I really was moved by this novel. I usually am not a reader, but when I read this book I became entwined in novels, espeacailly by Sparks. I would like to write my own books someday, and the way that Sparks writes is very moving. If he ever reads this I would just like him to know that I have read all his books. Also, that he has become my idol for many books I hope to someday publish.

A masterpiece is defined by the Websters dictionary as "a work done with extraordinary skill." Both The Notebook and Message in a Bottle exemplify this definition. A Walk to Remember, his latest publication lives up to these standards as well. Nicholas Sparks is an innovative writer, who personalizes his stories to the extent that the reader is not the same after reading. The love he portrays is something I only wish I will have the opportunity to experience!

this book walked me through my dad's last couple of years with alzheimers, i only wish he had a spouse who loved him that much. i wonder how my husband would cope in that situation, or if he even remembers how it all began and everything that has happened. it was hard to read through my tears but i could not put it down.

I read this book in about 5 hours. It's pretty hard for me to do that...but it was just impossible for me to put down this book. Nicholas Sparks is a genius, he truly knows how to write. He is the William Shakespeare of our time. Any book this man writes is truly a work of art.

this book is just...really good. no words. just good.

Es la historia de amor, que mucha gente sueña para su vida... y solamente unos pocos podemos vivirla y difrutarla de esa manera y con esa intensidad.

Son de esas historia donde la piel, el corazon y el alma se extremecen de tal manera que lo unico que queda es agradecer a Dios, por amar y ser amado de tal manera.

Es una verdadera historia de amor, desde el principio hasta los "80 años"... tal cual como deseamos vivirla nosotros.

Felicitaciones Nicholas Sparks, sos todo un maestro

I can't help but wonder who the target audience is/was intended for this book. At times it read very smoothly; other times I felt like it was written in an uncreative/predictable manner. It made a lot of good points; I valued a lot of the lessons and advice. I just felt like the whole story about David, the presence of his sister's spirit, etc could have been left out and it would have been just as good. I learned quite a bit; I just wasn't awed. I think there are better motivational books out there besides Wokini.

When my grandmother died I had to go through her things, and I found not one but two copies of this book. Out of curiosity I read it, and was very moved and at the same time felt enlightened. I really wish that I could talk to her about this story, and regret that I didn't know her well enough, because anyone who appreciates this story is on the right path as far as I'm concerned. I am a Christian and I am not Native American, but those things really don't matter as the only thing you need to have when reading this is your desire to search, to learn more of yourself and the world. You will get out of this book much more than you spend on it!

By chance, I found this book in my local library, read it and had a life change. Today while looking up Nicholas Sparks I find that Wokini is in print once again. Life is good! This book will change your whole attitude and outlook on life. It begins by breaking down the old ideas (lies) about what happiness is and is not. It follows with a day by day path on how to achieve true happiness. A great book to give and to keep!

This book is by far the most interesting book of all. It tells the tale of then 57-year-old Landon Carter in 1999. In the prologue, he revives the memory of being 17, the most meaningful year of his life.
It was this year when he met Jamie Sullivan, the quiet, goody-two-shoes and always wearing her hair in a bun. She was the daughter of a Southern Baptist Minister who was constantly teased by Landon and his friends, the cool kids in school who eat boiled peanuts in graveyards. Hegbert Sullivan also wrote plays. Landon joined the Drama Club in school instead of Chemistry for ease and pleasure, not by reciting lines but sleeping. When Jamie was needless to say, made the angel, she was to stand in front of the class and Landon found a slightly more attractive her than usual. He didn't give much thought about it, until he was forced to ask Jamie to accompany him for the homecoming dance. That was better than cleaning up puke, right?
After the dance, Jamie asked Landon to do her a favor by playing Tom, the lead role of the play besides the angel. He excepted it, touched by Jamie's emotions. Thus came the session to walk her home. His love for Jamie developed when her role of the angel came out, when she let her honey-blonde hair down, wore a beautiful dress and a touch of make-up, making the sight of her arresting. After the play, he wished that, for the first time, he could walk her home.
Thus came the unusual and unexpected relationship they had. He first started bringing her to his house and then to classy diners.
But Sparks say that every good thing comes to an end. Jamie had a secret kept long in her heart, and when she finally told Landon about a battle she had been fighting, all emotions came in. How the relationship Landon and his father built up, how Jamie changed everybody's life in her town, and how Landon's love can bring great joy to Jamie while she fights on.

