• The Best of Me

  • By: Nicholas Sparks
  • Narrated by: Sean Pratt
  • Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (4,294 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Best of Me  By  cover art

The Best of Me

By: Nicholas Sparks
Narrated by: Sean Pratt
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.83

Buy for $21.83

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

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 eighteen".

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

Featured Article: 10 Outstanding Contemporary Fiction Authors for Fans of Nicholas Sparks


Nicholas Sparks is a bestselling and widely beloved author of contemporary fiction—23 novels and counting! His stories about complicated relationships, unexpected love, loss, sacrifice, and rediscovery are written in a descriptive, emotional, and earnest style. There’s no other author exactly like Sparks, but if you’ve already made your way through his catalog and you’re looking for more listens of similar appeal, here are 10 other fiction authors you might enjoy.

What listeners say about The Best of Me

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,837
  • 4 Stars
    933
  • 3 Stars
    366
  • 2 Stars
    96
  • 1 Stars
    62
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,557
  • 4 Stars
    793
  • 3 Stars
    256
  • 2 Stars
    53
  • 1 Stars
    39
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,444
  • 4 Stars
    728
  • 3 Stars
    362
  • 2 Stars
    100
  • 1 Stars
    69

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

EXCELLENT! KEEP KLEENEX HANDY!

Any additional comments?

Once again Nicholas Sparks doesn't disappoint. This one will keep you guessing with again, a very surprise ending! Excellent book, must read, but very sad.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Best book that I have heard in quite a while right tears my eyes last memories it was great recommend this book to anyone

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Its the "regular" love story again...

I read Nicholas Sparks for those mindless, escape novels, where you don't have to think or try to figure out the crime, etc. He tells an interesting story in all of his novels. Regular love story, that starts when the main characters are teenagers, then they go their separate ways only to meet again and rekindle their love that has never gone away. (sniff) This has an interesting twist, and is a more mature kind of love since the characters all have lived their lives apart and now are coming together after 20+ years at the funeral of a friend. A little sappy in parts, but overall, a comfort "food" for the brain.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

LOVE

Where does The Best of Me rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's close to the top.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Best of Me?

the reunion, you will understand when you listen

Which scene was your favorite?

The scattering of the ashes

If you could rename The Best of Me, what would you call it?

The Gift of Love

Any additional comments?

Sparks writes stories with a lot of human emotions. Love, tragedy, the things we all deal with in life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

It was good

I liked the story but the thing that i can not get out of my mind is that i heard it somewhere. don't know if i dreamed it or it was in a movie but i know how it would end after the first few chapters. I could call out what was going to happen in the next few chapters before it even gave a hint to it. I think that is strange but over all I loved the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

This story immediately grabs your attention! Another wonderful story by Nicholas Sparks! The narrator dies a great job bringing the characters to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sparks is amazing!

I love all of Sparks books. can not wait till the next comes out. Thank you!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved!!!

Loved this book!! A must listen and a powerful tear jerker. Nicholas Sparks reaches to your soul with this book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Always Good

When I knew that Nicholas Sparks would be having his newest book released Oct. 11th, 2011 I could hardly wait! The wait was worth it, of course. He writes in a manner that keeps ones attention and always there is a twist that twinges the emotions, and this one doesn't fail to meet that.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Story & Performance

This Book by Nicholas Sparks was another one of his great works. It led me on a rollercoaster of feelings. Sean Pratt breathed life into each character & scene. The ending was a surprise. I recommend it to anyone. But, be sure you have tissues near by. I give it 5 ☆'s.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!