Diana

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. They say that books take you on a journey. Well, Cheryl took me on a journey - not only on the Pacific Crest Trail, but through the recent trial of losing her mother and her life that then spiraled out of control.

I appreciated the way Ms. Strayed wrote, giving enough details about the PCT to keep me interested (even looking at maps and reading more about the trail) but not going overboard with descriptions of the flora and fauna. She also did a good job of weaving the story of her mom and personal life through her walk on the trail and the people she met along the way.

**note: I read the e-book version that included Oprah Winfrey's comments throughout the book. Although I'm an Oprah fan and I enjoyed her comments, there really weren't that many and in the end, I don't really think it was worth it.

A well done story that interweaves characters and experiences. Judy Blume has a knack for writing about life in a way that the reader can identify with the emotions her characters feel and grapple with. I like that. Although it's a fictional story, the events that the story is rooted in actually happened.

I would probably give this book three and a half stars. It was good, but just okay good.

I guess what I didn't like was at the point of knowing Amanda's son would need a heart transplant, I knew the way the rest of the story would go. Nicholas Sparks did his best in the way he wrote it to try to keep the reader in suspense, but it just didn't work. Saying that though, I don't know how it could have been written where the reader would have been kept in the dark.

I enjoy Nicholas Sparks' books and I did enjoy reading this one.