Dear John Book Review

“I love you, not just for now, but for always, and I dream of the day that you’ll take me in your arms again.”

This is how the book ended. Why does everything has to be sad? I hate it so much! And I’m hating Dear John! And after reading five Nicholas Sparks novels, I’m beginning to hate him because he always makes me feel sad! But here I am, starting The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks and willing to be sad with his books again. But before we talk about The Guardian, whose review will be posted soon, let’s have Dear John first.

The book narrates the love story of John Tyree and Savannah Curtis, whose relationship started over one summer. The story begun with John and his father, a single parent who had difficulty having meaningful conversation with his son and has an obsession with coin collecting. John knows there is something wrong with him but he has never been to a doctor to find out what it is. Feeling a lack of direction and no good fatherly influence in his life, John enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces. He met Savannah on his first leave, been together for a short time, were separated for John’s military service, suffered long distance relationship and broke up due to it. John returns home on leave from the army when he gets news of his father’s death. After the return he seeks out Savannah, where he is surprised to learn of her life events following her marriage to another man. It was obvious to John, Savannah, and even her new husband, that Savannah still had love for John. But he decided to let Savannah go because he cared about her more than himself. Although drained by battle overseas and the loss of Savannah, he realizes that due to a legacy from his father, he’s able to express his love in an unexpected way.

See? Who’s going to love this kind of ending? I was falling in love with the couple, cried with them whenever they’re encountering undesirable circumstances since I’m also victim of long distance relationship, felt the happiness whenever they throw beautiful words to each other and then this breakup thing will happen? No! I cry. I hate it. But don’t get me wrong. I hate it because I care. I hate it because I’m so affected. And Nicholas Sparks is so great for making me feel that way. He’s indeed a brilliant author, I must say.

Aside from creating an effective love story, I admire how he blended romance and drama with war and family. Whenever John shares a scene with his father, little did I know that there were already tears falling from my eyes as I felt the love of his father to John. On the other hand, I got bored on the war scenes since I’m not interested on battles and such and couldn’t understand a word. All I know is that they fought. Well, that’s just me. Nevertheless, the whole thing is simply wonderful, and at the same time, torturing. Dear John may not be one of the best books but it’s definitely worth reading.

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