The Ending Of The Piano Teacher

Taking advantage of having an extra day for the weekend, I decided to sit down and finally finish the novel. To my surprise, Lee did an amazing job at exploring the characters and discussing a significant point in history when the Japanese were invading Hong Kong. Once the Japanese had entered China, many changes began to occur. For example, people were restricted to having only 500 calories a day. I also like how Lee made developed the type of society Hong Kong is as well. She always goes into detail about how the Chinese are unhappy that not everyone there is purely Chinese, which causes alot of uprising and chaos in the society. Although the author went into detail about the invasion, I felt that the emotion told about the characters was not as detailed. I would have liked to know more information about Melody and her sister, and what goes on. I have a feeling though that the reason why there was so much tention going on was that the sister was only tolerated in the society but was not fully respected since she was considered a non pure bredd. When reading this, I began to realize that many ethnic and racial groups today face the same problem, and learn more about the hardships that people must go through in order to survive within a society. The relationship between Melody and Claire to grow stronger as the novel progresses because in one part of the book, Claire decides to talk about Melody's weight loss and Melody responds to Claire by saying "fine, yes fine, not meeting Claire's eye. I must take better care of myself. Victor says I run around too much." Thus, it shows as if Melody does not want to deal with an issue that is bothering her, and she wants to keep her emotions to herself. Another aspect of their relationship that changed is that Melody is beginning to question whether or not Claire is enjoying her stay in Hong Kong. This complicated love triangle that Melody and Claire becomes more intense as the reader keeps reading on.....

This book was also confusing at parts, partly because it kept switching from the 1940's to the 1950's. The constant switching kept confusing me because it was hard to follow when certain events were happening. Also, I felt that the language was confusing because the sentences were very long and descriptive, causing me to become confused at parts. However, it was interesting that Lee gave us a perspective of World War II for Asia, instead of Europe, which is mainly what many historians focus on when discussing World War II.

If you are interested in a book that mainly deals with the events of World War I and learning about Asia during the 1940's and 50's then this is the book for you. You might also like this book if you don't mind reading a book that has slow beginning and middle but an exciting end to it!

The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee

I was interested in historical fiction novels when I was younger, and began to lose interest as I became older. Thankfully, this novel has showed me that I have been missing out on novels that can really tell me a lot about significant times in our history! This book takes place during the World War II era, where a young woman named Claire moves to Hong Kong with her husband because the government transferred them there nine months ago. Claire's husband is working on a construction of the Tai Lam Cheung reservoir. Claire then decides to look for a job by posting an advertisement in the paper that states that she is available to be a piano teacher. The Chen family, an upperclass family that controls many aspects of the town, decides to ask Claire to come and teach their daughter piano. Claire at first is very hesitant to teach the girl piano because she is nervous that it will not go well because she might not understand english well. However, she decides to take the job and meets Locket, Melody and Victor Chen's daughter. Melody immediatly asks what type of education Claire had taking the piano, and Claire begins to notice that the questions she had about their lives were not answered. It seems as if there is a secret that the Chen's are hiding.....why is it that they know English so well?? Is there more to the story that Mrs. Chen did not tell Claire??

So far, I find the book interesting and I like how Janice Y.K. Lee describes the emotions of Claire, even though it is in a very indirect way. The book is in the third person, which I find that it becomes harder to then relate to the characters. The language of the book is a little hard to get into as well because it is written in very descriptive wording, which causes the reader to reread the sentences a few times. However, I find that the relationship between the Chen's and Claire is very strange and awkward because it seems as if it is truly forced and that they might not get along in the future. For example, when Claire mentions that Locket needs to practice the piano more frequently, her mom uses the excuse that she is not there enough to oversee her practicing. Claire then thinks to herself "parents were all the same. When she had children she would be sure not to indulge them." Clearly, it seems as if Claire is bothered by the fact that Locket's parents believe she is the best child in the world. I predict that this implication will then hinder the relationship between Claire and Locket's parents. I truly think that Lee is clever in revealing the character traits through thoughts becuase this technique then makes character traits revealed in a subtle way, which makes the reading experience more enjoyable for the reader as supposed to making the main character very predictable.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy historical fiction novels and readers who enjoy books that reveal character traits in subtle and unique ways through a third person perspective.

