Ah, A Walk To Remember. Some 17 years after the Nicholas Sparks adaptation first hit cinemas, it seems the tragic teen romance is still a movie to remember (sorry) for co-stars Mandy Moore and Shane West.

In the film, the duo play polar opposites Jamie Sullivan (Moore) and Landon Carter (West). She’s the daughter of the local preacher, he’s the town’s resident bad-boy, and they have absolutely nothing to do with one another until they’re unexpectedly paired up for their high school’s upcoming drama production.

You know the drill, obviously: the pair fall for one another, hard, despite their differences. However, the story ends in tragedy. Inspired by the life and death of Sparks’ sister, Danielle Sparks Lewis, the film (albeit largely fictional) is based on real experience. For example, just like Jamie, Danielle was never popular at school and always carried the Bible around with her everywhere she went. Just like Jamie, Danielle never believed that someone would ever see past her sickness and fall deeply head-over-heels for her (her husband proposed after learning of her cancer diagnosis). And, just like Jamie, Danielle tragically lost her battle with cancer in 2000.

As Sparks noted in his eulogy: “I suppose I wrote this novel not only so that you could get to know my sister, but so that you would know what a wonderful thing it was that her husband once did for her.”

However, while Landon and Jamie’s love story ends in tragedy, Moore and West’s relationship is well on its way to a happy ending – a fact which was made particularly clear after the actors’ most recent reunion.

Everyone needs to read Shane West’s beautiful tribute to BFF Mandy Moore