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The Last Song (novel)

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The Last Song
File:TheLastSonghardcover.jpg
Hardback cover of The Last Song
AuthorNicholas Sparks
LanguageEnglish
GenreRomance, Tragedy
PublisherGrand Central Publishing
Publication date
September 1, 2009
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages405 pages (including the prologue and epilogue)
ISBN0-446-54756-5
OCLC405107195

The Last Song is a 2009 novel by American author Nicholas Sparks. The Last Song is Sparks' fifteenth published novel, and was written specifically as the basis for the film adaptation by the same name. It was released on September 8, 2009 by Grand Central Publishing. The story revolves around the summer of Ronnie Miller's seventeenth year, during which she is sent to stay with her estranged father. Through their shared love of music, the duo reconnect.

Development

In a meeting between Disney executive Jason Reed and Miley Cyrus to discuss Cyrus' career plans, Cyrus expressed a wish to film a movie similar to A Walk to Remember.[1] The film was based on a novel by the same name written by Sparks in 2002. United Talent Agency, which then represented both Cyrus and Sparks, contacted Sparks and asked him to write a screenplay and novel simultaneously with Cyrus in mind for the lead.[2] The part was intended to be Cyrus' breakout role from her popular Hannah Montana character Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana, with hopes of introducing the actress to adult audiences.[1]

Sparks told Variety Magazine that Miley Cyrus and her family "were very familiar with the work I’ve done in the past. That played a role in this project coming together."[1] Once Sparks' idea had been agreed to by Cyrus, her family, and the film's producers,[1] Disney bought the film rights in September 2008.[3] Of the writing process, Sparks told a crowd at the Paramount Center for the Arts that "On this one, I wrote the screenplay first and then the novel. That’s the first time I’ve done that.”[4] He later told Daily Variety, "This is similar to the way it’s gone with movies based on my novels; it’s just out of order. Certain opportunities garner your interest, and this was one of those."[1]

During development, the plot was kept secret.[5] The title was known as "The Untitled Miley Cyrus Project".[1][6][7] In an online chat in 2008, Sparks wrote that for him "titles come last" in the development of a book, and that though he had the idea for the novel he did not yet have the name.[3]

Plot

The Last Song revolves around seventeen year old Ronnie Miller, who is sent by her mother to spend the summer after graduation with her ten-year-old brother, Jonah, visiting her father, Steve. Steve, a former Juilliard professor, had divorced Ronnie's mother, Kim, three years earlier and left New York City for his childhood home, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Ever since, Ronnie has refused to talk to him or to play their shared passion, the piano, and becomes a rebellious clubber. Upon arrival, Jonah immediately bonds with Steve over a stained glass window that Steve has been recreating for the local church after the original burned down in a mysterious arson. Ronnie, however, is hostile. At her request, Steve boards up his beloved piano and instead pursues his search for God's presence. He also begins writing a piano composition using a piano owned by the church, but struggles with its ending.

At the town's annual carnival, Ronnie collides with beach volleyball player Will Blakelee as he dives for a ball. Ronnie storms off and meets gothic Blaze (whose real name is Galadriel), who befriends Ronnie and introduces her to Marcus, Blaze's abusive boyfriend, and his cronies, Lance and Teddy. The three thugs earn money by putting on fire juggling performances for beach crowds. Blaze is crushed when Marcus becomes interested in Ronnie, and retaliates by framing Ronnie for shoplifting and violating a probation agreement. Marcus offers to make Blaze confess if Ronnie has sex with him, but Ronnie refuses. Ronnie later confronts Blaze, and although Blaze admits she was wrong, she is trapped: she has been kicked out by her mother and is staying with Marcus, who forbids her to confess.

Steve surprises Ronnie by believing her when she tells him she was framed, and she begins to soften towards him. Steve shows Ronnie, a vegetarian and animal lover, a Loggerhead Sea Turtle nest Jonah found near their home. Ronnie vows to protect the endangered creatures, bringing her back in contact with Will, an aquarium volunteer. Marcus still carries on harassing Ronnie and starts creeping her out. Will takes out Ronnie on a "non date" which Ronnie enjoys. However, Ashley (Will`s ex girlfriend) stirs up trouble. A major fight between Will and Ronnie follows. However, they soon sort out their differences, and fall in love.

They spend several blissful months together, though their romance is troubled; Will's mother and his ex-girlfriend attempt to drive them apart, and Scott, Will's best friend and beach volleyball partner, is annoyed that Will is not practicing for their upcoming tournament. Marcus continues antagonizing Ronnie and blackmails Will with his knowledge of the secret that Scott was responsible for the church arson.

