A Walk To Remember
by Nicholas Sparks
Table of Contents
Plot Summary
Landon Carter comes from a wealthy family that is somewhat at odds with the family of Hegbert Sullivan, the local Baptist minister. Although Hegbert’s daughter Jamie is considered to be the nicest girl in all of Beaufort, Landon and his friends think she is odd since she behaves so dislike the typical teenage girl. She carries her Bible with her everywhere she goes, wears a brown cardigan and plaid skirt to school every day, and does not date boys.
Landon, on the other hand, is a typical teenage boy. He may even be a little lazier than most. He does not participate in any extracurricular activities. His sole recreation appears to be sneaking out at night to meet his friends in the cemetery or hanging out with classmates at Cecil’s Diner and eating hush puppies. His father is a congressman and almost always away, leaving Landon to be practically raised by his mother. Jamie’s mother died during childbirth, leaving Jamie to be raised solely by her father. Having only one parent around is just about the only thing the two young adults have in common.
However, it is not the only thing they have in common. They are both decent human beings at heart as well; it just takes Landon longer to realize this than Jamie. What sets this realization in motion is the combination of two factors: first, Landon’s mistaken belief that drama class is an easier and “safer” option than chemistry in his senior year, and second, Landon’s father’s decision that Landon run for student body president.
The drama class puts Landon in the presence of Jamie Sullivan, of whom he has always been aware but never really gotten to know. Becoming student body president forces him to find a date for homecoming. The only girl available, of course, is Jamie. That is how the two get to know one another. Jamie agrees to go to the dance with Landon one condition: that he promise not to fall in love with her. Landon takes it as a joke, but Jamie seems to know exactly what is going to happen between them.
Even though the dance is a disaster...
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