the longest ride nicholas sparks book review

Stories Unfolded

Book Reviews & Stories by Danielle

About Danielle
Book Reviews
Star Wars Reading Challenge
Book Ratings

Book Review: “The Longest Ride” by Nicholas Sparks

Ok, so I may be a bit biased with my first official book review because #1: I’m a hopeless romantic and #2: I’m a die hard Nicholas Sparks fan. But I’m still going to review the heck out of this book

“The Longest Ride” Book Review

the longest ride nicholas sparks book review

“The Longest Ride” tells the story of two couples in North Carolina. The first is about Ira Levinson, an old widow who became stranded after crashing his truck down an embankment. While struggling to stay alive he relives the memories of his late wife Ruth and we get to experience the love they had and how they came to spend their lives together.

The second follows the story of a young couple Sophia Danko, a college senior at Wake Forest University, and Luke Collins, a cowboy and Champion bull rider. After meeting during a rodeo after-party, they begin to fall in love, but both have different paths and their love is tested. They have life decisions to make and put them aside until they finally have to face them.

This book shows you the beginning and end of life with another person. It’s like the “I Do” and “Till Death Do Us Part” combined into one book. It’s about making memories and looking back on them for comfort and joy. It’s about sacrifices a person makes in order to make a relationship work.

While the book seemed to be primarily about Sophia and Luke, I really enjoyed Ira’s story. It’s sad how he’s remembering his wife while trying to stay alive long enough for someone to find him, but the stories told about their life together makes me feel that true love really does last forever.

At ninety-one, the crash left him with injuries that made him immobile and struggling to stay awake. This is when his subconscious brings his beloved wife, Ruth, back to him. Ruth asks him to tell her about significant moments in their lives like when they met, when Ira went to war, his proposal, and their honeymoon. All in an effort for him to hold on just a bit longer because he still had unfinished business to do.

*Spoilers Ahead

The more I read about Ira, the more I realized that it’s the simple things in life that are important. I think this is one reason Ira was one of my favorite characters. The relationship he had with Ruth seemed real, not some fairytale romance. There were ups and downs, but Ira and Ruth worked through even the toughest of times. This is something that many marriages fail to do these days…fight to keep love alive.

There were two significant times during Ira and Ruth’s relationship that truly tested them. The first is when Ira returned home from serving in WWII. Before going off to war he had proposed to Ruth and it was completely lacking romance. Not in the sense that Nicholas Sparks didn’t add enough romance to the proposal, but Sparks created Ira as a man who has a tough time being romantic, which is how many men are. However, even seemingly unromantic men can surprise you. Keep that in mind when you read this book.

Ira had returned home as a wounded solider. He was in the hospital for a few weeks recovery from gun shot wounds during an air raid. Doctors thought he wouldn’t survive especially since he developed peritonitis and had a severe fever for thirteen days. When he returned, he broke off the engagement to Ruth. Of course Ruth was heartbroken…what woman wouldn’t be? She didn’t understand why he had made this decision, but months later he finally told her.

Due to the peritonitis it was likely he couldn’t have children. Ira knew that having a child was something Ruth really wanted in the future and he didn’t want to deprive her of that. He thought the right thing to do was to let her move on with someone that could give her exactly what she wanted. This is when Ruth had to make the decision to stay or go…she stayed.

Ira should have told Ruth right from the beginning the reason they shouldn’t get married. It’s worse to leave a woman in the dark because she wonders, what did I do wrong? But I also see Ira’s side of the story. It’s a painful feeling knowing you can’t give someone you love exactly what they want. But I was glad that he finally had the courage to tell her, considering how much he loved her.

The second most trying moment for Ira and Ruth was many many years later. They still had no children and Ruth was a school teacher where children came from very poor families. That’s where she met Daniel who became the son she never had. They were contemplating adopting Daniel, but after coming home from their yearly anniversary trip Daniel was gone and she never found out where he had been taken. It’s not until much later in the book that you find out. Ruth took this terribly and their marriage was in turmoil. Ira thought that it was ending between them.

But they made it…

What you don’t know yet, about Ira and Ruth, is they had started collecting art pieces during their first honeymoon. They would take a yearly trip to Black Mountain College or exhibits in various places, where they would buy artwork from young upcoming artists. By the time Ira was stranded in his truck he was worth millions and millions of dollars based on their art collection. This is an important part of the ending because Ira and Ruth never sold one painting….they kept them. That meant Ira had to decide where they would go once he was gone.