This book is very educational, with a lot of Christian beliefs and good deeds. It also has a touch of humor and very very sad parts which will leave most of you tearing. I recommend this book to everybody who wants a good book to read and is capable of curling in his or her room (I'm sure you wouldn't want others to see you cry over a book). This book was recommended to me by other Mandy Moore fans who've read it (after we knew that Mandy would be acting the lead role with Shane). I've never regretted buying and I still enjoy it,

I've just finished reading this book last night and i knew i just had to write something here! I beg to disagree with one reader saying that the words used by Sparks in this novel are for 5th grade students and that this book isn't for mature people. First of all, the narrator is a 17 year old boy, enuf said...and i believe this book is very much for mature readers. It makes you realize plenty of things - things that mature people tend to take for granted. Reading this book made me realize that the people we tend to ignore, laugh and ridicule even, could just make the biggest difference in our lives. The ending was very clever. I think that Sparks wanted his readers to decide the ending for themselves. In my heart, I truly believe that Jamie lived (my apologies to those who haven't read the book yet). It was the miracle he was waiting to happen...I love Landon Carter's character..he's by far my favorite male char.! I used to think that nothing's gonna beat Wish You Were Here (by Christie Ridgeway) as my all-time favorite book, but Nicholas Sparks proved me wrong.

I found that it was very hard to put this book down. It's probably the best book that I've read. A Walk To Remember is a definite reach-for-the-kleenex-box book. I should say that I don't think it deserves five stars but 4 and a half. The only thing that brings it down is that it seems a bit unrealistic at times. Especially through the middle of the book when one of the main characters "Landon" suddenly falls in love with "Jamie" the other main character. I just couldn't give it four stars.

I reccommend that you buy this book because it's a story that isn't like the others that are out there. Look for the movie of a "Walk to Remember" coming late 2001 or early 2002. It will star MANDY MOORE and SHANE WEST. This books brings you through so many emotions. It makes you laugh, smile, frown and more.

The most boring thing I've read in a long time. Two perfect people having a perfect romance. Skipped over a lot to get to the end which is slightly better than the rest.

After reading a Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks, I had to dash off to the library and read The Notebook, which I read in one sitting. What can I say about the quintessential love story? Boy meets girl, girl meets boy, parents separate them and then they meet again years later, get married, and live happily ever after.

Only with Nicholas Sparks as the author, this story is different. You are immediately captivated into the story, reliving it, feeling it and savoring each and every emotion. It is a sensory experience reading this story and you feel like you become Noah or Allie, the main characters, the soul mates. By the end of the book, tears are sure to be shed, deep sighs emitted and then one is left thinking is such a love possible and where does one find a love like this?

This is a beautiful love story, with all the emotions to hook you from the get-go. The sensitivity of the author is clearly portrayed in Noah and Allie. Nicolas Sparks weaves his magic with this story, which is based on his wife's "beloved grandparents."

I absolutely loved this story and I am not a big romance reader. But I do love Nicholas Sparks' books and now have read all of them. If you are a hopeless or a hopeful romantic, then this book is a must read! As with all of Nicholas Sparks' books, keep a box of Kleenex handy - you are sure to use them!

This story was beautifully written. A heartwarming...and yet heartbreaking story about a young love shared between two wonderful people, Allison and Noah. Though their time together was limited at their young age, their love was stronger then even some of the lovers that had been together for many years. Torn apart by Allison's mother, these two had to go their separate ways. For years, Noah would send Allison letters and they were letters she never received. So, they lived their seprate lives. Then, some years later, Allison is engaged to marry a rich and stable man with a big heart and Noah is living alone on an old farm house with his wonderful dog. Accidentally coming across an article in the paper about the house Noah lives in and the way he restored it, Allison is overwhelmed with the temptation to pay him a surprise visit and see how he is and who he has become. And from there, this becomes a beautiful love story and Allison must decide whether to follow her heart or her mind. I read this book while I was on vacation and I could not put it down. If you have given up on love or are pretty close to doing so, or even if you have never felt such a strong love before, this is the perfect book of love and loss. It makes you wish you could fall desperately in love with someone, or it makes you thankful that you have fallen desperately in love. It just goes to show how beautiful love can really be and that there really is true love out there among us.

