Reading Over Vacation

I definitely feel that I made the most of my time off from school when it comes to reading. I took the opportunity of extra time to snuggle up with some good books. First I finished reading Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult. It was no surprise that I loved this book, since all of her pieces are among my favorites. Once again, I found myself unable to stop turning the pages while reading it and incredibly moved after finishing it.

Next, I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. Upon discovering that the book was written by the same author who wrote The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, I knew I was in for a good love story. And that is exactly what I got. The plot followed the rebuilding father-daughter relationship between Steve and Ronnie, as well as the developing romantic relationship between Ronnie and Will.

I found it interesting that in both books, the authors switched off the characters spotlighted in each chapter. On the opening page of each chapter, a different character would be named. In Handle with Care this character would become the narrator and speak in the first person for that chapter. However, in The Last Song the character named would become the subject of that chapter and would be referred to in the third person. I found it interesting that both authors shared this technique, yet utilized it in a different manner.

Throughout the story I noticed that the evolution of these relationships was symbolized using the growth of sea turtles, which were found near Ronnie and Steve's home. At first when Ronnie arrives at her dad's house for the summer, she is clearly unhappy and takes her anger out on her dad. However, she learns to become a more caring and forgiving person during her stay there. Like the turtles in their eggs, Ronnie remained isolated for a long time. However, she learned to hatch, and open up to the world. Perhaps these similarities explained the reason why Ronnie felt so protective over the turtles. During numerous nights Ronnie slept outside to protect the turtles from raccoon attacks before their cage arrived for protection. On page 126 Ronnie even refers to the turtles as "[her turtles]," demonstrating her connection to them. Later on Ronnie visits a grown sea turtle, named Mabel, with "scars on her shell". I found it interesting that the sea turtle Ronnie visits is obviously one who has been through trauma, just as Ronnie is placed in many difficult situations herself. Even during Ronnie's hardest moments, she found comfort in remembering the miracle of seeing the sea turtles hatch. When she was overcome with grief "she wanted to turn back the clock to the moment the turtles had hatched, when all was right with the world" (318). Amazing, how this an event could have such an impact on Ronnie.

After finishing the book, I noticed that the cover depicts the newly hatched sea turtles. There are a few huddled together and one is seen speeding ahead toward the ocean. These turtles helped to portray the growth that Ronnie went through, as well as the evolution of her newly formed and reformed relationships. She learned to break out of her shell and speed toward anything, even if it is as big and intimidating as the ocean.