Consider me a Nicholas Sparks virgin. I’ve seen A Walk to Remember at the urging of a roommate and I’ve flipped past The Notebook when it was on TV, but I’ve never opened a page of any of his books. This was a conscious decision. I’ve never been one for romantic, tear-jerker stories with formulaic plots and stock characters. Nevertheless, I figured that you couldn’t judge a novelist by sappy movie adaptations. Thus, I embarked upon Sparks’ latest effort, The Last Song.

The story revolves around the experiences of Veronica “Ronnie” Miller, a 17-year-old Manhattan native who, along with her younger brother Jonah, is sent to spend the summer with her estranged father in a small town on the coast of North Carolina. The father, Steve, is a pianist and former music instructor who abandoned his family to chase his dreams, and is now reaching out for a last chance. The town itself has faced some hard times with the recent arson of a local church. At first, Ronnie falls in with a bad crowd, but finds her attentions drawn to Will, the stereotypical clean-cut hero with his own secrets to hide. Carefree Jonah, though often a foil through which the other two reveal their vulnerable sides, has his own mission of helping Steve finish a stained glass window for the damaged church. The narrative pot is generously stirred by the machinations of a teenage hoodlum named Marcus who likes to play with fire and his tag-along misfit girlfriend, Blaze. In the background is an old pastor offering sage advice and a nest of sea turtles, adopted and fiercely protected by Ronnie.

Sparks delivers on the expected formula: Ronnie is good on the inside, and she learns a lot of lessons that polish away her initially rough exterior. She and Will have a whirlwind romance that comes under fire from his rich family. Also, her father is misunderstood, and his back story is revealed as he slowly and sacrificially rebuilds his relationship with her. Later on, Ronnie is there for him when he needs it most. By the book’s end, everyone is a little older, a little wiser and, in most cases, a lot happier than they were before.

The Last Song won’t win any awards for originality in terms of its overall structure, and at times the teenage melodrama is a little much to take. Even so, Ronnie is surprisingly sensible compared to the standard heroine one finds in the post-Twilight era. Steve, too, is nicely developed from a standard apologetic father figure into a calm, often cowardly, yet ultimately loving man seeking redemption for past mistakes from both his children and God. Yes, I smirked at some scenes and rolled my eyes at others. Still, I found myself sighing in relief as the story ended on a happy note. I recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for an easy, uplifting read with a message that it is never too early, or too late, to be redeemed.