blog entry #3 - writing a book review

Basic Information:
Title: See Me by Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: October 13th, 2015
# Of Pages: 496
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Brief Intro: This book is a kind of cliche romance, but still full of suspense, action, and many emotions.  

Body:
This book takes place in Wilmington, North Carolina. Wilmington is a quiet small beach town on the North Carolina coast. See Me is written in a dual perspective. One is Maria, the other is Colin. Maria and Colin are also the main protagonists in the novel. The mood in the book is fairly tense at times, there is this third perspective that is very threatening to Maria, which the reader doesn't understand until the end of the book.

This book is a romance between Colin and Maria. Colin is an MMA fighter, with a very rough past that has landed him in jail many times. If he messes up on more time, he could face up to 20 years in jail. Maria is a shy family driven girl. One very bad heartbreak really messed up her love life. Colin and Maria met through Maria's sister, Serena, who Colin has classes with in college. They fall deeply in love with each other. Colin becomes very protective over her, especially after they figure out she has a stalker. The truth unfolds, and a lot of pressure is put on their relationship.

Analysis and Evaluation:
I believe the writing of this book was beautiful. Nicholas Sparks is a very beautiful writer in my opinion, and this book didn't change that. Some of the points in the book were kind of boring, and I was having trouble getting through them quickly. For like 175 pages of the book, Colin and Maria were only dating. No action or fighting or anything like that. Just pure dinner dates and romantic gestures. No thank you. Anyways, even though some of the book was slow, it was still very well written.

I think Sparks did achieve his purpose of this book, to entertain. I was entertained throughout this book, and if I wasn't I would have stopped reading.

To Wrap Things Up:
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that likes Nicholas Sparks romance. I put him in a genre of his own because his books deserve as much. Sparks really knows how to tell a story without a cliche plot, and I love that about his novels.


                                         

Researching my author... Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks is rich. Very Rich. He has written 18+ bestselling romance novels, capturing the hearts of teens and women today. Some call him "The King of Hearts" because of his romantic knowledge. In general, he is not a very verbal talkative person. He does much better writing books. Fun Fact: Nicholas Sparks doesn't curse. Ever. Not in real life, or in his books. He says:

"Profanity can be an easy fix, a crutch used to express anger or frustration. Creating those emotions without bad language is much more effective. And challenging."

Sparks writes about 2000 words a day and a book a year since 1996. That's 20 years! All of his writing does pay off, his books fly off the shelves. The book sales, 97 million, don't lie. His fan base grows daily, based on the fact that all his books are about true love. A fan of Nicholas says:

"There's a comforting feeling you get when reading a Nicholas Sparks novel, something apart from the characters getting together and experiencing true love. It's that the world in which it happens, even if it's not like the 'real world,' makes sense. It's a simpler world and it's easy to understand - and something about that feels like a rescue. Now, I don;t need a man to rescue me. I’ve worked and been on my own two feet all my life. But that feeling, or notion, of rescue that I get from a Nicholas Sparks book—once in awhile, that’s just nice."

The Notebook is the book that really sparked Sparks’s career. His first two novels remain unpublished, yet The Notebook was a sensation. In a short period of time he was struck with a 1 million dollar deal for its movie rights and a book deal. That’s pretty good for a debut novel.

                               

His family life has had a very big effect of Sparks’s writing. HIs mother died in a horseback riding accident when she was 47, and his dad died in a car accident when he was 54. The grieving author turned to writing as a source of comfort, he wrote about a man who writes letters to his deceased wife and sends them out to sea in bottles. The book, later titled Message in a Bottle, was inspired by his parents' relationship.

Sources Used

http://www.biography.com/people/nicholas-sparks-562686#big-break

http://www.gq.com/story/nicholas-sparks-what-women-want

 

Why do I read?

I read because reading is awesome. I can feel like I am experiencing things that I will never experience in my life. I will never be a teenage boy going to a wizarding school, but Harry Potter sure does make me feel like I am. I absolutely love Harry Potter, it's what got me in to reading. I was only in third grade and I was obsessed. I remember the first time I read Harry Potter, I started reading them because I loved big books. Therefore, I skipped the first three. After almost finishing the fourth book, I went back and read the first ones due to the fact I had no idea what was going on.

I read because it makes me laugh. Books that make me laugh out loud are my favorite, they make me realize that I don't need Netflix or YouTube to laugh all the time. Reading gets me off my phone and computer, and my mom loves that. reading gives me a 100% valid excuse to stay in my room away from my family. Sometimes I really need to get away from them, so I read from when I wake up to when I go to bed (on weekends anyway). They say watching screens before bed is super bad for you, so now I just read for 2 hours instead.

Lastly, I read because I'm forced to. This sounds bad, but it isn't. When I am forced to read I actually have to do it... no excuses. Then that gets me back in to the "swing" of reading so to speak. Now a days it is very hard for me to want to read because I have 2 seasons of Parks And Recreation to watch on Netflix, and I will always choose that. When I am in reading mode I won't touch my computer or phone for days. I want that again, so I read to get back to that place. The place where I will read two books a week for months on end. Setting reading goals and records to break and feeling very accomplished when I achieve them. I miss that a lot, and I have to do to get that again is read!!