Now, I want to turn the attention over to Sophia and Luke. I believe they embody what being a young couple is about. Everyone has been in the phase when you try to spend as much time as possible together because it’s so new and exciting. That’s what was going on with Sophia and Luke. But they both had things that troubled them. Sophia was worried about school and what would happen after she graduated.

From personal experience, when you’re in college things are really put into perspective about where you want your life to be going. Sophia was no different. She was starting her senior year as an art history major and wanted to end up working in a museum. Sophia’s struggles are like many college students preparing to graduate. Studying for finals, applying for jobs or internships, and essentially dealing with the fear of the unknown because nobody ever really knows what will happen after graduation.

Luke is on the complete opposite spectrum of Sophia..but there’s a phrase “opposites attract”. He never went to college and had no plans to go in the future. All he knew was farming and bull riding because that’s how he grew up. Tending to cattle, growing and harvesting pumpkins, and bailing hay were just some of the daily chores Luke grew up doing. He was also a very good bull rider. He was well known in the sport, but a little over a year before he met Sophia, Luke had a terrible accident. When Luke finally told Sophia just how serious this accident was she gave him an ultimatum. He had to choose between Sophia and riding.

I did understand the internal struggle Luke had with this because he wasn’t riding again for the glory. He was riding so that his mother wouldn’t lose the farm. The money he won helped pay bills that were overdue and mortgage payments that would eventually double. It was like he had to choose between Sophia and his mother. Sophia did have a good reason to give Luke an ultimatum. Riding would most certainly kill him. Bull riding is dangerous to begin with, but the injuries he sustained a year before increased his chances of death substantially. This is why I believe Sophia made the right decision.

Thankfully, right before an important ride, Luke makes the decision…he chooses Sophia.

I know you’re probably wondering if Ira makes it, which was what I was thinking through most of the book. A good thing because it kept me on my toes and wanting to read more. I’m going to tell you that yes, Ira does make it and guess who found him….Sophia and Luke.

Ira didn’t last too much longer…but he asked Sophia to do one thing for him. He asked her to read a letter that he had written to his wife. This is when I was tearing up.

Now, I don’t want to give away the ending, but I will say that you may or may not know what’s coming. I certainly figured out what was coming, but that didn’t take away from how sweet it was. I will say that you shouldn’t forget about the large estate of paintings Ira had left.

In the end, everyone got what they needed and things turned out right. While Ira did pass on, he was able to join Ruth again…something he truly wanted. Luke got more than he ever dreamed of, which would change his life and that of Sophia’s forever.

All four main characters, Ira, Ruth, Luke, and Sophia were giving up something in order to have something worth so much more….the chance to have a life filled with love and happiness. I believe this is what the book was striving for.

Favorite Quotes:

“If we’d never met, I think I would have known my life wasn’t complete. And I would have wandered the world in search of you, even if I didn’t know who I was looking for.”

“After all, if there is a heaven, we will find each other again, for there is no heaven without you.”

“His voice, even now, follows me everywhere on this longest of rides, this thing called life.”

“Remember me with joy, for this is how I always thought of you. That is what I want, more than anything. I want you to smile when you think of me. And in your smile, I will live forever.”

“Sophia, after all, was the real treasure he’d found this year, worth more to him than all the art in the world.”

Overall Rating

From a scale of 1-10 I give “The Longest Ride” a 9. This book didn’t have as much of an emotional impact on me as others he has written, like “The Last Song”. I literally was bawling reading that book, but this one is still very good. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy love stories and are hopeless romantics like myself.

Let me know what you think or if you have any book recommendations b y leavi ng a comment.

16 thoughts on “ Book Review: “The Longest Ride” by Nicholas Sparks ”

[…] I’ve been reading his books for years now. The first I ever read was A Bend in the Road. After that book, it didn’t take me long to read all of the books he’s ever written and now I have to wait for new ones to come out. Not that I’m complaining. I get really excited when I find out that Nicholas Sparks is releasing a new novel. His latest one is The Longest Ride, which I’ve already read. You can check out my review on this book here. […]

Like Liked by 1 person

I like your favorite quotes feature. I think I will add some quotes to my next review.

Hi Danielle Thank you for following my reviews on ireadnovels.wordpress.com. I have put your name of your wordpress site on my ireadnovels.wordpress.com so that book lovers can find your fab wordpress site and follow your reviews too. Best wishes from ireadnovels.wordpress.com.

Thank you. 🙂

Good Review, Thank You 🙂

I’m a Nicholas Sparks fan, too although I haven’t read this one. it’s still on my TBR list. thanks for the great review 😉

I have not read this Sparks but I have read him and enjoyed his books in the past 🙂

Hello Danielle. Lovely review. I have a question. I haven’t read the book but just saw the movie adaptation. I don’t understand what made Luke choose to buy the ‘Portrait of Ruth’. Perhaps there’s some detail the movie might have left out. In the movie he (Luke) had very little interaction with Ira. Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated. PS. I loved the movie nonetheless.

