Book Vs. Movie- The Last Song

Welcome to another installment of Book vs. Movie!
If you missed my first round where I talked about the book & movie, My Sister's Keeper click here to visit it!

Today we are talking about The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.

If your familiar with Spark's works you know pretty much all his books eventually become movies.

I've read/watched a good majority of them but I picked this one in particlar.

Let's break it down.

The plot of The Last Song:

Seventeen year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father… until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him.

Ronnie’s father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms – first love, the love between parents and children – that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts… and heal them.

I have a love/hate relationship with Nicholas Sparks. I think he writes well but I feel like all of his books end in the same way- tragic somehow.

Either someone dies or they don't end up together or something else, it's always something it seems.

Now not all of his books end sad but a good majority of them do.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy The Last Song, I did, I actually loved it. It's probably one of my favorites of his so I was excited for the movie....which I didn't love.

It was ok.

It may be just me but I'm not a huge fan of Miley Cryus, I just don't really enjoy any movie she's in. Greg Kinnear was in the movie which was a beacon of light because I just love that man, so talented!

I just didn't enjoy the movie all that much.

I felt like Miley didn't portray Ronnie all that well. It felt bland and just boring in my opinion.

I loved the book because of all the character development with Ronnie. She starts somewhat out a brat and really hating her father to maturing and learning how to love.

I didn't feel that in the movie.

I've learned with Spark's book to movie adaptations I always like the book way better.

I think the only two Spark's movies I like are The Notebook and A Walk to Remember (which still to this day I can't watch either without sobbing like a baby).

So in this round

Book wins over movie.

What did you think about the book to movie adaptation of The Last Song?

Book vs. Movie Round 1: My Sister's Keeper

Welcome to a new feature on the blog!

Book vs. Movie!!!

Now we all love (sometimes) when a book we love is being made into a movie. We eagerly await the day we can watch the movie & see if it lived up to the book right? Sometimes it does, a lot of times it doesn't.

With this new feature I am going through every single one of the books I've read that has been made into a movie and hashing out the details.

Was the movie as good as the book or completely horrible?

Did they stay faithful to the book?

All these questions & more will be answered in the 1st round of
Book vs. Movie!

This round we are looking at the book,
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

I read my Sister's Keeper when I was 16.
In retrospect I was probably to young to read it but I still loved it. It was my first Jodi Picoult book & I read a ton of her books after reading this one.
If your unfamiliar with the plot of My Sister's Keeper, I'll get you up to speed.

Jodi Picoult tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness. Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.
  
It's an amazing book. Heartwrenching book as well. I was excited when I learned it was being made into a movie. I patiently waited for the movie to come out on DVD and was shocked!



They changed the most vital part of the book!

 They changed the whole ending!

 There were a ton of other changes they made that were different from the book but the biggest one was the ending. I was very upset about that. I understand little changes for the sake of the movie but to completely alter the whole ending? Now that's just a slap in the face!
I didn't really enjoy the movie either. I felt distant from it the entire time I watched it. I didn't feel for the characters in the movie as I did in the book. It wasn't that great at all. 

It's safe to say in this round,
Book clobbered Movie!

I wouldn't even give the movie a 1 out of 5 if I'm being honest.
Horrible movie
but 
amazing book!