By Sarah Switek
Staff Writer
Sparks makes readers reach for the tissue box, again.
A photograph lies on the ground in Iraq. A soldier picks it up, and stares at the beautiful, mysterious figure looking back at him. “Who is she?” he wonders. He places the photo gently into his pocket, where it will stay for a very long time. This sets the stage for Nicholas Sparks’ 14th book, The Lucky One.
The plot of the book high- lights how fate can conspire to bring two people together in a crazy, mixed up world. The main heartthrob in The Lucky One is Logan Thibault, a hunky soldier whose best friend is his German Sheppard named Zeus. Upon returning home after a tour of duty in Iraq, Logan be- gins the hunt for his mysterious luck charm, a woman he has never met. As he hikes through the woods day after day, he can only think of one thing, the picture in his pocket.
Enter secret luck charm. A young, and of course beautiful women, who seems to have life figured out.; except for maybe the fact that she has been mysteriously single for the past eight years. She is a smart, gentle woman, who above all things is looking for the love of a man; yet she is still single and cannot figure out why. Will fate rub its magical hands together and get this woman the love she deserves?
So here we go. Boy wants girl, girl wants boy. They end up finding each other, but they each have their secrets. Will the secret of the picture lead them into a incredible chance at romance, or will it tear into their hearts and make it diminish the very thought of them having a chance at a relationship at all. This book has its ups, its downs, and its twists. The story is definitely a page-turning, afternoon read for lovers of a good sappy romance novel, yet one looking for a little more excitement may find it, well, predictable and boring.
However, all of Sparkss fans will agree that the story delivers all the great elements of a Sparks romance novel. Marywood junior Lauren Smith discussed her feelings on the book “I liked it. It was not one of my favorite Sparks books, but it definitely had all the at- tributes of one. I would recommend this book to anyone look- ing for a tearjerker.” The Lucky One links readers back to such heart-felt stories like The Note- book, The Rescue, and A Walk to Remember.
However, readers new to Sparks’ works may find the characters a little bit to cliché. You have the typical mix of a strong single man, a woman in need of love, a crazy family member, and so on. Regardless of the almost-to-perfect characters, this story prevails as a must read for die-hard roman- tics and Sparks fans alike; just make sure you keep a few extra tissues handy.