I hate to say this, but... Actually, I don't hate to say this at all. I am not ashamed to read Nicholas Sparks novels. I have a lot of them, and sometimes I like them. That's okay. It's also okay when I doubt. That being said, The Best of Me has to be the cheesiest of Sparks's more recent attempts. I'm not trying to be a hater (though it is fun), but if we're going to recycle The Notebook's plotline somewhat (rich girl, boy from wrong side of the tracks, parents disapprove, couple splits dramatically, reunites years later as adults because of what can only be described as fate, they fall in love again, drama ensues because of girl's newer romantic interest, etc.) can we at least have better writing? I know Sparks isn't Hemingway (thank God), but I expect better from a guy that graduated from Notre Dame. (I only bring that up because my best friend goes to Notre Dame and I like to tease.)

The stuff that is in the past with Dawson and Amanda in high school is fairly good. I actually liked Dawson, who had a bit of dark past a la John Tyree from Dear John, which is always fun. They seemed to be genuinely in love, and it did help carry some of the later stuff. I guess I couldn't stand Amanda. I wanted her to make decisions and do what she wanted, but I could see how she didn't want to hurt her kids. The ending was just straight up terrible. I felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie. One of the last lines of the book feels like something Nicholas Sparks probably thought was really profound and deep when he wrote it, but it just feels like something that would be on a sympathy card.

Overall, I'd skip the book and watch the movie. It tightens the plot up a little bit in essential places, and it's just more fun. The young Dawson and Amanda have serious chemistry, and young Dawson is very nice to look at. Plus, James Marsden is in this movie. How can you go wrong?