Reader's Journal #3: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

9/12/11                                              Reader’s Journal                                                     #3

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

           

            Last week I started reading the book, The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I have seen the movie and wanted to know if it was like the book.

            A passage that stood out to me was the back summary:

            “Seventeen year-old Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains alienated from her parents, especially her father… until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Resentful and rebellious, Ronnie rejects her father’s attempts to reach out to her and threatens to return to New York before the summer’s end. But soon Ronnie meets Will, the last person she thought she’d ever be attracted to, and finds herself falling for him, opening herself up to the greatest happiness – and pain – that she has ever known.”

            I chose this passage because it really hooked me into reading the book. It’s significant to the story because it basically is a summary of what the book is about. 

            I used many strategies before, during, and after reading sections of this book. Before I starting reading, I set a purpose. My purpose for reading was for my reader’s journal, my book a week challenge, and since this book was made into a movie, to see if it was similar to the movie. Since I recently abandoned a book, I made sure this book would be better by reading the reviews and noticed how they were all positive. Also, I knew this book would be good because some other books Nicholas Sparks wrote were made into movies that I loved. For example, A Walk to Remember, Dear John, and The Notebook. While reading I used post-it’s to find any figurative language, literary elements, and plot features. I also used what I knew from the movie and the author’s descriptive language to visualize parts from the book. I didn’t finish the book yet, but I used after reading strategies on the part that I read. After reading, I thought about all the literary elements I wrote down. I also started comparing the movie and the book from what I read.

            I found a lot of literary elements while reading. The genre is Realistic Fiction because fictional story that could've taken place within the last 50 years. However, since this is a love story, it could fall under the genre Romance. The protagonist is Ronnie Miller, Steve Miller, and Will Blakelee. They are all round and dynamic. There is no antagonist. Some foil characters are Jonah Miller and Jonah and Ronnie’s mother. These are important characters but right now, they are flat and static. The setting starts off in New York City and then goes to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. The time is modern day, about 2010. The weather conditions vary throughout the book and some social conditions are that Ronnie’s parents are divorced and that she and her brother are being “forced” to visit their father in North Carolina.

            The exposition is when Ronnie, her family, the setting, and her conflict are introduced. The rising action is when Ronnie and her brother first arrive at their father’s house. I believe the climax is when Ronnie meets Will because that is one of the main points of the story, but I know from watching the movie that there is another main point that I didn’t read yet. Therefore, I’m still on the climax. The tone is entertaining and the mood is amused. I’m not sure yet what the theme of the book is. The point of view in third person limited depending on the chapter. The name of each chapter is the name of a character. Whatever the name of the chapter is, that is who the chapter is focusing on. I believe the pattern of organization is flashback because in the prologue, Ronnie is talking to her mom when she asks Ronnie about her summer with her father. Chapter one starts off talking about what happened first during Ronnie’s summer. The author’s perspective is unbiased. The author’s purpose is to entertain.

            I was also able to identify some figurative language. “Resentful and rebellious…” is an alliteration. “He’s like a puppy” is a simile on page 3. “She already answered the question a million times, even if Ronnie didn’t want to accept it” is a hyperbole. “I’m going to miss the sound of cars roaring…” is a personification. “In the darkness, he wore the ghost of a smile, but his eyes remained shadowy pits” is a metaphor on page 104.

            I’m really enjoying this book and look forward to finishing it. I rate it a 10 out of 10 stars and recommend it to all middle school girls and up! J

                                                                                                            Sincerely,

                                                                                                            Bailey Levy 802