Hi Ore, Thanks for reading my review. It’s such a great book. I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t seen the movie yet. As for your question, Luke decided to buy the painting because he wanted to get something for Sophia and the ‘Portrait of Ruth’ was the only one he could afford…until he actually received all of it. Hope that answers your question. It’s one of my favorite Nicholas Sparks books because it’s a combination of two different love stories.

Oh I see. In the movie, he is shown mentally piecing together facts which seemed to influence his decision to buy the portrait.

Thanks a lot.

[…] Book Review: “The Longest Ride” by Nicholas Sparks […]

I have to read an adult book for my English honors class would the longest ride be considered as a adult book?

I think so. 🙂

I missed what was written on the note to Luke stating that Ira had died and info about the auction. Did Ira actually tell Like to buy the portrait of Ruth? Or was that just a thoughtful move. But he really didn’t know the story of Ruth and Ira like Sophia did

In the book, he just wanted to get the portrait for Sophia because he knew it would mean a lot to her and it was the only one he could afford. So no, Ira did not tell him to buy the portrait.

This review is very old, but thought I would ask anyway. At the end of the Kindle version of The Longest Ride, Sparks added some book club discussion questions. I haven’t a clue how to answer this question. What do you think?

Why didn’t Daniel ever reconnect with Ira and Ruth?

Thanks! Susan

Follow Me on Twitter

Follow blog via email.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

NETGALLEY PROFESSIONAL READER

Blog Awards
Blogiversary
Book of the Week
Book vs Movie
Friday Finds
Monthly Review
My Book Update
My Life Update
Net Galley Month
New Releases
Random Posts
Read-A-Thons
Saturday Spotlight
Teaser Tuesdays
Top Ten Tuesday
Upcoming Book Reviews
WWW Wednesday

Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Subscribe Subscribed
Copy shortlink
Report this content
View post in Reader
Manage subscriptions
Collapse this bar

The Book Review Directory

For readers and writers, the longest ride – book review.

Title: The Longest Ride

Author : Nicholas Sparks

Published: 2013

Genre: Romance

Format: Book borrowed from the library

My rating: 3/5

Review: “We shared the longest ride together, this thing called life, and mine has been filled with joy because of you.”

The melding of two love stories (Ruth and Ira) and (Sophia and Luke), Nicholas Sparks once again tugs at the heart strings for love worth fighting for. Although predictable, I still found myself gasping at the emotions released from every turning point and revelation. Told in three viewpoints – 1st person with the aging widower Ira, and 3rd person views of Sophia and Luke – Sparks intertwined the two stories flawlessly leading up to what binds the romances together.

Sophia Danko, a senior Art History student at Wake Forest (no surprise this story is set in North Carolina) is getting by with just being present in her sorority and avoiding her cheating ex-boyfriend. Luke Collins, a bull-rider trying to keep his mother’s ranch afloat must decide what’s worth the risk – giving up riding and losing the ranch (all his mother knows) or losing his own life with numerous head injuries from riding for so many years.

From different worlds, Sophia and Luke find solace and comfort in one another, both figuring out what comes next as their individual lives do not appear to merge after Sophia graduates. I found Sophia relatable to my own experiences – not just being an art history student – with her going through the motions of life but reflecting deeply on what happens next. Empathizing with Luke, I felt the weight of his assumed responsibility on trying to do what is best for everyone else and being scared of revealing the truth for fear of being forced to quit.

Ira Levinson – a widower of 10 years – is stranded in his car after he loses control on the icy mountain, heading towards his and his late wife’s traditional anniversary spot. Reflecting on their love story as he feels his life coming to a close, he wonders when he’ll be able to join his beloved Ruth. The struggles Ira endures (before, during, and after Ruth) is weighty for any one person to overcome. Each story flowed brilliantly and added together make a quick, light read.

Rich with vivid imagery of the countryside as well as deep emotions, Sparks paints a picture of how difficult love can be, but how the story always finds it’s way back to what really matters most. It is stories like The Longest Ride that allow us as readers to hope for that kind of love and wonder if things can work out as they should, but wouldn’t dream possible.

I found myself wanting to focus more on Sophia and Luke’s story more so than Ira’s – as it was youthful and unfolding as the story continued. However, the memories and internal conversations Ira shares lets me imagine what 55 years of marriage could really look like – through the ups and the challenging downs – showing me that no love story is perfect but it’s what you put into it that matters.

