Book Review: The Choice

CEBU, Philippines - How far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

The Choice, Nicholas Sparks’ 13th book, asks that very heart-wrenching question.

Travis Parker is living the good life any bachelor would most certainly be envious of. He has a good job, a good set of friends, a water-front home in North Carolina and a fun-filled life packed with extreme sports. And although he has a certain fondness for women, he has a vague problem with commitment thinking that a serious relationship wouldn’t do much good with his lifestyle. That is until Gabby Holland moves in next door.

From the moment Gabby crashes through his hedges and into his life, Travis is never the same again.

Gabby, Travis’ attractive redhead of a neighbor, has actually been trying to escape the sheltered life she has had because unlike Travis, she has not been given the privilege of living her own life. What’s more, she seems to be holding a grudge against Travis despite his best efforts to be a friendly neighbor.

Two opposing worlds couldn’t possibly coexist and yet as Gabby and Travis’ lives collide, their love grows quickly and fully blossoms.

Over the course of an unforgettable weekend, Gabby’s life is turned upside-down as she is confronted with a choice she has to make between a life her mother would’ve thought fit for her, with her financially stable and dependable boyfriend Kevin or the life Travis offers, which is unpredictably full of excitement – the kind of life she’s always wanted to have.

But that is not the hardest part in their story. The real choice is for Travis to make near the end of the book as he is confronted with a choice that will impact the lives of all those he loves.

Over the years, number one New York Time bestselling author, Nicholas Sparks, has entranced and captivated his readers with beautiful and heartrending stories and he never fails to deliver just that.

I initially picked this book up by accident, but when I read the book’s back cover, it caught my interest. It posted an interesting question, so I bought and read the book.

As I read the book, I found that it had a certain similar heart-wrenching quality to Sparks’ other book, The Notebook. It was painful, reading the characters’ being torn between two things.

The courtship, the getting-to-know-each-other and the growing-to-like-each-other part though was a bit dragging since it took up quite a few more chapters than I expected.

Still, what I liked about this book was how the story played out to be just as I would’ve wanted it to be – tender and moving. It walked me through a remarkable journey between such an unexpected couple. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, it touched on both the good and the bad things that happen in a love story. And it ends just as I would’ve wanted it to end. In a nutshell, I liked what I read. Now, the choice is up to you: Will you choose to read The Choice too?