The Ending Of The Last Song

Ronnie and Will's relationship definitely becomes stronger throughout the ending of the novel. Ronnie finally is beginning to reveal more personal information to Will, and even tells him about the shop lifting incident that occurred with Blaze. This then indicates to the reader that Ronnie is becoming more confident in herself, and she demonstrates this by telling Will that she does not want him to come to the court trial where they would decide what her punishment for shoplifting will be. Will even invites Ronnie to come to his sister, Megan's. wedding. Ronnie becomes very nervous around Will's family because she knows that Will comes from a wealthy family. Will's father owns a business called Blakelees Brakes." The first moment that Ronnie walks into the house she automatically thinks "I feel out of place here, and the fact that everyone probably felt out of place the first time they came here was no consolation." Ronnie is now able to fully understand the type of person she is and the one that she wants to become. In the beginning of the novel, it seemed as if Ronnie was uncertain of herself, and she expresses this by mentioning to the reader that she doesn't know what she wants in her life.

Marcus is another character that becomes more developed as the novel progresses as well. Marcus in the beginning of the book was a mystery to the reader. I found that it was very confusing and hard to fully comphrend Marcus' character because he always was very suferficial when narrating certain chapters in the novel. In the beginning seen as a teenager who was a troublemaker, it now becomes evident Marcus truly sees that he is not as tough as he appears when he thinks to himself that he "doesn't want to go to prison, no matter how short the sentence. He couldn't go to prison. He didn't belong there. He was better than that. He was smarter than that....the buildings he burned and the people he'd hurt mean absolutley nothing to him, but the thought of prison made him....sick. And never once had the fear felt closer that it had since last night. " Clearly, Marcus has no remorse for any of the damage that he is done, but it shows that he does want to make changes into his life so that he does not end up in jail. What made Marcus get into trouble in the first place??

Nicholas Sparks writes a terrific novel that could be enjoyed by readers who enjoy romantic fiction novels along with a story that has many emotions and turmoils. I found it interesting though that Nicholas Sparks made Will's mother disapprove of Ronnie. I think that by making Ronnie unliked by another parent, it almost allows Ronnie to say how her dad was feeling when he was not liked by her. One particular passage that truly highlights the connection between Will's mother, Susan and Ronnie and Ronnie and her own father is when Megan is talking to Ronnie and says "that's because you don't know her. Oh, she's tough, don't get me wrong, And protective. But once you get to know her, there's no one better in the world. She'll do anything for anyone she cares about." In other words, Megan is telling Ronnie that she needs to take the time to get to know her mom so that her mom could trust her better. This relates to Ronnie and her dad's relationship because in the beginning of the book Ronnie did not want anything to do with her father throught the summer vacation but slowly she realized that he really was a good father that did love her and care for her. Sparks possibly wanted the main character to learn the same lesson but through two different people so that he can emphasize to readers that Ronnie truly had a complication with getting to know people before making assumptions, and that Ronnie had to learn to express herself more in order for her to open up to her father and learn to have a bette relationship with him.

Overall, I found that the reading process for this novel was longer than I expected. I was engaged and interested into the plot of the story, but I found that sometimes the narration would cause me to lose interest in the novel. The entire novel was done in third person, which I found made the novel less powerful and meaningful because I found that I could not truly get into the characters and their emotions. It was also challenging to realte to the characters as well because they seemed so impersonal. Despite this fact, I still find that the plot was very throughly explained and was very engaging overall. The language and writing style was also easy to understand as well. For this reason, I would recommend this book to readers who are more plot oriented when reading a book and are not bothered by the lack of character description. I also find that Sparks also did a wonderful job at showing the hardship of divorce, which is something many people may be able to relate to.

