The Best of Me (2011)

by Nicholas Sparks

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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2,877	83	3,783	(3.68)	20
This is the story of two small-town former high school sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks. Now middle-aged, they have taken wildly divergent paths, but neither has lived the life they imagined, and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever altered their world. When they are both called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter, they will be forced to confront the choices each has made, and ask whether love can truly rewrite the past.… (more)

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English (80) Catalan (1) Italian (1) Dutch (1) All languages (83)

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I had the same complaints as the other 1 and 2 star reviewers. I gave it the second star because it wasn't bad enough to abandon. (

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Seayla2020 | Aug 22, 2021 |

Another great story from Sparks. (

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mbellucci | Apr 10, 2021 |

I'm a pretty dedicated Nicholas Sparks fan and enjoy most of his books but this one won't go on my list of favorites any time soon. My biggest issues with the book was that it was just too predictable. I saw the ending coming from the so early on that it was ruined for me.

I know lots of people who feel this way about all of Spark's works but I felt this one was even more so. Usually there is some sort of twist that leaves you unsure of the specifics until the end, but this one was pretty obvious. (

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sunshine608 | Feb 2, 2021 |

Old reviews went missing. How does save not working?

Really liked it. But the ending... arghhhhh. (

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xKayx | Dec 14, 2020 |

Enjoy his writing about relationships. This one was a bit unrealistic to me. Dawson holds a torch for Amanda, his high school attraction with one night stand before she leaves for college. Amanda, although claims she still love him does nothing to find him or ever see him again. They spend a weekend together reminiscing while dealing with the funeral wishes of Tuck, the man who took Dawson. Never do any sex since she is married to a drunk. Dawson's relatives ruin his life with their revenge of past fights. Ending not fair, ghost images seemed unreal. (

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kshydog | Dec 13, 2020 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Nicholas Sparks	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Petrelli, Alessandra	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Pratt, Sean	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Rabascall, Iolanda	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Has the adaptation

The Best of Me [2014 film] by Michael Hoffman

Is abridged in

RDSELP v184 The Best of Me | Love in a Nutshell by Reader's Digest

Reader's Digest Select Editions 2012 v04 #322 by Reader's Digest

Válogatott könyvek 2013/5 Michael Connely - Zuhanás; Nichplas Sparks - Vissza hozzád; Patricia MacDonald - Kétségek között; Alan Titchmarsh - Kísért a múlt by Reader's Digest

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

Original title

The Best of Me

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2011

People/Characters

Dawson Cole

Amanda Collier

Important places

Oriental, North Carolina, USA

Important events

Related movies

The Best of Me (2014 | IMDb)

Awards and honors

New York Times bestseller (Fiction | 2011)

Epigraph

Dedication

For Scott Schwimer A wonderful friend

First words

For Dawson Cole, the halluciations began after the explosion on the platform, on the day he should have died.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Unknown if the book or the film

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

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Wikipedia in English (1)

The Best of Me (novel)

▾Book descriptions

This is the story of two small-town former high school sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks. Now middle-aged, they have taken wildly divergent paths, but neither has lived the life they imagined, and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever altered their world. When they are both called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter, they will be forced to confront the choices each has made, and ask whether love can truly rewrite the past.

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Book description

Neither of the two small-town former high school sweethearts has lived the kind of life they imagined and although they are now middle-aged, neither has forgotten the passionate first love that altered their world. When they return to their hometown for the funeral of a mentor, they're forced to confront the choices they made and ask whether love can truly rewrite the past.

They were teenage sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks - with a passion that would change their lives for ever. But life would force them apart.
Years later. the lines they had drawn between past and present are about to slip.... Called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter when the needed it most, they are faced with each other again, and forced to confront the paths they chose. Can true love ever rewrite the past?

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