The Choice

Nicholas Sparks
Grand Central Publishing (2007)
ISBN 9780446579926
Reviewed by Tammy Petty Conrad for Reader Views (10/07)


I knew what I was getting into picking up a Nicholas Sparks’ novel. Romance and tears! But I didn’t think there would be ethical dilemmas to debate with anyone that would listen. This story takes place in a small town in North Carolina and our two main characters do the expected:  meet, clash and fall head-over-heels in love. But there’s so much more!

Travis is the man every woman would love to live next door to, whether she’s already in a relationship or not. He’s just a great guy. But Gabby takes an instant dislike to him, or at least what she thinks she knows about him from the distance she’s kept. It takes Travis’ help during the delivery of her dog’s puppies to open Gabby’s eyes to the man she is lucky enough to be neighbors with. Of course she already has a boyfriend, but he becomes a bit player as Gabby promptly falls under Travis’ spell.

Gabby knows something is missing in her current relationship, but has been willing to hang on, hoping it will be worth it in the end. Travis opens her eyes to another world that she quickly finds attractive. At the same time, he comes to realize why all his previous relationships ended and how Gabby is the woman he is meant to be with. After spending a day with her, he ponders that their interactions are like “…a tantalizing dance, in which each of them had taken turns leading, one pushing, the other pulling, and vice versa. He wondered if a dance like that could go on forever.” Being in a new relationship myself, I wonder the same thing!

Mostly this is a predictable, although enjoyable story. But occasionally the author slips in an idea worth contemplating. “Finding a woman with a sense of humor had been the one piece of advice his father had given him…If conversation was the lyrics, laughter was the music, making time spent together a melody that could be replayed over and over without getting stale.” I can’t agree more. If you can’t share laughter with your partner, you are missing great joy that deepens a relationship beyond measure.

In Part Two, the story totally switches gears and I felt off balance for a few pages until I could figure out what was going on. Suddenly it wasn’t as predictable as I anticipated which I liked. The perfect world of Travis and Gabby no longer existed -- hence the tears. Without giving the story away, I can tell you that I had a glimpse of the range of emotions of those involved when there is a family tragedy. This is where the idea of choice comes in and the possible consequences that might have to be endured. As the author asks, “How far should a person go in the name of love?”

I liked the concept the author used of introducing another couple, Eleanor and Kenneth, and their story to further explain Travis’ and Gabby’s new situation and why things happened the way they did. A fun character is Travis’ sister, Stephanie. She says what she thinks and does what she wants, which most of probably wish we could do more often.

I wasn’t looking for a happy ending because I’m old enough to know better. Things don’t always turn out the way we plan. But in this case, I could accept the more realistic ending. Then the Epilogue came and turned it all around again. Despite my slight disappointment, the tears flowed, again, and I imagine most readers will be happy with the outcome.

I wish I had read “The Choice” with a book club so I could discuss it. What would you do? Did Travis do the right thing? In the end Nicholas Sparks reminds us with his characters that true love really does exist and can endure anything. In a cynical world overflowing with divorces, I’d like to think this is true in real life, not just novels.

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