I am a fan of Nicholas Sparks and loved A Bend in the Road, Message in a Bottle, and The Rescue, as well as his other novels. However, The Guardian is really really slow and I felt it was written on a junior high or high school level. Most of the dialogue was juvenile, including the dog's thoughts. The characters, aside from Julie, are merely all stereotypes. Most of the characters are portrayed as either hillbillies, or total [dimwit]s. It took forever for any action to occur, and the plot was completely obvious from the beginning. I almost gave up because the book dragged on so much. The end is definitely more exciting, but the final scene is anti-climactic. The romance between Julie and Mike is sweet but does not compare in emotion to his characters in other novels. Overall, I am sorry to say that this was a huge disappointment, considering I am a fan of Sparks, and I hope his editor will encourage better writing from him next time.

Bestselling author Nicholas Sparks' newest novel, THE GUARDIAN, is a tale of loyalty, love, and danger. In it, he tells of Julie Barenson, a young widow who is making her first entrance onto the dating scene since her husband Jim's death four years earlier. Before Jim passed on, he made arrangements for a Great Dane puppy to be delivered to Julie after his death. The dog, Singer, becomes a major rock in Julie's life, her healing partner, and a major component of this story.

Enter Mike, Jim's best friend, whom Julie cares deeply for. However, she is afraid to ruin a wonderful friendship by adding romance to the equation. Mike makes his feelings known, but Julie is not persuaded. Julie decides instead to go out with Richard Franklin, an engineer in town on a contract. Richard and Julie go on a few dates, and things seem to be moving along. But when Julie begins receiving ominous phone calls and Singer begins acting strangely disturbed, this would-be love story becomes a powerful thriller.

I am probably one of the few people who have never read Sparks before this book, but I assure you, this will not be my last time. His characters are depicted in a way that makes you see them, hear them, and feel the range of emotions they experience. THE GUARDIAN is a great summer cliffhanger.

Reviewed by CandaceK
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

This novel was very unique in that it combined romance, abuse, and mystery all into one story. Sparks did a great job with his writing and it is a very worthwhile book to read.

Julie Berenson is a young widow at 25 years of age, and her husband left her with two unexpected gifts. He left her with a puppy named Singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now, four years later, twenty-nine-year-old Julie is far too young to never have love again. She may be ready to risk caring for someone again. But who?

Should it be Richard Franklin, the sophisticated, handsome engineer who treats her like a queen? Or Mike Harris, the down-to-earth really loving guy who was her husband's best friend? Choosing one of them should bring Julie happiness. But instead,
Julie is fighting for her life because of a jealous nature which ignites a murderous desire.

If you like previous releases *Message in a Bottle" and *A Bend in the Road*, you would have fallen into this one as well. Consistent with all his novels, Nicholas Sparks conveys the message of the greatest commitment of all: to love someone forever. Volunteer fireman Taylor McAden is driven to horrendous and heroic risks to save lives. When he set out to search for Denise's 7-year-old son Kyle, Taylor never imagined that the encounter with the mother and son would force him to deal with fear, bitterness, and the troubled past in his heart. This resuce requires Taylor to open doors to his past slammed shout by pain. Will Taylor be able to overcome this pain with the help of Denise? Sparks has introduced and developed characters fully as well as their feelings, emotions, and thoughts. Sparks' writing is stirring once again. You'll be deeply moved at the part where Taylor found Kyle after the car accident. Sparks stirs our heart-strings again! Good read. 4.5 stars.

As usual, I'll let you read the synopsis above and just tell you what I liked/disliked about the book. No point in being redundant.

While this book has similar main characters to Message in a Bottle (single mother, loner guy), it definitely carries its own weight. I was so relieved that the author has not fallen into the "formula writing" style that so many bestselling authors have these days.

The plot is new but the author's style of writing is still there. He does an excellent job of introducing the characters and letting us go through their range of emotions with them. The book flows nicely as I was able to finish in a weekend. (I obtained an advance reader copy about a month ago)

If you have enjoyed his previous novels, you'll like this one too. You'll also enjoy it if this is your first Nicholas Sparks book. You should also check his others as they are all available in paperback now.

First off, if I could give this book TEN stars, I would!!! But, the highest we can go, in actuality, is 5... so, it's definitely a "5 Star" read!!! I've read Sparks' other novels, through the years, and have enjoyed them all. They have all touched my heart/life in some way. "The Rescue" touched me more deeply than the others, combined. A storm... a deer... a little boy... a single mother... a man who only lives to punish himself... are all elements that create the setting for an incredible tale of love. As I turned the pages, getting to know all the characters, I found myself lost in emotions... At times, I was nervous -- rocking back n' forth in my seat! Later, I was curious -- wondering what secrets Taylor held within himself. Deeper into the story, I found myself angry -- at Taylor's reluctance to love. And finally, as the relationship came full-circle, I had tears in my eyes. Literally. This is an incredibly written drama. Nicholas has the uncanny ability to make you love his characters. You see them as "real" people, and their emotions become your own. This book will make you feel. This book will teach you that saying "I love you" isn't that hard after all. Enjoy!!!

