|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Miles Ryan has been mourning the death of his spouse for the last two years. One afternoon, after having argued, Missy Ryan goes out on a jog never to return. She is the victim of a hit-and-run accident where she dies at the scene and the driver runs away. Racked with guilt, Miles, a deputy for the New Bern Police Department in North Carolina, spends his free time investigating his wife's death and hoping to get justice. He has put his entire life on hold oblivious to the toll that it has taken on his seven-year-old son, Jonah. It is not until he is called to a parent teacher conference that his life will be irrevocably changed. Sarah Andrews is Jonah's second grade teacher. She recently moved from Baltimore to New Bern hiding from a messy divorce. Feeling wounded and distraught she relocates to North Carolina where she can stop thinking of the jerk of her ex-husband and continue her teaching career at the local grade school. She notices that Jonah Ryan has been having trouble in keeping up with his classmates and is afraid that he may have to repeat the grade. Sarah is aware of his motherís death and wants to try to help Jonah. She decides to organize a parent teacher conference with Miles in the hope of helping his son. The last thing on her mind is falling in love and having her life forever altered. When parent and teacher first meet, they both share an attraction towards each other. They feel socially awkward from their previous circumstances but one thing is clear. They are both interested in Jonahís welfare and they will work together to help him do better in school. They start the boy in an after-school tutoring program and everything goes well. As the days progress, Sarah and Miles cannot deny that they have feelings with each other until they fall in love. Unfortunately, their romance could be short-lived due to a secret from which they are both unaware of that might threaten their relationship forever. Nicholas Sparks knows how to pull his readerís heartstrings after writing such terrific love stories such as The Notebook and Message in a Bottle. The characters in this novel seem very real, where we see the weaknesses and frustrations of the lead characters. Miles will learn the truth about his wifeís death and will be forced to make a hard decision. Sara will also be involved in the same crucible as Ryan and she does not know if her heart can take another rejection. The author manages to bring a nice, fairy tale resolution to the problem on something that might be considered an impossible mission. A Bend in the Road is a story of true love, friendship, redemption, and forgiveness. Every relationship has a bend in the road but in the end it is something worth fighting for. Love plays a powerful part in this work for such a great novel. This book has my highest possible recommendation.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, July 2002
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
