Title: Dear John
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Sphere
Publish Date: November 29th 2007 (first published October 30th 2006)
ISBN: 9780751539264 (ISBN13: 9780751539264)
Pages: 338
Summary: When John meets Savannah, he realizes he is ready to make some changes. Always the angry rebel at school, he has enlisted in the army, not knowing what else to do with his life. Now he's ready to turn over a new leaf for the woman who has captured his heart.
What neither realizes is that the events of 9/11 will change everything. John feels compelled to re-enlist and fulfill his duty to his country. But the lovers and their separation is long. Can they survive the distance?
Rating: 9/10
My thoughts: I want to go to Nicholas Sparks, give him a big hug and thank him for writing such beautiful books! I loved it! The story, the characters, everything! I love Nicholas' writing style. The way he describes scenes and feelings. I love his characters because you just really connect with his characters. When they're happy, you're happy. When they're sad, you're sad. They're not perfect, they make mistakes and they are human beings too. You can really relate to them. All the characters were likable. There wasn't any 'evil' character in the book. Yeah there was Randy but he wasn't much of an "evil" character if you know what I mean. I liked Tim too. He was sweet, and I imagine he would be a really great friend.
His books never fail to make me cry. I was crying like a baby in the end. The ending was great! I loved it! But I'm a sucker for happy endings. And since this wasn't the case, after I finished reading I was like, "Why? Why?!! Why Nicholas? WHY??!!"
Let me tell you, I watched the movie before reading the book. And the book is so much better! I know they usually are but the movies (based on books) that I've seen usually do good. I loved the movie when I first saw it. But after reading the book, the movie was just okay. Not great, just okay.
The plot was awesome! The twists were great! The ending, as I said before, was fabulous. It was definitely unexpected. And I think that's the thing that really makes a book great! Unexpected endings that work. And this ending definitely worked! It just made John and Savannah's love look more stronger. The story was believable. And after reading Nick's books I can't help but wish that I would find true love someday too..... ;P
The dialogues were great. They made the story more beautiful. I really enjoyed the witty dialogues of John and Savannah. I loved John's and his fathers relationship. It was touchy, and emotional and so beautiful! I just wish I hadn't watched the movie before so that the twist about his father (and about Tim & Alan) would've come to me as a surprise. All in all it was a great book and I highly recommend it if you are in for an emotional read.
I know this isn't a great review but I cannot write anything more without giving out spoilers. Anyway, here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
""I love you," I whispered. I had always imagined the words would be hard to say, but they weren't. In all my life, I'd never been as sure of anything, and as much as I hoped to one day hear Savannah say these words to me, what mattered most was knowing that love was mine to give, without strings or expectations."
"My dad held out his hand; I hugged him instead. His body was rigid, but I didn't care. "Love you, Dad." "I love you, too, John." "Find some good coins, okay?" I added, pulling back. "I want to hear all about them." He glanced at the floor. "I like Savannah," he said. "She's a nice girl." It came out of the blue, but somehow it was exactly what I wanted to hear."
" For the first time in years, my love for Savannah felt somehow...wrong. Love should bring joy, it should grant a person peace, but here and now, it was bringing only pain."
"Tim had told me-and shown me-that love meant that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be."
