel, I found myself with wet eyes and the sniffles.