Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks

 

"On a deeper level, Jasper couldn't shake the feeling that he and the white deer were connected somehow. He wasn't sure whether it was an omen or a message, but as he sat in the truck, he felt with a growing certainty that the white deer's appearance had been meant specifically for him. Like his father and grandfather, after all, Jasper had always wanted to witness a miracle."

                  -from the novel

In the past I enjoyed a number of Sparks's novels, but this is the first in a few years. I remembered much of his work being romantic and sentimental, sometimes too much so for me. Those adjectives would describe this one as well, but I found the story compelling. 

Tanner Hughes discovers after the death of the grandmother who raised him the name of his biological father and a place where he might be found, Asheboro, North Carolina. He takes off to hopefully find the man. Truthfully, he is trying to find himself and discover a purpose for his life. 

While he in Asheboro, he meets Dr. Kaitlyn Cooper, a single mother, literally by accident and the two hit it off, as one might predict.

Meanwhile Jasper Jones, an elderly man with a tortured past who lives alone in the woods hears of the sighting of a rare white deer in the forest. He fears it is in danger from poachers and sets out to save it, risking his own health and safety. 

The plot thickens and becomes a page-turner as the two stories mesh. My rating is 5.