The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central Publishing, 2009.
Genre: Realistic-Romantic Fiction
The Lucky One is about a retired Marine, Logan Thibault, who finds a photograph of a woman during his tour in Iraq. He keeps the photo with him, and after a while of being in near death situations, people begin saying it is his good luck charm. After the war, he decides to look for her, and after doing a lot of research and guessing, he eventually finds her in North Carolina. A strong relationship between them begins, but there are still some secrets. With this, conflicts rise, and some might tear them apart.
"Has everything," says 1340MagBooks.com, "a great romance, a closer look at the effects of war, a couple of plot twists, a tender mother-son relationship, a good dose of suspense, a loyal friendship, and an entertaining grandmother... I enjoyed every page."
The story is told from three different views, but it is in third person limited according to the character that the chapter is about. Nicholas Sparks uses dialogue in such a realistic way, it makes you feel like you are also in the story. Like many of his other books, he is descriptive, poetic, and romantic in the way he writes.
"But when she closed her eyes, she kept visualizing the way the corners of his mouth would turn up slightly whenever she said something he found humorous or the way his eyebrows knit together when he concentrated on a task. For a long time, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, wondering if maybe, just maybe, Logan was awake and thinking of her, too"(144).
I am a huge fan of Spark's novels, and I love the way they transport you to a different time and place, and truly put you into the character's footsteps. His poetic words are like no other author, and that is one of the many qualities that I enjoy about his stories. In this specific novel, he is very realistic and shows the real effects of war and how realtionships can change people. It also shows how the smallest thing can change someone's life very dramatically. This is one of his best books, and one of the best books I have read, and I would definitely recommend it.