When I first started to read this book I thought that it was so sweet for two people from across from two sides (the preppy side and also a christian linke environment) for them to come together in the likely-hood that they wouldn't even look the other's way. The feelings that he has grown for her for the last few week is amazing. I couldn't believe that his feelings for her worked so fast. (It was amazing) But I think that if she loved him she should of told him of her sickness. Eventhough she was trying to keep it quiet it would of got out in the open anyway. It was a spirit filled book. I will highly reccomend this book to anyone who believes that love could/ would never happen to them.
~Diva

This book was on my bookshelf for at least 6 months before I actually picked it up and began reading... once I opened to page one, I couldn't put it down until I had read the very last word. I definitely recommend this book - it will make you smile & make you cry, sometimes at the same time!

This is such a great book.. Sure its just like the normal edition of AWTR but this one just touches my soul. I dunno why.. the picture of Mandy moore and Shane West on the front or just the discriptions? You have GOT to get this!

I thought A Bend in the Road was a nice love story that is the perfect read right around Valentine's Day. It even made me cry! A Bend in the Road is about a policeman, Miles Ryan, who lost his wife in a car accident 2 years ago. He can't really get over the loss until a new teacher, Sarah Andrews, comes to town. Sarah is Miles son's teacher. Soon Sarah and Miles fall in love. I don't want to give away the ending but something tragic happens that will test Miles love for Sarah.

If your looking for a mystery this is not the book for you because it's very obvious what is going to happen by the middle of the book. It's great if you want a quick romantic read though. I consider any book that makes you cry or laugh out loud a good read. I was ready to start sobbing when I was reading this so I'd say A Bend in the Road was great.

This is an emotional tale about a couple's new-found happiness & the shocking secret that threatens to keep them apart.

Miles Ryan's life felt like it ended the day his wife was killed in a hit-&-run accident. While Miles struggles with the unanswered question of who murdered his wife, their son suffers with nightmares & is struggling in school. A parent-teacher conference is called & enter Sarah Andrews, Jonah's second grade teacher. Sarah is new to the town & trying to rebuild her own life after a disappointing first marriage.

As Sarah & Miles work together to help Jonah catch up, they fall in love. They discover that their newfound love starts to soothe the pain of their pasts & they begin to think of a future together. But something else binds them together beside their love.

A Bend in the Road is told from a unique viewpoint - that of the driver of the car that killed Missy. Writing in a journal the murderer lives with the guilt & nightmares. When the murderer is unveiled, can Miles' & Sarah's new love withstand the shocking secret?

Nicholas Sparks does it again! This is another example of why he is America's best-loved & bestselling author of stories of the heart. I highly recommend this heart-breaking mystery!

Nicholas Sparks called the book that I read A Bend in the Road. It is a love story with a murder mystery. Any love story lover would absolutely love this book. This book is very dramatic and I would give it 5 out of 5 star any day. Sparks delivers it well with a love story inside a murder with a twist at the end. Not only is it an easy to read book, both the love story and the mystery grab you from the very beginning and keep you turning page after page. So whether you enjoy the mystery of who killed Miles' wife (who writes in italics in every so chapter) or it is the love story between Sarah and Miles and the secret that makes them reexamine everything they believe in, you must read this book.
This book is about a girl named Sarah Andrews who moved to a small town called New Bern. She moved hoping to start over after going through a failed marriage and difficult divorce. In New Bern Sarah worked as a 2nd grade teacher. While teaching one of her second graders is having troubles reading, whose name was Jonah. When Sarah discovered that Jonah was having troubles reading she decided to tutor him after school. When she did this tutoring she meet Jonah's father, Miles Ryan. Miles was the deputy sheriff of New Bern, who is still after 2 years looking for the man who killed his wife in a hit-and-run accident. Miles and Sarah soon get to know each other through Jonah's tutoring. Sarah gets attached to Jonah quickly, but even more attached to Miles. As Miles and Sarah both fall for each other, they start to go on date after date. Soon they are both deeply in love. After they have been together for a while, Sarah discovers a secret that makes a sudden twist to the whole story, which could demolish her happiness with Miles and Jonah.

