Book v. Movie - A Walk to Remember

So as part of my Lust and Love Event I had to choose which book and movie to compare. I saw A Walk to Remember years ago and fell in love with it so I decided I better finally read the book.

NOTE: There will be Spoilers involved (otherwise how would I be able to compare the two?)

Synopsis: "Every April, when the wind blows from the sea and mingles with the scent of lilacs, Landon Carter remembers his last year at Beaufort High. It was 1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two. He even swore that he had once been in love. Certainly the last person in town he thought he'd fall for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's Baptist minister. A quiet girl who always carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie seemed content living in a world apart from the other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. No boy had ever asked her out. Landon would never have dreamed of it. Then a twist of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecoming dance, and Landon Carter's life would never be the same. Being with Jamie would show him the depths of the human heart and lead him to a decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably on the road to manhood..."

My Review: My first reaction after reading this was to mop my face with a tissue and shake my fist sobbing 'Damn You Nicholas Sparks for turning me into a blubbering sap!' Now let me look at the book as a whole. It started out really slow for me. I found Landon narrating the story to be a little all over the place with a lot of tangents. He seemed to ramble a lot but I guess that is kind of how our memories take us. But as you get to the middle and then the final quarter of the book you get completely hooked, you have to finish it (preferably in private so no one will see you with tears streaming down your cheeks). You don't even realize what is happening as Sparks pulls you into the story. This is (as with all his books) a beautiful and emotional romantic tale.

My Rating: This one definitely earned a Four Paw rating from me! Even with the slow start and rambling the story still sucked me in and of course brought tears to my eyes at the end.

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Synopsis: "In Beaufort, North Carolina, a prank on a student goes terribly wrong and puts the student in the hospital. Landon Carter, a popular student with no defined plans for the future, is held responsible and forced to participate in after-school community service activities as punishment, which include starring as the lead in the school play. Also participating in these activities is Jamie Sullivan, the reverend's daughter who has great ambitions and nothing in common with Landon. When Landon decides he wants to take his activities seriously, he asks Jamie for help and begins to spend most of his time with her. But he starts to develop strong feelings for her, something he did not expect to do. The two start a relationship, much to the chagrin of Landon's old popular friends and Jamie's strict reverend father. But when a heart-breaking secret becomes known that puts their relationship to the test, it is then that Landon and Jamie realize the true meaning of love and fate."

My Review: I adore this movie, the music, the actors and of course the tear jerking storyline. I absolutely loved Mandy Moore in this role! Landon is definitely a bad boy headed down the wrong path and Jamie is as polar opposite of him as you can get. I loved watching their interactions and their relationships grow, how Landon remembered her bucket list items and came up with creative ways to satisfy them is so romantic. I really enjoyed the part with the play and almost wish I could see the whole play, not to mention hear her sing that song about a million times (note - I will be tracking down this soundtrack before the month is out). This is a movie I will watch over and over, especially when I need a good cry!

My Rating: I loved this movie and everything about it! I give it rating of Four Paws and a Stump Wag!

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Wow! These were both great, but so different from eachother. I honestly think I liked the movie better this time. I think the change in Landon is so much more drastic than in the book. He was forced into the situation of drama club instead of just trying to cop out with an easy class. Have I said yet that I loved Mandy Moore in this role?!

I did like the connection of the play in the book with Jamie & her father though, but as I said before I also like the play in the movie. I just think that the book brought her father in much more and made him a key character instead of a sub-character and I think he is very important to the whole story since he raised Jamie to be the way she is. I also preferred the connection with Landon's father better in the movie, it was a lot more feezable how their relationship was repaired.

That said I preferred the connection between Jamie and Landon in the movie better. The emotions were stronger in the movie, maybe because the book was narrated by Landon and so a lot of the emotion was left out with the male point of view.

All in all they are both great but I really did prefer the movie.

Have you read the book? Seen the movie? Which did you like better?