Spoiler: Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

This novel broke so many boundaries for me. So many people go through long distant relationships and find those difficult. But nothing can be as difficult as someone who has signed to live away for years at a time, risking their life for those around them.

Dear John shows a side of the military I had never witnessed, love at first sight and a love that is beyond words.

I often read this book while on my lunch break at work. I was often warned that I was going to cry and had people throw the Kleenex box at me. I did cry in the end after I flopped the book down and was going back to my office. Throughout the book, as a reader you realize that maybe things will not always work out, and by the end it just doesn’t fit together. It’s heart breaking, but that’s also how you can tell John feels a real love for Savannah.

♥Characters♥

John: He’s a little rough around the edges. The beginning of this story doesn’t do much to make us like John. He acts like a jerk towards his father, and rebels. But as he joins the army he becomes that all good guy type, that is with the tattoos included. I did fall in love with him a little more story by story. The trouble with that is, that as I read about his heart breaking, my heart broke over and over. Seeing the struggle he went through with Savannah was sad, but seeing him finally give his all to his one love without reciprocation is hard.

♥Savannah: I know there are probably some who blame her for not staying faithful to John. I don’t agree with that for the simple reason, that you can’t control what the heart wants. Sometimes we can fall in love with two people at the same time, especially when there is such a great distance between two people. I strongly believe that while long distance is a capability, not all people or relationships are built for it.

♥John’s Father: It was heart breaking to hear about how his life had diminished near the end, but I’m happy that John had a chance to get to know who he really was, and why he was the way he was. It’s hard to learn something like that about someone you love. But just because there may be an additional support need it doesn’t mean there is something the matter with a person.

♥Tim: It said at the beginning that Tim appeared to be in love with Savannah, but I never thought the book would end with him. I was surprised they ended up together, I just didn’t see it coming until she sent the letter. Then again, the fact that he got cancer was a tragedy in itself. John couldn’t very well steal up a cancer patient’s wife, now could he? All the same I’m happy that Tim made it through thanks to John’s contribution.

♥Moments to Remember♥

♥Pg. 47

“‘I have to start my day with coffee. It’s my only vice.’”

♥Pg. 133

“‘I’m going to marry you one day, you know?’

 ‘Is that a promise.’

 ‘If you want it to be.’

 ‘Well, then you have to promise that you’ll come back for me when you get out of the army. I can’t marry you if you’re not around.’”

♥Pg. 144

“From the very beginning, the calls and letters between us were regular. We e-mailed as well, but I soon learned that Savannah preferred to write, and she wanted me to do the same. ‘I know it’s not as immediate as e-mail, but that’s what I like about it,’ she wrote me. ‘I like the surprise of finding a letter in the mailbox and the anxious anticipation I feel when I’m getting ready to open it. I like the fact that I can take it with me to read at leisure, and that I can lean against a tree and feel the breeze on my face when I see your words on paper. I like to imagine the way you looked when you wrote it…”

♥Final Line: “And for the briefest instant, it almost feels like we’re together again.”

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Sidny xoxo