Book ~ "The Best of Me" (2011) - Nicholas Sparks

From Amazon ~ In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.

Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined ... and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew -- about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear -- was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?

I'm not a fan of Nicholas Sparks' books ... I find his stories too sappy. Since this was his latest, I thought I'd check it out since it's been a long time since I've read any of his stuff.

This book is really sappy. But I kept with it and finished. It was an okay story, just not my kind of book.

Amanda and Dawson were high school sweethearts and haven't seen each other in almost 25 years. Amanda has married and kids. Dawson is still a loner. Yet when they are thrown together because the death of their friend, Tuck, they still have the same feelings. I found this unbelievable. I can't imagine pining for someone all that time.

Dawson thinks he's been followed for the last few years. We discover if he has or not been (I thought this and the resolution was dumb).

Dawson's family has a bad reputation. His cousins, Abee and Ted, are especially violent and feared. Why didn't the town ban together and get rid of them permanently?!

I found the ending really cheesy.