The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

    In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply in love.  Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for each other seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina.
     Dawson was a loner from a violent and infamous local family.  Amanda a golden girl from a well-to-do family with plans to attend Duke University. Amanda saw something in Dawson that spoke to her rebellious and passionate heart.
     As the summer of their senior year came close to an end, events would tear the young couple apart setting them on different paths.  Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. As Dawson and Amanda carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that neither of their lives have turned out the way they planned and they still feel the same passion for each other that they had when they were in high school.
     A compelling story of young love that makes everyone want to believe that endless love is possible.  Nicholas Sparks is one of the world's most beloved storytellers. The following books written by Nicholas Sparks have been adapted into major motion pictures: The Notebook, The Last Song, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, and The Best of Me.