A Bend in the Road: A Book Review

I recently read this book for the BookTube-A-Thon 2014; this book counted for the challenges of reading a book with red on the cover and reading a book that someone else picked out for you!  A friend of mine let me borrow this book, saying that they really liked it, and now I have finally got around to reading it!  I really enjoyed this novel, and I would say that it is one of my favorites by Nicholas Sparks!

Title: A Bend in the Road

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Genre: Adult, Romance

Publisher: Warner Books

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

Pages: 352

Out in Paperback?: Yes; July 1, 2002

Goodreads

Amazon

My Rating: 4.5/5

Review:

Goodreads Summary:

Miles Ryan's life seemed to end the day his wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. As deputy sheriff of New Bern, North Carolina, he not only grieves for her and worries about their young son Jonah but longs to bring the unknown driver to justice. Then Miles meets Sarah Andrews, Jonah's second-grade teacher. A young woman recovering from a difficult divorce, Sarah moved to New Bern hoping to start over. Tentatively, Sarah and Miles reach out to each other...soon they are falling in love. But what neither realizes is that they are also bound together by a shocking secret, one that will force them to reexamine everything they believe in--including their love.

In A Bend in the Road, Nicholas Sparks writes with a luminous intensity about life's bitter turns and incomparable sweetness. His affirming message carries a powerful lesson about the imperfections of being human, the mistakes we all make, and the joy that comes when we give ourselves to love.

Characters:

Overall, I really enjoyed these characters!  I thought that they were all really likeable and relatable.  Miles Ryan, one of our main characters, is still struggling with the loss of wife as he tries to also focus on raising his young son, Jonah, and working as a sheriff in the town.  Miles is a sweet, kind character; he does have a bit of a temper times when dealing with some criminals in the town, particularly one of his long-time enemies.  However, he is a sweet dad to Jonah, which makes him very likeable.  Jonah is a very adorable child, who acts a lot of questions.  Since the passing of his mother, he begins to struggle in school, which Sarah, the new teacher, picks up on and decides to help him out after school after talking with Miles.  As things progress, Miles and Sarah become friends and spend many nights together as their relationship grows.

Plot:

The story begins by introducing Miles and his son Jonah, who are recovering from the loss of their wife and mother.  Miles’s wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident a couple of years ago, and Miles is still trying to move on from the terrible tragedy.  Unfortunately, Jonah has been suffering in his schoolwork since the passing of his mother.  The new schoolteacher, Sarah, quickly realizes this and begins helping him after school.  As a relationship begins between Sarah and Miles over teaching Jonah, it continues to develop throughout the novel.  With a change in perspective throughout the novel, the book takes on a fast pace with a little mystery and suspense as well!

Writing Style:

I really enjoyed how this book was written!  Nicholas Sparks is definitely one of my favorite authors, and I thought the description, dialogue, and plot all worked great together to tell a wonderful story!  My favorite part of the writing style was that a third person narrator was telling this story – someone who is forever tied with Miles and Jonah but does not know them personally.  This definitely created a great element of suspense and kept me wanting to read more!

Have you read this novel?  What did you think? Weird how this book hasn’t been made into a movie yet…

FTC Disclaimer:

All items mentioned were purchased by me.  This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.  No affiliate links were used.