This book was a powerful read and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy an engaging plot and are okay with waiting for understanding of the characters later on in the novel.

The Last Song Entry Four

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.

The Last Song Entry Three

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....

The Last Song Entry Two

Nicholas Sparks' change of narrator in each character really makes the novel very insightful and enjoyable for the reader. It is interesting to see the different perspectives that each character has. I am so impressed with the way that Nicholas had developed Ronnie so well and how he makes the reader feel as if we could all relate to a person who is in Ronnie's situation. The problem that Nicholas Sparks explores in this novel is divorce, which I think is a good topic for fiction writers to explore because it is a topic that affects many families today and it is one that does cause a lot of damage and hard feelings to the children affected by the divorce.

So far, Ronnie is unable to enjoy herself at Wrightsville Beach because she finds that there is nothing to do on the island. After escaping spending time wih her dad and her brother, Ronnie decides to go to the carnival and spend time at a booth that gives money to animals that need a home. After going around the carnival, Ronnie decides to go over where a volleyball tournament is being held. Automatically, Ronnie notices that the two guys on the one team "remind her of the spoiled private school types she sometimes ran into at clubs...she'd seen enough of the so-called privileged crowd to recognize a member when she saw one" Sparks provides such an interesting insight into Ronnie when we read this because now the reader is able to see that Ronnie is a person who tries to be true and honest and that she does not like people who pretend to be something they are not. Ronnie also seems to be happy to make a friend when she meets Blaze, who is so impressed by Ronnie's description of what New York looks like. Blaze then shows Ronnie a group of three boys who put on a show using fireballs. Ronnie is impressed by the talent she has, but immediatly freezes when the police show up to tell the three guys that they can not throw the fireballs on the street. Instantly, Blaze and the three boys run off, which leaves Ronnie with no chocie but to follow them as well. Has Ronnie finally found friends on the beach, or willl she soon go back to being depressed and reserved, constantly wishing she was back in New York??

I would definitly recommend this book to readers who enjoy stories about the life of teenagers. So far, I have been reading this book at a steady pace because I find that the book is so good I can not keep it down!!!

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

I never read a Nicholas Sparks novel before this one, but from reviews that I have read about him, I can tell that he is a well respected author. I had seen a couple of movies that were based on his books, such as Nights in Rodanthe and The Notebook, and I thought that the movies were excellent. Since I enjoyed the movies, I thought I would enjoy the books as well. So far, Sparks has a very unique and interesting writing style and he has such an interesting way of getting into the main character's head and really demonstrating to readers what it is like to be a teenager in modern day and how children and teenagers often handle the common problem in families--divorce. I picked this Nicholas Sparks book to read because the plot of this book seemed to grab my attention when I read the jacket of the cover and also the plot seemed different from the other book he has written.

Seventeen year old Ronnie Miller is very dissipointed about the summer plans that her mom has arranged for her. She is going to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina with her brother in order to spend time with her dad. Ronnie is upset that she will be spending time with her dad because she is hurt by the fact that it will be for the entire summer, which means that she will not have any time to spend with her friends. Throughout the car ride there she complains to her mom, and her mom keeps explaining to her that her dad is a good person and that it is good that she is spending time with him since the last time she saw him was three years ago. Ever since the divorce, Ronnie has been upset with her dad for leaving her. Her mom reminds her that her dad has visited and called a couple of times, but every time that happened Ronnie would be hanging out with friends. At this point, the reader may become curious to wonder if there is something more that occured between Ronnie and her father, but Nicholas Sparks has not revealed that to the reader yet. Could Ronnie and her father's relationship ever be saved??

So far, I am enjoying the book and I enjoy how engaging Nicholas Sparks writes and how he goes very deep into the character's thoughts.

Stay tuned for more!!!