• The Best of Me

  • By: Nicholas Sparks
  • Narrated by: Sean Pratt
  • Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (4,296 ratings)

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The Best of Me  By  cover art

The Best of Me

By: Nicholas Sparks
Narrated by: Sean Pratt
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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

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I liked it...

What did you love best about The Best of Me?

A very different story, excitment and a love story that could happen to many of us.

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The best Nicholas Sparks book ever!

I love all of Nicholas Sparks books and each time I read one I think it's his best but this one is truly the best of the best. The reader is perfect and in the highly emotionally charged parts of this book his narration is so moving, you can believe this story is happening to him.
Most people would say this is a book made for women but if men would read it they might learn something about women. I would welcome hearing more of Sean Pratt's reading other N. Sparks books.
Keep writing such beautiful stories Nicholas!

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somewhat predictable

it was good. easy to see the writing on the wall. the ending fit the story even if it wasn't what I wanted.

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Great book

What a great book. Very well read. Many stories incorporated throughout this story which kept it interesting.

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better than the movie

I was hesitant to listen to this book because have seen the movie years back. well narrated and read as well as written.

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the best of me

was a wonderful book to listen to or read. I could not turn off. It had an ending I was not expecting. I would pass this on to anyone.

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A great book

What a wonderful book. Not only does it kind of keep you guessing but it was so enjoyable.

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A very recomendable listen

I love the narration of the story. The narrator brings to life the characters in vivid detail. The storyline brings the question of how far a person would go in the name of love to the surface.

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Wow!!

not at all what I thought it would be, but WOW!! Such a powerful and amazing story!!

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5 Star Author and Narrator

Excellent book by Nicholas Sparks. The audio was very good! I will be listening to a lot more of his books!

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