Blog Reflection

When rereading through my blog post I have found that I could have done a bit more of analysis while reading and writing my blog posts. Although I do have one post about Travis Parker the main character in The Choice: Character Analysis Blog Post. Even though this is not my best post I have done I think it some pretty good analysis. In my character analysis I did give some examples that occurred in the book, one think that I did lack though was quotes which i think could have made the analysis much stronger. Over all I do think I need to go more in depth when writing my blog posts.

Next trimester  I would like to branch out in my reading. I feel as if I'm in a box trapped with Nicholas Sparks books, don't get me wrong  I love his books and I enjoy reading them but it wouldn't hurt me to branch out a little bit and try something new. I have thought about reading Mockingjay and may The Fault in Our Stars since my friend loved it so I might give it a shot. When it comes to quantity and consistency in reading I think I need to read more during the week and read more books throughout the trimester. When it comes to my writing  I can definitely improve upon my analysis skills, that has always been a weakness of mine when it comes to writing. I think if I work on it and really try to find meaningful quotes and dig deeper into the meaning. Maybe I should try using TIQA when writing quote analysis. In conclusion, next trimester I am going to try to read more books and read more during the week as well, and when it comes to writing I will try to focus more on meaning and go more in depth in my writing!

The Choice Book Review

I can't even explain to you how much I love this book, it is truly amazing and I cannot believe it has not been turned into a movie yet! Although that may not be saying much coming from me since pretty much all I read are Nicholas Sparks books. But he does a great job of pulling you into the story and really feeling for the characters which is why I can get through his book quickly. He is an amazing romantic book writer and really knows how to pull at the readers heartstrings which is another reason I love his books. As I have said in my past couple of posts The Choice is very similar to The Notebook so if you enjoyed The Notebook you would also enjoy The Choice.

Book Review

I would give The Choice a 5 out of 5 stars. After the first 2 chapters I couldn't put the book down and after each chapter it left me wondering 'what's going to happen next?' which made me want to keep reading. I would say to make a reader wonder what's going to happen next the whole book it has to be a pretty good book. With there being to problems Travis and Gabby face it really pulls in the reader and I enjoyed that part of it. Although the book does really pull at your heartstrings towards the end but it has a really happy ending. I would suggest this book to any one who enjoys reading love stories with a little bit of heartbreak. Or if you enjoy Nicholas Sparks books in general!

Connecting The Choice and The Notebook + some

The Notebook and The Choice

The book was split up into two parts and in each part there was an obstacle that either Travis or Gabby was faced with. Although the main obstacle was in part two the first obstacle was still very important when it came to Travis and Gabbys relationship. The Choice can be compared to The Notebook because they have a similar plot and outline. In The Notebook Allie and Noah were pulled apart by Allies fiancé but eventually made it through and were able to get married, later to be faced with the fact that Allie got Alzheimer's but Noah was able to make it through that as well. The Choice is very similar, in part one Gabby is faced with the decision of Travis or Kevin, and in part two there is a medical decision just like in the Notebook but I wont go into that because it would give it away.

The Choice.... with the choices they are faced with!

In the first part Gabby and Travis meet but Gabby has a boyfriend Kevin who she claims she loves, But when Kevin goes on a business trip Travis invites Gabby to go out parasailing with him and his friends she agrees with a nervous feeling but goes anyway. She really enjoyed parasailing with Travis and his friends but eventually it was time to go back to the house which is when Travis invited Gabby for dinner which she also agreed to. After they ate dinner Travis walked Gabby home and kissed her... but she has a boyfriend Kevin. She didn't want to admit that she felt something and she kind of liked so she walked away and he asked her if she wanted to do something tomorrow. So the next day they went on a motorcycle ride and had lunch together and then Gabby invited Travis over for dinner. They had dinner and that's when they feel I love, they spent every moment together they could. But Gabby was still dating Kevin, that's where the first choice came in: Travis or Gabby?

I don't want to give away too much because its an amazing book that I would suggest you read! But in part two Travis is faced with this question: How far would you go to keep hope of love alive?
Here is a question for you: How far should a person go in the name of true love?

Character Analysis

Travis Parker the main character has already gone through a couple minor changes. Quickly in the beginning we learned that Travis had everything a man could want. He lived in a small town and he had a waterfront house, he had a good job that he enjoyed and he a very kind loyal friends. But there was one thing he was still without, a women to love. All of his college friends are married and have kids, but Travis isn't to concerned about that. He feels that a women might 'cramp his style', his opinion quickly changes when a women named Gabby moves in next door. When they first meet he couldn't help but realize how beautiful she was. He began to kind of like her but soon found out she had a serious boyfriend. He is beginning to develop feeling for her and she is beginning to develop feelings for him as well. I'm not quite sure who she will choose in the end but I have a feeling that Travis is the right guy for her and she will realize that herself.
Nicholas Sparks does a great job at showing Gabby and Travis interact. He shows how they both find the other one attractive and how they have an interest in each other. Sparks also shows their thoughts, like when they are both talking he shows what they think about each other, how they find the other cute, or what they are wondering about the other person. You can tell Travis really likes Gabby but Gabby doesn't want to leave he boyfriend, Kevin even though you can tell there is something she likes about Travis.

Setting of The Choice

The Choice's main setting is in Beaufort, North Caroline. This happens to be the same setting as one of his other books A Walk to Remember. Sparks says it is a great place for a setting of a book because there is so much history in the town. Although I have only read a couple of chapters in The Choice there is still a very important specific setting in this book. In the beginning is at the main character Travis's house which is in a small neighborhood.


He has a new neighbor living next to him, Gabby, who he has been nothing but nice to. But she is extremely mad at him because she is 99% sure that her dog is pregnant because of his dog. She believe it was his dog because he lets him run around the neighborhood during the day with no supervision. One night Gabby got up the courage to go and talk to her neighbor about her concern. She walked over to his house and as she was walking over she saw a ball fly right by her face and next thing she knew she was flat on the ground, which is when she realized a dog had ran into her. His dog. The dog that got her dog pregnant. This made her even more angry as Travis helped her up. Once she was up she told him they needed to talk and she went on and on and on not letting him say one word. He didn't mine though because he couldn't stop staring at her realizing how beautiful she was. This was the moment he first started to like her while she was sitting there at his house blabbering on.

Why did he write The Choice?

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks wanted to write a novel like his first award winning novel The Notebook, he wanted the same idea of a man who loves a women unconditionally. After finishing his novel Dear John he set out to write a book just as good or maybe even better then The Notebook. Nicholas Sparks said that he wanted the same kind of story since every one loved The Notebook, but he wanted it to be different enough to where it wasn't copying The Notebook. In each of his books he makes sure there in an obstacle that the characters must face, for example in The Notebook Ally got engaged to Lon which kept her and Noah apart for awhile but eventually they were able to overcome that and they got married. Later on another obstacle came, Allie had Alzheimer's which made her forget who Noah and her kids were. In The Choice Sparks wanted to kind of mirror those obstacles.


It took him quite awhile before he was actually able to start writing the book, he had to make sure it was different enough. He started by thinking the characters he made Travis based off of his brother and Gabby based off of one of his former assistants. Gabby had a serious boyfriend who she wanted to marry. That's where the first obstacle came into play, Travis like Gabby but Gabby loved her boyfriend you can see the similarity between The Choice and The Notebook. Next Sparks had to come up with another heartbreaking obstacle like the one in The Notebook, towards the end of the book he made Gabby fall into a coma leaving Travis not knowing if she will ever wake up again.I have read The Notebook and I am just now starting The Choice, I am excited how they will compare through out the book since I loved The Notebook.