Ten years ago, Harding failed to protect a young girl from her sexually abusive father. He went after the man and revenge ended up costing him one-and-a-half years in prison, not to mention his private investigator's license. Nowadays, he does work on the side for his old friend, Donnie Wilson. The case Harding is presently working on consists of getting the goods on one Dr. Stephen Rosenberg, whose wife, Elenya, is looking for a divorce and possibly access to the supposedly two million dollars hidden in a Swiss Bank account. Dr. Rosenberg is an adulterer to the tenth degree. He not only cheats on his wife with other women, but with men as well, getting heavily into S&M and other forms of kinky sex. It doesn't take Harding long to get the pictures that will insure Elenya an easy divorce and a nice settlement. The only problem is that someone else is after the good doctor...someone so despicably evil that he makes the Rosenberg's escapades look like a day at a church picnic. This monster, for want of a better word, calls himself Gaelen, and he is gruesomely killing everyone Rosenberg has been sexually involved with in an effort to set the doctor up for murder. When Harding starts getting too close to what is going on, Gaelen comes after him and his tough kickboxing partner, Alison. After a couple of encounters with this creature, one of which puts Alison in the hospital, Harding, who isn't an easy man to scare, knows that he is going to have to put this demon from Hell down the hard way, even if he has to drive a stake through his heart. Harding will also have to figure out why Gaelen is so interested Dr. Rosenberg and his wife, Elenya, and what the hidden agendas are. THIS FAR, NO FURTHER by John Wessel demonstrates what top quality writing is about. The reader is not a bystander on this journey through the gritty side of Chicago and into the heart of unthinkable evil, but rather a participant. You will literally feel the depraved evil of Gaelen and understand why the fear it generates in our hero makes Harding a more dangerous adversary. Mr. Wessel lets us know that a person never entirely escapes their past, and for Harding, it must come full circle. As he attempts to keep himself, Alison, and the Rosenbergs alive, Harding has to eventually face the results of a passed action, and in doing so, perhaps find redemption for his failure to live up to his own expectations. Few authors are able to write such a compelling novel on their first try out, but John Wessel succeeds wonderfully in THIS FAR, NO FURTHER. Its darkness will remind you of the earlier "Burke" novels by Andrew Vachss and the later "Matthew Scudder" books by Lawrence Block. Buy this book, read it, and then pick up the second novel in the "Harding" series, PRETTY BALLERINA. After that, you going to have pray like I'm doing, that John Wessel will to write more books.

John Wessel's _This Far, No Further_, introduces us to an ex-PI named Harding.

Though he no longer holds a license (because of a sequence of events which are gradually filled in during the course of the book), Harding still does some occasional work for his friend Donnie, an old friend from his Chicago neighborhood who now works in a corporate security office.

As the book opens, Harding is tracking Dr. Stephen Rosenberg, a plastic surgeon, who has some decidedly unsavory sexual practices and preys on the nurses and students at the University of Chicago hospital. Rosenberg's wife, Elenya, is getting tired of the physical abuse she must sustain at her husband's hands and is looking for a way to divorce him.

This decidedly simple premise sets in motion a very complicated chain of events and gruesome murders, which, ultimately, I don't think, was ever satisfactorily solved. When I came to the end, I still had a lot of unanswered questions.

Still, the book was very good in its depiction of winter in Chicago; of the post-graduate hangers-on around campus, including Harding's friend, Boone; and of the unusual relationship Harding has with his former girlfriend, Allison, a woman into Goth and kick-boxing, and who now appears to be a lesbian. Harding is a memorable creation--a very well-educated, moral, romantic detective who loves horror movies. I wouldn't mind spending more time with him, though I hope subsequent books aren't as complicated.

Those who dislike a very dark, grim, at times even grotesque read, will be turned off by this book.

I've read all three of John Wessel's books about Harding, the ex-con PI. All three have kept me up late nights, reading "just one more chapter." I can't put these books down! This Far, No Further is the first book in the trio, Pretty Ballerina is the second, and its latest (but hopefully not last!) installment is Kiss It Goodbye. All three books are fast-paced, loaded with action, and are damn good mysteries that will keep you scratching your head until the end. Harding's cynical world view leads to some hilarious observances, but this guy's no slouch as a PI; he never misses a trick. Well, almost never. His girfriend, Alison, is equally intriguing as a kick-[butt] femme who keeps Harding on his toes and watches his back. She could give Xena a run for her money! All in all, the characters and the stories in John Wessels' novels a well-worth the price of admission. Wonderful books, all!