Will and Ronnie also worry about the looming end of summer, which brings with it Will's leave for Vanderbilt University and Ronnie's shoplifting trial. Ronnie attends Will's sister's wedding. Ronnie and Will begin to wander away to Will's boat for privacy, but are accosted by Marcus. Marcus goads Will into a fight which wrecks the wedding reception. Worried that the rich and powerful Blakelees will press charges, Marcus decides to raise money to leave town by putting on the most dangerous fire-juggling act the next day, the same day as Will's volleyball tournament. The act begins properly, but Blaze misses a catch and her shirt catches fire. Her screams and the flames attract the attention of the volleyball tournament crowd, including Ronnie and Will. As they drive Blaze to the hospital, Marcus and his crew steal away. Will goes to Bower's Point to seek revenge for Blaze (as he and she were friends in elementary school), and finds Marcus, Teddy, and Lance around a fire drinking beers. He fights with the three of them and right in the middle of beating up Marcus Ronnie stops Will, telling him Marcus isn't worth ruining his life over. Afterward, Scott accuses Will of ruining his life and Will walks out, telling Scott he needs to reveal the truth behind what he has done.

Jonah and Ronnie notice Steve is becoming progressively weaker. They are shocked when he begins to cough up blood the same night the Loggerhead nest hatches. Steve reveals the reason he asked them to visit: he is dying of stomach cancer, with only a few months left to live. Ronnie is further stressed when Will reveals Scott's secret, causing her to furiously break up with Will two days before he leaves for Vanderbilt. However, she reconciles with Blaze; Blaze confesses to framing Ronnie, but is released as an informant when she reveals the church arsonist was Marcus, rather than Scott. Later, a news report of Marcus' arrest comes on as Ronnie is watching the news.

At the end of summer, Kim and Steve insist Jonah returns to school, but Ronnie refuses to leave. Months pass, and Steve's health deteriorates. Ronnie takes Steve to see them install the stained-glass window in the church when construction resumed because the Blakelees decide to anonymously fund the rebuilding of the church. With no word from Will, Ronnie determines their time together is over. Ronnie grows closer to Steve and secretly finishes his composition for him. In Steve's final days, Ronnie breaks down the boarding around Steve's piano, with Blaze's help, and uses it to play the composition. Following Steve's funeral, Ronnie moves back to New York, auditions for Juilliard, and is told her audition was "very promising". Ronnie is amazed to receive a visit from Will in New York, who said on the day of the funeral that Steve needed her more. He reveals he has transferred to Columbia, which, like Juilliard, is in New York.

Genre and themes

In 2008, Sparks said of the novel, "I write love stories, so something will probably happen along those lines.”[4] According to the book's synopsis released in 2009, "The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them."[8]

Release

A book tour for The Last Song was announced on July 28, 2009[9] and reached around 13 cities.[10] Despite the relatively short tour, The Last Song debuted at number one on weekly bestseller charts. It headed the Publishers Weekly[11] and New York Times charts for hardback fiction[12] and the Wall Street Journal chart for fiction.[13] According to USA Today's chart, which combines sales of all formats of a book, The Last Song outsold all other titles in its first week.[14] The book dropped to number 2 on all lists the following week, due to the release of Dan Brown's highly anticipated The Lost Symbol, the sequel to The Da Vinci Code.[15][16]

Film adaptation

Main article: The Last Song (film)

The film version of The Last Song was released in the U.S. on March 31, 2010,[17] Unlike previous adaptations of Sparks' novels, Sparks participated in writing the film's screenplay; after agreeing to the project, Sparks invited his college roommate Jeff Van Wie to co-write the script. With Van Wie's help, Sparks finished the screenplay before he began writing the novel.[18] The Last Song is director Julie Anne Robinson's first feature film. The film stars Miley Cyrus as Ronnie, along with Greg Kinnear as Steve, Liam Hemsworth as Will Blakelee, Kelly Preston as Kim, and Bobby Coleman as Jonah.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Fleming, Michael (09-16-08). "Miley Cyrus to star in Disney film". Variety.com. Retrieved 2009-06-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Fleming, Michael (06-04-09). "Miley moseys over to CAA". Variety.com. Retrieved 2009-06-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Nicholas Sparks, Author of "Nights in Rodanthe" and "The Notebook"". The Washington Post. 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  4. ^ a b McGee, David (06-14-2009). "Best-Selling Novelist Nicholas Sparks Charms A Bristol Crowd With His Life Story". Tricities.com. Retrieved 2009-06-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 16 June 8), Miley Cyrus to star in Disney film, retrieved 2009-06-19 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  6. ^ "Untitled Miley Cyrus Project". Artistdirect.com. 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  7. ^ http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/movies/title/0,,4826116,00.html
  8. ^ "[[Nicholas Sparks]]: The Latest". NicholasSparks.com. 2009. Retrieved 07-09-2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  9. ^ http://nicholassparks.com/News.html
  10. ^ "Nicholas Sparks interview". Sun Journal. 2009-08-04. Retrieved 2009-08-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jy7SfNQZWSYFkwPOvgWSOapeOmjgD9AP6P1O0
  12. ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. 2009-09-27. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  13. ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/AP/story/1238249.html?storylink=mirelated
  14. ^ Donahue, Deirdre; Wilson, Craig; Minzesheimer, Bob (2009-09-16). "Book Buzz: What's new on the list and in publishing". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  15. ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  16. ^ Rich, Motoko (2009-09-22). "In Debut Week, 'Lost Symbol' Sells More Than 2 Million Copies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  17. ^ "The Last Song". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  18. ^ a b http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/interviews/2010/nicholasmiley-mar10.html
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