Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Title: Dear John
Author: Nicholas Sparks
# pages: 276
Date published: 2006
Genre: Fiction (love story)
Challenge(s): hometown, 888 (hardback on my shelves category)

Setting: North Carolina (Wrightsville Beach, Wilmington, Lenoir)

First Sentence: “What does it mean to truly love another?”

Cover Blurb: An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love--and face the hardest decision of his life.

Random Thoughts: Sparks always writes emotional books and Dear John is no exception. I thoroughly enjoy all of Sparks’ books, but must read them with a box of tissues close at hand. Dear John is a beautiful love story about the choices we make and how they can affect the rest of our lives and the lives of others. I liked the nice, easy first person narration and reading about familiar landmarks like the Fort Fisher Aquarium (I grew up in Wilmington).

Favorite quotes:

“I read a lot, too. In the army, you have a lot of time to read, and people trade books back and forth or sign them out from the library until the covers are practically worn away. I don’t want you to get the impression that I because a scholar, because I didn’t. I wasn’t into Chaucer or Proust or Dostoevsky or any of those other dead guys; I read mainly mysteries and thrillers and books by Steven King, and I took a particular liking to Carl Hiaasen because his words flowed easily and he always made me laugh. I couldn’t help but think that if schools had assigned these books in English class, we’d have a lot more readers in the world.” (p. 20)

“…the saddest people I’ve ever met in life are the ones who don’t care deeply about anything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there’s noting to make it last.” (p. 57)

Rating: A (a wonderful book – I’d recommend it)