Search - Dear John

What makes "Dear John" so compelling is that from the beginning, the reader pretty much knows how it will end - well almost! Even so, I was propelled along, hoping for a different outcome or an unexpected twist. We got that twist, and although it wasn't particularly comfortable, it was totally in keeping with Sparks' understanding of what real love is.

John Tyree was raised by his father, a coin collector who seemed so obsessed by his coins that he couldn't talk about anything else. He was a typical teenage rebel: drinking, fighting, hanging out with a group of like-minded friends. Not enough ambition between them to even get a decent job. One day, realizing that he wasn't happy with a life that was going nowhere, he joined the Army and changed both his attitude and his outlook.

Home on leave, he meets Savannah Lynn Curtis, a college student visiting the area with a group working for Habitat for Humanity. They spend as much time as possible together and quickly fall in love. But they both have other commitments. College for her, the Army life in Germany for him. They write, they call, they e-mail, but its not enough to keep her from falling in love with someone closer to home and inevitably, she writes the Dear John letter.

The second half of the story will both break your heart and restore your belief in humanity. Can you love someone so much that their happiness is more important than your own? Can three people in love ever work it out so that everyone is happy? The ending is such a surprise that you'll never see it coming, unless you cheat and read it first.

I highly recommend this book, but have your tissues ready - you're going to need them.

This is definitely the worst Nicholas Sparks book that I have read. He's following his formula too closely (young, energetic, happy lovers who can't be together and get seperated, only to be reunited years later - basically, if you've seen The Notebook, you don't need to read this book, it's the same thing, only more annoying. I actually noticed the same exact lines being used in this book that were used in The Notebook. "It was real, wasn't it? You and me? If you've seen the movie as many times as I have, you know what I'm talking about.) The ending is heartwarming, although predictable. Another good thing about this book is the fact that it incorporates some psycology and gives a view of military life, which is different for Sparks (although I don't know how accurate it is.) The narrator, John, is likable enough but I honestly found myself hating Savannah. I just didn't feel like she was a believable character at all, and found myself literally laughing aloud at some of the things she said.

Sparks lives up to his reputation...a tribute to courageous and self-sacrificing soldiers.

I couldn't put it down, read it in one night, just had to know how it ended. I hate to be a spoiler, but don't read if you like happy endings

Very good book, much better read than the movie.