Set in a small town in North Carolina, The Choice is a beautiful love story of Travis Parker and Gabby Holland. Travis first meeting with Gabby is not a pleasant one. Gabby, whose job is a physician assistant, thinks Travis is a good-for-nothing and organizes too many barbecues parties outside his house. Worse still, she thinks Moby, his boxer impregnates her collie, Molly and she has made up her mind to confront him because she feels she has had enough of his inconsiderate behaviour.

On the other end, Travis is intrigued by his new neighbour who moves next to his place, and despite his friendly attempt towards her, she seems to give him a cold shoulder. And when Gabby accused his dog for impregnating her dog, he tried to explain things to her but she refused to give him the chance to talk, leaving him bewildered and amused. Their second encounter took place in a veterinary clinic when Gabby decided to have Molly examined, and this time Travis is the vet. Gabby asked him why he didn't tell her about his position when she confronted him that day, he told her that she didn't give him a chance to explain anyway. And after the examination, it turned out that Moby wasn't the one responsible for Molly's pregnancy at all, and Gabby felt bad. She thought he would be angry at her but to her surprise, he didn't seem to mind after all. It was through this incident that she began to see him in a new light.

Although they are slowly attracted to each other, Travis isn't sure if this relationship works for him because not only he enjoys his single lifestyle, but he thought his previous relationships with women are a failure. And Gabby isn't sure of Travis either as she has a long-term relationship with her boyfriend although Kevin didn't show any sign of commitment to marriage. It is at this point that there is a turn for Gabby and Travis, as both couldn't fight the attraction off of each other anymore. I think Mr. Sparks had done a great job here writing about their dilemmas and how they had came to accept each other in the end.

In the later part of the story, Gabby and Travis are married and had two young daughters. Gabby and Travis met in a car accident on a windy, rainy night. Travis blamed it on his carelessness, but it was too late, as it resulted Gabby in a state of coma. And Travis had to make a tough choice in the whole of his life.

Although the plot in The Choice is not new, I still find it a good and meaningful read. There are questions that one will often ask while reading this: What would happen if Travis had handled the situation differently? Was it he or Gabby to blame? What would happen if he took the other choice? et cetera. But the top of all is, how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

I also love this part where it described marriage perfectly:

This is an emotionally charged book which I find it worth reading, especially towards the end.

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