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Ronnie and her father's relationship seems to develop into a friendly one. After Ronnie decides that she does not want to hang out with Blaze and her group, she begins to then try and spend time with her father. That night, Ronnie decides to sleep outside and watch over a nest of a rare species of turtles that are on the beach. The reader may seem surprised that Ronnie has such a deep affection for animals, since it seems as if Ronnie really does not seem to have much care for anyone or anything. Ronnie clearly seems to not want to make friends with anybody else in town. This is demonstrated by Will, who is the volleyball player that hit volleyball at her, which caused another person's drink to spill all over her clothes. Will seems interested in trying to be friends with Ronnie because he constantly thinks about her and he is intrigued by the way she is always assertive. Ronnie truly though has no intention of being friends with him...she didn't even him her name when he asked! Ronnie seems to be the type of girl who really does not want to be friends with anybody and she simply just wants to go through life on her own. Ronnie seems to have a difficult time expressing the type of person she is throughout the book, which I wonder if that is due to all the problems she had with her father......

Nicholas Sparks really does a excellent job at showing how a family is coping with a divorce. I really though would love to see what is going through the mother's mind as her children are with their father. I think that this would make the novel very interesting because the reader could then have another insight added to the book. Also, I would like to see more of Will's personality developed deeper because I find it confusing to get to know him and see what type of person he is. Other than that, Sparks does a overall fantastic job at developing Ronnie, Steven and Jason. The reader can clearly see throughout the novel that Steven is truly upset that he has not been there for his children. I find it interesting how Ronnie and Steven were unable to get along for most of the novel even though they both share a common interest in playing the piano. Ronnie had quit playing the piano, and Steven seems to play on the piano every time that Ronnie and him get into a fight. Symbolically, I think that Steven represents everything that Ronnie lost once he left, such as her love for life and others and her passion for playing the piano. Could Steven be the one that brings Ronnie back and will allow her to see that her real talent lies in playing the piano??

The pacing of book seems to be holding my interest well. However, sometimes I find that there is too much description added when it is not needed. For the most part, I think this book is very touching and should be recommended to readers who enjoy a heart warming stories. The topics that Nicholas Sparks explores in this novel is so widely discussed today that so many people will be able to relate to the book.

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The way that the main character, Ronnie, develops throughout the novel is quite remarkable. Ronnie's insight that she sees on the people she is hanging out with is so mature and unexpected from a girl who is rebellious to her parents. Quite often we see in today's society that teens are rebellious teens are angry and rude to their parents for various reasons. However, we also find that teens usually are not wiling to use human intellect and reason to decide that their friends are influencing them into behavior that is dangerous and will have a negative impact on their future.

However, Ronnie uses judgment in order to see that Blaze and her group of friends are ones that will negatively impact her. For example, when Ronnie sees that Blaze and her friends are drunk, she refuses to have a drink and then decides to go home to her dad. Ronnie also left Bower's point because Marcus, who was a friend of Blaze, decided to ask Ronnie to go on a walk to the beach with him and Ronnie felt uncomfortable with him because Ronnie really does not trust him and believes that "acting normal was simply a game he played so he could manipulate people."

Nicholas Sparks' writing style is very profound and I like how he contrasts the characters of Ronnie and her brother Jason. Throughout the book, Jason and Steven, their father, are constantly spending time together. Jason is always eager to do something with his dad, from going to the festival to walking along the beach looking at crabs and kite flying. I think that Sparks purposely made the relationship between Ronnie and Steven more distant and complex then Jason and Steven's relationship because I think he is trying to show the difference between teenagers and younger children, and how as children grow up, they rely less and less on their parents for guidance and look at themselves for intellect and reason. However, because Jason is still a young child, it is showing that he still needs intellect, reason and guidance to support him, which is why he wants to spend time with his dad. This occurring theme of maturity and growing up is one that is found in many novels, and if you are a reader that enjoys these type of profound meanings in literature, then you will definitely enjoy reading this book....