The Notebook, directed by Nick Cassavetes and based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel, has become one of the most iconic romance films of the early 2000s. It’s known for its deep emotions. At the core of the movie, it shows the power of love, how it shapes us as people, how challenging love can be, and how true love can still exist if you want it. No matter what circumstances try to get in the way, the path back to the person you love will always be there. Violet Blake says, “This movie is one of my favorites and it shows how deeply love can go, and how special a relationship can be if you work for it.”

The story follows Allie Hamilton, a girl who is very wealthy and has had a perfect life with everything handed to her, and Noah Calhoun, who comes from little to nothing. They fall deeply in love one summer in the 1940s in South Carolina in Noah’s beach town. The story is told as an elderly man reading to an elderly woman with dementia. It turns out to be Noah trying to get Allie to remember their life before she got dementia. Avery says, “The part where I realized that it was Noah reading to Allie, I bawled my eyes out. It was so emotional.”

The film’s strongest asset is the chemistry between Allie and Noah, whose real names are Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. Their performances felt so real and raw and captured the true story of love. The hardships, the unknown, and the painful emotions. Noah shows the act of love by always fighting for Allie, even when she wanted nothing to do with him. He wrote 365 letters to Allie when she moved away. Even though she didn’t get them, it was the thought that counts. The act of keeping his promise and building Allie’s dream house—the one they spent the summer in—was truly inspiring and showed me what true love should look like.