I have read a majority of Nicholas Sparks novels and will continue to do so as sometimes we just need that hope, even though it may just be for a moment. Wondering when those moments will happen to us in real life, that moment when you can remember falling in love with someone and thinking what was life like without them.

Read The Longest Ride if you like the themes of:

Overcoming challenges
Coming of age

Look out for the movie adaptation in theaters, April 10th, 2015! Until then, here’s a trailer to give some visual context to the story.

Guest review contributed by Incessantbookworm . Jersey-born, history major, and tea obsessed–all adjectives about this blogger. She has a love affair with reading and lets that shine through her book reviews.

Book Review: The Longest Ride

Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local bull-riding event, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward — even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans — a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn’t destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. 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.

The letters that Ira wrote for Ruth were so emotional that despite my efforts of controlling my emotions, but I gave in when I read the last letter that Sophia reads out to him. The way its written will surely make you feel the undying love that Ira felt for Ruth. Also the letter that Ruth wrote to Ira before she died was very emotional. I loved both the stories equally and also the end. It was a happy ending in true sense.

The Longest Ride has a a lot of meanings in respect to the book, but for me The Longest Ride for Ira was his life as he happens to mention and for Luke it was riding Big Ugly Critter.

I especially love this book because it really made me wonder that after living such a happy life together with your spouse, in the end when one out of the two of you remains, how painful it would be and trust me even after dying, I guess, you really can’t be at peace seeing your other half struggle!

Read this review on Goodreads here .

Other Stuff

Opening Line: “I sometime think to myself that I’m the last of my kind.”

Highlights: Ira’s undying and ageless love for his wife.

Low-lights: None.

Memorable Paragraph:

“Sophia, after all, was the real treasure he’d found this year, worth more to him than all the art in the world. With a smile, Luke whispered into the dark, “I understand, Ira.” And when a shooting star passed overhead, he had the strange sense that Ira had not only heard him, but was smiling down on him in approval.”

Final Thoughts: Excellent! A must read!

Published by Heena R. Pardeshi

Heena is the author of the award-winning novel Deceived. She works as the novel critic and the chief editor at a local publishing house in Pune, India. She is an animal lover as well as an animal activist. She loves books, music and wine. Travelling and learning about new cultures is an integral part of her life. She is presently learning Piano and French language. She lives in Pune, India with her beloved husband and 6 cats. View all posts by Heena R. Pardeshi

One thought on “ Book Review: The Longest Ride ”

Pingback: Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far This Year | The Reading Bud

I love reading your comments, so please go ahead... Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Subscribe Subscribed
Copy shortlink
Report this content
View post in Reader
Manage subscriptions
Collapse this bar

Book Review: The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

Before I decided to read The Longest Ride, I had thought of Nicholas Sparks as purely a romance writer. And, because I had assigned him to being a romance writer, I put him in the category of a Harlequin type romance writer. Now, there’s nothing wrong with Harlequin books. Harlequin readers get a well written, romantic escape to an idealistic, feel good world. I’ve just never been a fan of that genre.

So, I began The Longest Ride a bit skeptical. However, I wasn’t very far into the book, when I realized Sparks is far more than a cliché “Romance Writer.” He writes intricate stories, which I like. At the end of a book, I enjoy putting things together and seeing if all of the details fit. In The Longest Ride, I got my wish.

The Longest Ride is actually two, each almost stand-alone, stories that come together at the end in a very satisfying way.

The first story is about a young couple who have recently met and have fallen in love. The young man is a rodeo bull rider, which is the origin the title, The Longest Ride. The eight seconds a rider must stay on a bull, is often called the longest ride. That is because, to a bull rider, those eight seconds can feel like an eternity as that wild bull is trying to throw them off.

The second story concerns an elderly man whose wife had died many years before. She was the only women he’d ever loved and was still the love of his life. He almost lived within the memories he had of her and their life together. One day, as he was driving his car on a snowy road, he lost control of his car due to his poor vision. He drove off the road and crashed.

The first and second story intersect when the young couple is driving on the same snowy road and they see tracks in the snow, leading off the road. They investigate and find the elderly man had crashed and was stuck in in his car.

The young couple rescues the elderly man. As he recovers from the crash, they form an intense friendship. Not wanting to give any of the story away and spoil the enjoyment a reader would have reading the story, I’ll just say that their friendship changed their lives.

Yes, there is a romantic aspect to The Longest Ride, but it is far more than a romance novel.

I highly recommend reading that book.

Bill Kercher