The Notebook

Sooo, I read this book in 2003 when I was in high school at age 17. As soon as I finished the book I knew my life had been impacted forever. The idea of an EPIC love grew within me and it changed the way I viewed relationships in our modern world. I grew up and stopped dating my high school sweetheart, Lester. In 2008 tragedy struck his life and has been away in a distant land separated from home and his loved ones. I think that ever since then I've avoided even watching the motion picture. Told myself that Epic Love is only written in Nicholas Sparks books and became angry at the men that came into my life. Well, throughout the years i always thought of that sad boy and what became of his life. All along I craved a love so pure and genuine like Lesters but never found it. We are now 34 years old. On June 14th, 2020 Lester came rushing back into my life. Well more like, I came rushing in like a hurricane if you ask him, bringing back old memories of a safer easier time. Our story began with a letter from him when we were 14 years old. Asking me if I wanted to speak on our parent's house phone. I was an overprotected child and if my mother found out I was speaking to a boy, she would make sure that I cut all connections with him. So we kept our (young love) a secret. We went to different high schools so he would sometimes ask his mom to drop him off at my high school so he could say hi and see me for 5 minutes. One day, Lester showed up with his mother wanting to speak with my mother about allowing us to date of course while always having a chaperone around us. My mother was soooo upset, but his boldness won her over and she agreed as long as we were being supervised. Years passed and we turned 17 and I wanted to experience different things. So we ended things and went separate ways. 19 years later, we are in a loving relationship. As soon as we reconnected we just knew God had made us for each other. Our story is definitely not The Notebook, but it's a reminder that Epic Love does exist and it can withstand time and circumstances. We are also going to be writing our love story and how God rushed in and saved us both from living empty lonely lives. Right now, we are believing God for a miracle. In the meantime, while we wait for our circumstances to change and for God's mercy over his life. I sent him The Notebook. Noah and Allies story has brought a timeless love back to us. Through Nicholas Sparks words, we get to read about faith and destiny. To believe in the power of love and how two people so lost can find each other once again. I know Lester will be coming home sooner than we anticipated. This book meant everything to me while growing up. It gave me hope. I hope you guys enjoy your love stories. And if it hasn't happened yet, don't worry, your Epic Love Story will arrive and you will be glad you never settled.

Great book and it was in good condition very pleased with my purchase

THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks is the love story of a man and a woman destined to be together. The novel starts with an old man reading out of a notebook, and the story he reads is his story. We meet Noah, a simple young man who falls in love with a girl who is visiting town for the summer, Allie Nelson. They have a brief yet intense romance. Their love was not meant to be, however. Allie's family comes from upper class southern roots, and they do not approve of her dating a man of Noah's background. The two are forced to separate and over the years they live out their lives, not knowing that they still loved each other. But as Noah had predicted, destiny brought them back together, and we meet the two again years later, with Allie engaged and about to be married to a highly successful lawyer (Lon), and Noah living alone in a house he had told Allie years ago he would fix up and restore. He lives alone, and still dreams of Allie. When Allie sees this house in the newspaper, she goes to find him on a whim. What happens between them after being reunited is what dreams are made of. The story in the notebook ends before the reader can know what really happened between Lon, Noah, and Allie. Did Allie stay true to her promise and marry Lon? Or did she choose Noah? The reader does not find this out til the last chapter. I found this book a very fast read. This is my second Nicholas Sparks book, and as with MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE, I enjoyed THE NOTEBOOK very much. Both were tear jerkers. I really can't say which book I enjoyed better, but I will certainly read his other books. This book is a definite MUST READ for all those who love a good romance. I would not be surprised to see this book turned into a movie in the near future.

Great novel, but very disappointed in the size of the book. I prefer hardcovered books, but in this case, I should have ordered the softcover for half the price.

I am 60 years old, and I never saw the movie or read the book. Until now. I have been with my husband for nearly 40 years, and the love story of Allie and Noah is timeless. My bonus Dad has a different form of dementia than Alzheimer’s, but I watch my mother struggle to remember everything for both of them. I am normally eloquent with my reviews, but I’m too emotional to even see my keyboard right now due to this stellar story. Thank you, Nicholas Sparks, for telling a tale that captures the passion of young love, the all-consuming obsession of true love, and the ultimate peace of the soul of eternal love.

