Book review: the choice

I am a massive fan of Nicholas Sparks. Always have been and always will be. I remember when I first discovered his books; it was right when the movie trailer for The Last Song came out. I was so eager to see the movie that I decided to read the book, which was written alongside the movie, beforehand. Man, was I not disappointed. Not only has it become my favorite book and one that I read almost every year, but Nicholas Sparks became an author that I deeply esteem. Before long, I had set the goal for myself to read every single one of his books. I was checking them out of the library, buying them, borrowing them, ordering them online… Anything to get my hands on one of these dreamy novels. Still to this day (Sparks has written over 20 books – so far!), one of my favorites remains The Choice, which was published back in 2007. I recently stumbled upon it at the book store and couldn’t resist adding it to my personal collection. I re-read it (again) and felt really inspired to share my thoughts with you.
Rest assured; there are no spoilers in this review.

I want to start by saying that when you open up a book written by Nicholas Sparks, you know roughly what you’re in for: a beautiful love story, most likely taking place in a small town, featuring realistic characters and pushing you to reflect on your own personal life. I love that, I love that each of his novels holds a valuable lesson and is a prompt for reflection. The best part is that Sparks always finds a way to surprise his readers. Because romances often have roughly the same kind of ending, you would think that every book would end with “and they lived happily ever after”. Well, think again. Sparks’ stories, although dreamlike, are very down-to-earth and things are rarely perfect in real life. His stories all end on a peaceful note, but not necessarily the one that you would first imagine

The Choice is the story of Travis, a small town man living by his own set of rules, and Gabby, a driven young woman with very specific goals. The two neighbors develop a beautiful relationship, but face tough choices along the way. Gabby is already in a romantic relationship, one to which she is very committed, and Travis is far from the type of guy she usually falls for. Travis, on his side, will need to decide how far he’s willing to go in the name of love. As the summer unfolds, they navigate through this epic journey with grace and raw honesty.

What I liked about The Choice is how beautifully flawed Gabby and Travis’ story is. In too many romance novels, the two main characters are practically identical and they end up falling in love with basically just another version of themselves. That’s convenient, but it doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes you meet someone and you’re not ready, you’re unsure, and you can even catch yourself falling in love with someone who is almost the exact opposite as you. Travis and Gabby both see life in two different ways and they need to decide if they want to find a way to make their visions work together. That’s another lesson that I learned from this book: love sometimes is a choice. Being with someone is a choice, especially through hardships or when tragedy strikes. So often, we make the mistake of thinking that we need to find someone who fits perfectly into our life, like the missing piece of one giant puzzle, but that’s not always the case. No matter the circumstances, we need to personally decide if we’re ready to make room into our life for someone. Gabby specifically struggles with that at some point, and I think that makes her even more relatable. I see a lot of myself in Gabby and that book truly has changed the way I look at love and relationships. Generally, Sparks gives a lot of backstory for each character, which makes them come to life. It feels like these people that you’re reading about really do exist in a faraway small town, living their lives in parallel with ours.

Finally, I liked the dynamic between Gabby and Travis, where Travis helps (or at least, is trying to help) Gabby open up to love and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. I love books that remind me to look around and really take in my environment. That’s a notion that you can find in almost every single one of Sparks’ novels, and it’s probably what makes his books so soothing.

All in all, this is a 5 stars read for me. The characters are super relatable, the story is well thought-out, and you can pull very valuable lessons from that book. It makes you reflect on relationships and on the place they hold in your own life, all the while demonstrating how simple love can be. This book is like a gorgeous sunset on a summer day; everything feels warm and comforting, even in the toughest moments. If you’re looking for a good summer read, definitely pick it up or look for any Nicholas Sparks book.

If you end up reading this book (or any good book, for that matter), please let me know in the comments below! I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

"And with love like that... They say anything is possible, right? You love Gabby and Gabby loves you, and I just can't imagine a world where you're not together. Together the way you're meant to be."

-The Choice, Nicholas Sparks

Much love,