The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

This novel delivers several stories that tie to one anther nicelt. It somewhat reminds me of his novel A Walk To Remember, an all-time favorite of mine. This book has the story of Ronnie coming of age, discovering her true self, and falling in love for the first time. This book also has the story of a family that finds a way to heal, forgive one another, and band together in the face of adversity. Like most of Nicholas Sparks other books, it exudes the warmth and compassion that this reader loves! He also writes in a Christian thread into this stroy, which I appreciated and enjoyed.

A prevalent dynamic in the book was the relationship between father and daughter. In this story, Ronnie formed opinions of her dad that were solely based on her assumptions. She blamed him for so much that was wrong with the divorce and within their family life. She put up a wall in between them. Although Steve wasn't the perfect father, he was a good, loving, and patient one. Like all parents, there was room for improvement, however he did have the ability to see the bigger picture where his daughter was concerned, Steve held the wisdom to exhibit patience and allow Ronnie to discover the truth of her own. Hiss approach to parenting his nearly 18-year-old daughter with problems, paid off the right dividends because it brought them closer together.

Olympic Size Commitment.

Olympic athletes spend much of their time training, training, and training. They are honored athletes, and they make one of the biggest commitments you could imagine. As for me, well, I couldn't say my commitment is as big as theirs but it is a pretty big one. I make a commitment to myslef to go to college. College is a very important thing to me in which I do have to prepare for just like the athletes prepare for the olympics. It takes a good twelve years of grade school before you can even attend college, and as for the athletes, I'm sure all of them have had at least 12 years of experience before they go to the olympics.

The Kite Runner.

On one level, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is the story of two boys inAfghanistan and Afghan immigrants in America. It is a story set in a culture that has become of increasing interest to Americans since the Sept. 11 attacks. On this level, it provides a good way for people to learn more about Afghan history and culture in the context of story.

Looking at The Kite Runner as a story about culture, however, missed what the book is really about. This is a novel about humanity. This is a story about friendship, loyalty, cruelty, longing for acceptance, redemption and survival. The core story could be set in any culture because it deals with issues that are universal.

The Kite Runner looks at how the main character, Amir, deals with a secret in his past and how that secret shaped who he became. It tells of Amir's childhood friendship with Hassan, his relationship with his father and growing up in a privileged place in society. I was drawn in by AMir's voice. I sympathized with him, cheered for him and felt angry with him at different points. Similarly, I became attached to Hassan and his father. The characters became real to me, and it was difficult for me to put the book down and leave their world.

Civil Wars.

Civil wars come in many forms. Whether it be between family and friends, amongst political parties, or within yourself.

Lately one has been within myself. I seem to beat my self up over the smallest and it brings nothing but destruction towards me.

Fighting a war within yourself is a tiring process and can get very old. I can still see myself, getting mad over little things I did, being paranoid about everything, constantly trying to be perfect.

One thing I can say is that a civil wart within yourself isn't worth it.