The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

As I've stated before, this blog is mostly YA books, but it is also books that I think YA readers would enjoy. Nicholas Sparks is known for his love stories. Let's face it, the man has found a pattern that works for him. But this story was different. To me, this has to be one of his best books yet! I was expecting sappy love (which I will deal with in order to enjoy his characters) but that was BARELY there! Truly a story about faith (believing in something, anything) and understanding.

Logan Thibault was just like any other U.S. Marine, serving his time in the sandbox. Danger surrounded him constantly and he came close to death on more than one occasion. That is until he found the picture. A beautiful young woman at some kind of fair. Everybody jokes about it until it seems to be the only reason Logan hasn't died during his 3rd tour in Iraq.

Finally, after losing his best friend, Logan decides it's time to leave. He gets processed out and sets out, on foot, to find the woman in the picture. That trek takes him from Colorado to Hampton, North Carolina where he decides to settle in for a while. He meets the kinetic Nana, who runs a dog training facility with her daughter Elizabeth and grandson Ben, and chooses it as a place of employment.

Overtime, as Logan becomes comfortable with this close-knit family, he begins to question his real reason for staying. Is it the search for the elusive girl or something more? The discovery he makes not only changes his path, but also the path of those around him.

As always, Sparks weaves a simple storyline into a more complex analogy. What this book is really trying to get across to its readers is faith and fate are quite important. If you really believe in something, then you should go all out for it. Shallow attempts at going for something really means nothing. And fate is not clear and defined. It is a modifiable path that we can chose to take. I found this book's characters very likable and I found myself actually caring what happened to them. Logan's background in the Marines is a different starting point than Sparks normally takes and I thought it was very appropriate for this time period and specific character. All in all, this was a great story that didn't take me too long to read. Give it a try if you haven't read anything by him.