My 7 Favorite Book Endings

On Tuesday, I shared 7 books that I thought were good until I got to the end. So, today I thought I'd share 7 books that I thought had great endings.

*Warning: Possible Spoilers Ahead*

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

First of all, the movie RUINED it when they changed the ending. I think the ending of this book is beautiful. It doesn't end happily ever after, but it shows selfless love which is what love should be. This is my favorite Nicholas Sparks' book and I think I love it so much because of the ending.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This is another story that you need to read the book and not just see the movie. The book has a beautiful ending and I would have loved to have seen it on the big screen. Of course, they changed the ending and made me mad. The book goes through the romance of Clare and Henry. Henry is able to travel through time, not that he can control it. He can travel into the past and the future. Before he dies, he leaves his wife a letter saying that he will see her again one day. She spends the rest of her life in anticipation of that one more time she knows she'll get to see her husband. How sweet is that?!? I was in tears reading it.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but the movie ruined the ending of this story as well. The movie made the story all about the sister with cancer. The book was all about the sister who is the donor. The ending of this book completely shocked me. I didn't see it coming at all. Some reviewers hated the ending because they feel like it was a cop out. I feel like it evoked an emotion, even if that emotion was anger. It was frustrating that the younger sister went through so much to not have to donate anything else to her older sister only to end up a dead organ donor.

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

I'll start by saying that I read this book a long time ago, but it stuck with me. I read it in a day and I was crying like a baby in the end. The ending may be more obvious for an older reader, but for me as a teenager (when I read it) I didn't see it coming at all. I also feel like the big reveal was done so subtly that it added to the shock. 

Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefield

This book was on my list of top 5 books I read in 2013 and I also think it deserves to be on this list. I love how this book was historical fiction (one of my favorite genres) combined with mystery. There are a couple of murders in this book-one in the very beginning. I spent most of the book trying to figure out who was the murderer and why. I also loved how the book jumped between the present and the past giving you little pieces of information at a time. I was definitely surprised by the revelations along the way.

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

This is one of the only books that I read after watching the movie. I loved the ending more after I read Nicholas Sparks' autobiographical book, Three Weeks With My Brother. In that book, he explains how things that happened in his life inspired his stories. A Walk to Remember was inspired by his sister's battle with cancer. His original plan was to have the main character, Jamie (who also had cancer), die in the end. Because his own sister was battling cancer, he couldn't bring himself to end it that way. So instead, he leaves the ending open to your interpretation. I thought that was a neat way to end the story and it was very touching how it related to his sister.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Like the previous book on this list, this is one of the only books I read after seeing the movie. The book ends very much like the movie. I like it because it doesn't end happily ever after. It leaves a lot of room for speculation about what happens next. It's even a little frustrating not knowing how everything turns out because the story just kind of ends. I have even adopted my own Scarlett O'Hara philosophy of dealing with my stress-“I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.” 

What is one (or more) of your favorite book endings?