Sela

True Believer by Nicholas Sparks ‍**__About the Book__:**
 * //True Believer,// written by Nicholas Sparks, was published by Grand Central Publishing on April 12th, 2005.
 *  It was the #1 //New York Times// Bestseller in 2005
 *  The setting first starts off in Queens, New York but changes to Boone Creek, North Carolina, modeled after Pamlico County.
 *  The story revolves around the main protagonist Jeremy Marsh. The situation begins when the young journalist makes his way down to North Carolina in search of a “fluff” piece on which he plans unlocking the truth behind a local legend that had recently come to his attention. ‍

**__About the Author :__ **
 * Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31st in Omaha, Nebraska.
 * He attended Fair Oaks high school, and graduated as valedictorian in 1984. He went on to University of Notre Dame with a full-ride scholarship for track.
 * After college he began to sell pharmaceuticals in North Carolina but pursued writing.
 * At age 30, //The Notebook// was published. Other major works include //Message in a Bottle// (1998), //A Walk to Remember// (1999), //A Bendin the Road// (2001), //Nights in Rodanthe// (2002), //The Guardian (//2003), //The Wedding (//2003),//True Believer// (2005), //Dear John// (2006), and //The Last Song// (2009) as well as others that were all international best sellers.
 * He is known mainly for his ability to create phenomenal and in-depth romance works

**__Interview with Nicholas Sparks:__** media type="youtube" key="-hsFi5KYzjU" height="315" width="420" align="center"

<span style="color: #580e0e; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">**__Characters:__** There are two main protagonists in which the story set around. The male that is followed throughout the novel is 27-year-old Jeremy Marsh, a classy journalist from the //S////cientific American// who lives in Queens, New York. He is mainly known for writing pieces that feature deflating the supernatural and spiritual claims of people that believe in ghosts and magic. The second protagonist is Lexie Darnell, a witty, sardonic and attractive librarian living in Boone Creek. She is also the granddaughter of the town psychic Doris MClellan, who initially invites Jeremy down to the small southern town. Other characters include the Mayor of Boone Creek, Nate, who is Jeremy’s agent and Alvin his cameraman.

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">__Conflict:__ **<span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 110%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">After Jeremy Marsh, a intelligent journalist from Queens, New York ends up on //Primetime Live// for proving a psychic wrong on a TV show, gets a letter in a mail from a woman from North Carolina claiming supernatural lights in a cemetery have been the local legend for years and need to be checked out. To kill time Jeremy decides to take up the offer and venture down to Boone Creek, which is in between “where are we?” and the middle of nowhere. After getting there, he collects data from the town and the facts behind the legend, which he hopes will help him construct a piece for a column. Here he meets the lovely Lexie Darnell, who immediately entrances him. He searches for the mystery answer behind these ghoulish lights in the cemetery, and a way to win Lexie’s heart, which may take him on a road which he’s never had to cross before.

<span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">__**Style Analysis:**__

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Imagery:__ <span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"> In the novel, Nicholas Sparks uses heavy amounts of imagery throughout the novel, sometimes focusing on a topic for more than 4-6 sentences to enhance an emotional connection to the story. **
 * <span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">"The building occupied most of the block, and its two stories were adorned with tall, narrow windows, a sharply angled roof, and arched wooden front door, complete with oversize door knockers. Edgar Allen Poe would have loved the place, but despite the haunted house architecture, the townsfolk had done what they could to make it seem more inviting." (Sparks, 55)


 * <span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">"Sparks delivers another shrink wrapped, reliably uncomplicated romantic confection that's light as air, smooth as silk and gloriously sweet." (Publishers Weekly)

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Syntax__ <span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Sparks creates long and descriptive sentences that help to convey the character's critical thought process. **


 * <span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">"He had as<span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">sumed a false intimacy, acting as if he were everyone's brother or best friend, and it seemed that the vast majority of the awestruck audience-including the attractive blonde and the woman the guest was addressing-considered him a gift from heaven itself. " (Sparks, 1)


 * <span style="color: #4d0a0a; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">"One aspect of storytelling in which Sparks excels is his ability to create the characters who populate his books." (Lofton)

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Theme:__ **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> After reading //True Believer//, Nicholas Sparks, like most of his novels, creates the reoccurring theme of **love**. <span style="color: #580e0e; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 110%;">For this particular book, the overall theme is that, with love individuals must have a little faith, for without it, love will simply never flourish.

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Review:__ ** **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">" **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Although Sparks does a phenomenal job of creating well-rounded characters and heavy descriptions that help to create a solid image of what is happening in //True Believer//, this book I felt failed to meet my expectations of the love story it was meant to be. It was quite entertaining to read; yet it was nothing above and beyond the ordinary and didn’t exactly correlate with Spark’s normal romantic intensity that he is credited for. This story does have a back plot based around a mystery on the supernatural, so that was interesting since it was not really something I had come across before. I recommend //True Believer// to readers who are not completely into the mushy-gushy romance, and is looking for a book that will grab them immediately from the beginning!" <span style="color: #580e0e; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 110%;">-Sela Sterling

__**Works Cited:**__ <span style="color: #4d0a0a; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">"True Believer." //Publishers Weekly.// 21 Mar. 2005: 37. //Literature Resource Center//. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <__ []> __ <span style="color: #4d0a0a; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">Sparks, Nicholas. //True Believer.// New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2005. <span style="color: #4d0a0a; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">Lofton Hashima, Marie. "A departure from Sparks's previous works." 16 April 2005. //Amazon: True Believer.// Web. 6 Jan. 2012. <http://www.amazon.com/True-Believer-Nicholas-Sparks/dp/0446532436> .