
The Best of Me
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Narrated by:
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Sean Pratt
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By:
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Nicholas Sparks
About this listen
In this number one New York Times best-selling novel of first love and second chances, former high school sweethearts confront the painful truths of their past to build a promising future - together.
"Everyone wanted to believe that endless love was possible. She'd believed in it once, too, back when she was 18".
In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in their small town in North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.
Now, 25 years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back home for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined...and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew - about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear - was not as it seemed.
Forced to confront painful memories, the former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?
©2011 Nicholas Sparks (P)2011 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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-
-
soft and sweet just like the cover shows
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By: Nicholas Sparks
-
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- By: Nicholas Sparks
- Narrated by: Isabel Keating
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Julie Barenson's young husband left her two unexpected gifts before he died - a puppy named Singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now, four years later, 29-year-old Julie is far too young to have given up on love. She may be ready to risk caring for someone again. But who?
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91 year-old Ira Levinson is kept concious after a car wreck by visions of his late wife, Ruth, who recounts stories of their lifetime together. A few miles away, at a local rodeo, Sophia Danko, a senior at Wake Forest, meets a young cowboy named Luke. Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.
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Best Book Nicholas Sparks Has Ever Written!
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Every Breath
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Performance
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In the romantic tradition of The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe, number-one New York Times best-selling author Nicholas Sparks returns with a story about a chance encounter that becomes a touchstone for two vastly different individuals - transcending decades, continents, and the bittersweet workings of fate.
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beautiful story
- By Kindle Customer on 10-17-18
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A Bend in the Road
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Recently selected Best Author by readers of Entertainment Weekly, Nicholas Sparks is one of America's preeminent storytellers. Now, Sparks spins a tale about a man, a woman, and the devastating secret that threatens to keep them apart.
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Hard not to feel superior to the characters
- By Troy D. Lowell on 06-17-03
By: Nicholas Sparks
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Two by Two
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
At 32 Russell Green has it all: a stunning wife, a lovable six-year-old daughter, a successful career as an advertising executive, and an expansive home in Charlotte. He is living the dream, and his marriage to the bewitching Vivian is the center of that. But underneath the shiny surface of this perfect existence, fault lines are beginning to appear, and no one is more surprised than Russ when he finds every aspect of the life he took for granted turned upside down.
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I Am Stunned At The Good Reviews!
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By: Nicholas Sparks
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Dear John
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life - until he meets Savannah, the girl of his dreams. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who has captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist.
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As always my favorite
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The Wish
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The year 1996 was the one that changed everything for Maggie Dawes. Sent away at 16 to live with an aunt she barely knew in Ocracoke, a remote village on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, she could think only of the friends and family she left behind...until she met Bryce Trickett, one of the few teenagers on the island. Handsome, genuine, and newly admitted to West Point, Bryce showed her how much there was to love about the wind-swept beach town - and introduced her to photography, a passion that would define the rest of her life. By 2019, Maggie is a renowned travel photographer.
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The narrator is awful awful awful
- By MF on 10-03-21
By: Nicholas Sparks
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The Notebook: Booktrack Edition
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Every so often a love story so captures our hearts that it becomes more than a story - it becomes an experience to remember forever. The Notebook is such a book. It is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again.... At 31, Noah Calhoun, back in coastal North Carolina after World War II, is haunted by images of the girl he lost more than a decade earlier.
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One of the best love stories ever written!
- By Jennifer B. on 06-27-18
By: Nicholas Sparks
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The Rescue: Booktrack Edition
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When confronted by raging fires or deadly accidents, volunteer fireman Taylor McAden feels compelled to take terrifying risks to save lives. But there is one leap of faith Taylor can't bring himself to make: He can't fall in love. For all his adult years, Taylor has sought out women who need to be rescued, women he leaves as soon as their crisis is over and the relationship starts to become truly intimate.
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The rescue
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By: Nicholas Sparks
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True Believer: Booktrack Edition
- Jeremy Marsh & Lexie Darnell, Book 1
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Part love story and part ghost story, this is an unforgettable New York Times best seller about a science journalist and a North Carolina librarian who dare to believe in the impossible. As a science journalist with a regular column in Scientific American, Jeremy Marsh specializes in debunking the supernatural - until he falls in love with the granddaughter of the town psychic. When Jeremy receives a letter from Boone Creek, North Carolina, about ghostly lights appearing in a cemetery, he can't resist driving down to investigate.
