The Longest Ride

Nicholas Sparks
$34.00 $40.00
From the dark days of WWII to present-day North Carolina, this New York Times bestseller shares the lives of two couples overcoming destructive secrets -- and finding joy together.

Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes 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.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 09/17/2013
ISBN: 9781455520657
Pages: 398
Weight: 1.17lbs
Size: 8.58h x 5.81w x 1.42d

Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 04/15/2013 pg. 53
Entertainment Weekly 10/11/2013 pg. 79
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2013

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 163044 / Longest Ride
Reading Level: 5.7 / Interest Level: Upper Grade / Point Value: 20