The Last SongThe Last Song
Score Modern
What it's about
Seventeen-year-old Ronnie Miller is angry at her father for leaving the family, and she's furious when her mother sends her and her little brother to spend the summer with him in a beach town in North Carolina. Over the summer she falls for a local boy, gets into trouble, helps protect a nest of sea turtles, and starts to understand her father, just in time.
Why it's worth reading
It hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sparks wrote it alongside the screenplay for the film starring Miley Cyrus, and it's a classic tearjerker.
You'll love it if you liked
The Lucky One
The Fault in Our Stars
Me Before YouGood to know
It's sad, with a parent's terminal illness at its heart.
By the numbers
- Readers73 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller82 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #17 of the 219 young adult books we rank
- #27 of the 233 romances we rank
- #206 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #406 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Nicholas Sparks
The WishThe Lucky One
The Rescue
Dear JohnIf you like this, read next
The Deal
It Ends with Us
Purple Hibiscus
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
Dominicana
The Inheritance GamesExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The Last Song worth reading?
Yes. It hit #1 on the New York Times list. It ranks #406 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 79.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Last Song about?
Seventeen-year-old Ronnie Miller is angry at her father for leaving the family, and she's furious when her mother sends her and her little brother to spend the summer with him in a beach town in North Carolina. Over the summer she falls for a local boy, gets into trouble, helps protect a nest of sea turtles, and starts to understand her father, just in time.
How long does it take to read The Last Song?
About 11 hours (432 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Last Song?
If you liked it, try The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green or Me Before You by Jojo Moyes.