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Distracting
- By Amber on 06-11-19
By: Nicholas Sparks
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Nights in Rodanthe
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Nicholas Sparks, best selling author of A Bend in the Road and A Walk to Remember, returns with this touching tale of two vulnerable people who find love in the eye of a storm.
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Not a "happily ever after" book!
- By KARLA F on 03-04-09
By: Nicholas Sparks
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Dreamland
- A Novel
- By: Nicholas Sparks
- Narrated by: Austin Nichols, Thérèse Plummer, Nicholas Sparks
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
After fleeing an abusive husband with her six-year-old son, Tommie, Beverly is attempting to create a new life for them in a small town off the beaten track. Despite their newfound freedom, Beverly is constantly on guard: she creates a fake backstory, wears a disguise around town, and buries herself in DIY projects to stave off anxiety. But her stress only rises when Tommie insists he’d been hearing someone walking on the roof and calling his name late at night.
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Wow
- By Valeria on 09-21-22
By: Nicholas Sparks
What listeners say about The Best of Me
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- JCM
- 12-30-12
Still find myself thinking of this book....
My all time preferred Nicholas Sparks. If this were a sport it would be a home run in my opinion. Loved the unique story line. The characters were so diverse and yet they came together well. Sean Pratt did a good job with the narration but for me the story was the hit.
I won't write too much to save the mystery for readers who have not bought this - well worth the price. Hated seeing it end.
Kudo's to Nicholas Sparks!
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- Candace
- 02-01-15
Great story
As every Nicholas Sparks book The Best of me is another winner. It is a must read you will love it
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- Diane Green
- 04-07-16
Can you say tear jerker!!
It was a great story, an emotional roller coaster. Break out the Kleenex for this one.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amber Bost
- 12-26-12
Great story, boring narrator.
What did you love best about The Best of Me?
The ending. I can usually guess the ending of a story, but this one through me completely.
What other book might you compare The Best of Me to and why?
Any of Sparks other books.
What aspect of Sean Pratt’s performance would you have changed?
He lacked real emotion when he was narrating. It made for a boring point of view when he was just reading and not portraying the characters.
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- Sarah B
- 09-27-17
Sarah B
Great love story
Couldn't stop listening
Will recommend to friends
Will probably listen again !
Buy this audible:)
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- Stephanie Chaparro
- 02-15-24
Emotional
Wonderful story by NS. Lots of emotions and feelings of confliction knowing Amanda couldn’t have what she so desperately wanted.
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- HRH
- 04-03-15
Great Audile Book
I had read The Best of Me sometime ago. Enjoyed the audible version as well, as it prompted memories of what I had previously read.
Great listen,
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2 people found this helpful
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- Emily
- 06-25-15
Not my favorite
So out of all the Nicholas Sparks books, Dear John is still my favorite. I thought I would like this but I didn't. I couldn't stand the actors in the movie.
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- Connie Wigmore
- 11-14-22
Excellent, Nicholas Sparks does it again!
I can't believe I had never read this book before or seen the movie! excellent storyline, excellent characters and excellent narrator! highly recommend this book! why would happen now? your wallet's right here if that's what you're looking for
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- John
- 10-21-14
The Best of Me... not the best
Is there anything you would change about this book?
I would change the Narrator and the ending of this book. The book is too predictable.
Would you recommend The Best of Me to your friends? Why or why not?
I wouldn not, the story is not as romantic as I thought it would be and was looking for. The narration is boring and the ending is too predictable. It tries to give you too much story in 31 chapters, when they could have taken a bit more time to develop a good story line for you to fall in love with at least one of the characters.
Would you be willing to try another one of Sean Pratt’s performances?
If the story interests me, I would try it.
Did The Best of Me inspire you to do anything?
No. Only to write my opinion so that others know what they are getting into.
Any additional comments?
The story read like a country song. I was looking for a love story and I did not get any part of the love story, only bits of it. The idea of the story was good but not executed well. I finished it in one day. When I got to the last 5 chapters I already knew what the ending would be and I like a book that engages me from the beginning and surprises me at the end. I did not care for any of the characters.After all those years apart, I thought we would have more romance and more story of the two characters but it barely goes there. I think you should rather watch the movie...By the way why do all the Nicholas Sparks books end in death, I don't understand?
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