In his first published novel Nicholas Sparks shows us his understanding about love and relationships and how they can endure across the years. It is a very emotional and touching book. Some of us are lucky enough to have a perfect soul-mate - Noah found his early on just before WWII and she walked out of his life. One fateful summer two teenagers, Noah and Allie, find that they share the same world and fall in love. Noah's father has given him a life-long love of poetry which he shares with her. Allie has artistic skills and she shares her ambition with him that she wants to follow these skills wherever they take her. Allie's parents don't approve of her relationship with Noah as he doesn't have the education, money or social position to be suitable for their daughter. They move away and there are no replies to Noah's many letters. Roll forward 14 years and Noah has returned home after a gruelling war. He has never forgotten his first love and loses himself in poetry and the physical task of restoring a lovely antebellum mansion in New Bern. One of Allie's paintings has pride of place in the restored home but otherwise the beautifully restored house seems empty. Allie's life seems perfect - she has followed her parents' wishes, given up her art and is now about to make a perfect marriage to a kind, hard-working, rich and ambitious man. Her world changes when she learns about Noah's restoration work in a newspaper. Three weeks before her society wedding she finds herself driving to New Bern to find Noah for reasons she herself does not fully understand. The unexpected reunion is very emotional and shows the writing skills that have made Sparks a best-selling author in this genre. The closing chapters skip to a geriatric nursing home. They are well written but left me emotionally disturbed as I am already over my allotted time of "three score years and ten".

A great love story! Oh the wonders of youth and the energy it brings then to have it so rudely taken as one ages. The lesson to enjoy life to fullest without regrets.

I did enjoy the concept of this book without having seen the movie but it could have been oh so much better. There is so much more that should have been done to make this a great story. Maybe it's me, but the glaring resemblances to Titanic were so astounding I had to double check that the book hadn't been written prior to 1997 when Titanic came out. I mean, in many ways it's IDENTICAL. Compare Allie to Titanic Rose: both rich, socialite girls forced into marriages of financial security; both engaged and in a quandary over whether to do what their mothers want or follow their hearts; invitations to a socialite wedding have been sent out thus adding to the dilemma of whether or not to cancel a somewhat arranged marriage; an old Allie/Rose in old age recalling (or being read) the story of her life's greatest love who happens to be not an artist like Jack but a musician/poet also from the wrong side of the tracks who she inexplicably falls head over heels in love with. The similarities are mind boggling. There is Lon, the parallel Cal. The mother coming after both Rose and Allie to convince her not to change wedding plans. Noah asking Allie, 'Do you love him?' Jack asking Rose, "It's a simple question, do you love the guy or not?" Almost verbatim. And the final scene in Titanic: is Rose dreaming or has she died? The final scene in Notebook: Has Allie come out of her dementia for good because of his enduring love and commitment or will she return to her amnesiac state in the morning? My heart will go on?? I did like the concept of an old man trying to regain his wife's memory by telling her the story of their life together but this wasn't exactly that. We never learn why they loved each other so much or what held them together through the years. Magic? Real relationships just do not work this way, sorry. I'm as romantic as the next girl but there is reality and then there is pure, sappy, corny fairy tale. The dialogue, though almost none, is contrived. Even in the 30s and 40s, people did not speak this way. I would have loved to have read more dialogue in flashback to explain why their bond was so strong, not just a couple repeated lines in long narrative stating how much they adored each other for no obvious reason. One of the basics of good writing is 'don't tell, show.' This book is basically someone telling you they were soulmates destined to die in each other's arms but never shows you how or why. The characters are such stereotyped clichés. Blonde, green eyed, flawless girl who's intelligent, educated etc. Really? Wasn't she supposed to have been in college during the Depression? Did women often go to college in the early 40s? I thought this was unlikely even for a girl with money considering the time period. And Noah. Where to begin? Every woman's dream, right? Handsome as hell, muscular, mysterious, rugged, manly in every way you could imagine while being able to cite complex poetry and serenade his lady love while with a guitar while sitting under an oak tree. Wow. Cornball, anyone? The only reason I didn't hate this story is because I really did like the premise of old Noah trying to awaken old Allie. I admit that I did shudder when Allie French kisses him at the end but I guess the point there was made, however disturbing. In summary, if you ever wondered what would have happened had Jack Dawson not died on the Titanic, this pretty much explains it.