The Choice: A Novel about True Enduring Love

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Each time a new film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks many works releases, it’s a sure bet I’ll crack open its pages. Such was the case with The Choice when I finally picked up a copy. The book is a unique story that, for once, doesn’t fuss with the needless perspective of secondary characters without sacrificing the importance of having a strong supporting group of characters. This for me, as a reader, was of monumental importance.

FILM REVIEW | The Choice (2016): A Romantic Drama about True Love and a Second Chance

The story introduces us to Travis Parker, a 30-something vet working in the family business. The only unmarried among his peer group of friends who are long since married with families of their own, Travis is happy in his life. He doesn’t feel a need to marry or be something his friends have found happiness in. All of this changes when he meets his next-door neighbor Gabby Holland.

Gabby is a PA whose boyfriend of four years has as yet to ask her to marry him. She’s ready to make their relationship permanent, but he seems happy with the way things stand. When she meets Travis, friendship strikes up between them, and without an indication that he’s willing to make plans for the future, Gabby begins to question her relationship. But is Travis the right man for her?

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks | Book Review

Without becoming too flowery, I think I can safely say, as a book, this is my favorite of the books Sparks’ has written (or more specifically, of those I’ve read). Or at least it started out that way. I loved
this novel in its “early days.” The relationship that forms between Travis and Gabby is sweet albeit fueled by chemistry and all the sparks that come with it though for some will be a tough bond to root for given Gabby is in a relationship (made even more complicated in the film given Travis’ relationship). This being said, I still think The Choice is easily one of my favorites as a novel by Nicholas Sparks. The banter and great sense of connection between its heroine and hero somehow just works; in retrospect, it’s this that is often missing from the novels I’ve read by Sparks.

“Stories are as unique as the people who tell them, and the best stories are those in which the ending is a surprise.” – Nicholas Sparks, The Choice

Spanning a number of years, the book also gets a chance to cover more of the relationship between the couple. It doesn’t end on “I love you” declarations and gets to take them “deeper” into a genuine love story if you will. Because of this, the petty complaints I do have about the novel – like the fact that the latter part of the book is all about Travis (for reason I won’t say because spoilers!), which might be something of an adjustment for those of us that wanted to expand on or “see” more of the romance between the couple we’d been reading about up until then.

If you like contemporary romance or Nicholas Spark novels in general, The Choice is, in my opinion, one of his best.

About the Book

Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Bought
Publication Date: 2007
Find the Review elsewhere: Goodreads 
Add the Book: Goodreads
Genre: Fiction; Contemporary Fiction, Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5

Content note: this is secular romance so while always tactful, there are one or two sensual scenes though no profanity (that I can remember).