Book, movie The Last Song make big splash

Jayne Durnin/Staff Writer

If you were to inquire what everyone in your class was reading at DEAR time, there is a good chance that at least one person was reading Nicholas Sparks’ new novel, The Last Song.

The Last Song has spent eight weeks as the number one book in it’s category on the New York Times bestseller list, and it has been a huge hit with teenagers.

But in addition to the book being a huge hit, Nicholas Sparks also wrote a screenplay even before the book, which has been made into a movie starring Miley Cyrus and Liam Hensworth.

“I really liked Miley Cyrus’ acting abilities. I saw it with a bunch of girls, and they all cried. I was the only one in the theater who wasn’t crying, and there were only three other guys there,” sophomore Oguguo Asota said.

In New York Times’ review of the movie, however, they were not so generous to Cyrus.

This was said about her acting: “Another big problem is Ms. Cyrus. Her Hannah Montana persona has a certain aggressive charm, and she seems to be a young celebrity with a good attitude and a strong work ethic. But acting, for the moment at least, seems almost entirely beyond her.”

Actress Miley Cyrus not only met with writer Nicholas Sparks and inspired him, but she also got to name her own character, Ronnie.

A lot people’s reasons for seeing the movie seemed to be to judge whether or not Cyrus would be a good actor, apart from her stint as Hannah Montana.

“I heard it was going to be good, and I wanted to see Miley Cyrus’ acting. I thought it was a good movie, and I plan on reading the book,” senior Makenze Mobley said.
As for the book, it seemed to get very good reviews from many sources.

“I read a book every two weeks, and someone recommended this one. I think so far that it’s one of his better books: it pertains to high schoolers and the characters were very well thought out. If the book isn’t predictable, I will probably see the movie,” art teacher Emily Luensman said.

“The Last Song is, by far, one of the best books that I have ever read. It is a lot different from many of the other Nicholas Sparks books, as it mostly touches on family,” Jody Morse, a writer for Associated Content, wrote.

It seems like both the book and the movie benefited from each other, as many people wanted to experience both.

“I thought the movie looked good, so I wanted to read the book first. I thought that the book was really good, and I read all of it in almost one day,” sophomore Elizabeth Zars said.