Dear John – Nicholas Sparks

Title : Dear John
Author : Nicholas Sparks
First published in : 2006
Genre : contemporary, romance
Edition : Sphere
Pages : 338
Status : read from 05/31/22 to 06/04/22
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Synopsis : When John meets Savannah, he realises 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 realises is that the events of 9/11 will change everything. John is prompted to re-enlist and fulfil what he feels is his duty to this country. But the lovers are young and their separation is long. Can they survive the distance?

Review : Ten years ago, I read for the first time a novel written by Nicholas Sparks. It was The Last Song and this is still today one of my favorite books. This is the same with the movie, starring Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, which I rewatch now and then. Since 2012, I have always wanted to discover other stories from this author, but I didn’t take the time to do so. This year, I decided that it had to change and I started with Dear John – two other books will follow, The Lucky One and A Walk to Remember -.
From the very beginning, I found back what I liked the most when I discovered The Last Song. Indeed, Nicholas Sparks created once again captivating characters, with their strength and their weaknesses. I particularly appreciated John’s dad, who moved me almost to tears. Even if he is a secondary character, I truly believe he plays a major role in the story, especially in the relationship between John and Savannah. As for these two, I loved how they became the best version of themselves as soon as they met. Even if nothing went as I expected it to be, I am satisfied with the end Nicholas Sparks has given us. I won’t say too much about it, because I don’t want to spoil you if you haven’t read Dear John yet, but you will probably feel contradictory emotions thoughout the novel. Personally, this is why I love Nicholas Sparks’ stories: we are overwhelmed by our feelings and can’t help reading another chapter until we have finished the book.
If I liked the characters, because they are lovable and just like us, I also appreciated the story and the author’s writing. As I hoped, Nicholas Sparks wrote about strong themes, as it was the case in The Last Song. Illness, army, friendship, love, family and sacrifice are some of the subjects we can find in this novel. If they can be hard for some readers, these themes give deepness to the story and to the characters. To finish, Nicholas Sparks’ writing is addictive. As I said earlier, I couldn’t help reading several chapters in a row. I really wanted to make this pleasure last, but the temptation was bigger and I couldn’t resist any longer.
In other words, if you haven’t read Dear John yet, I highly recommend you to take a look at it. This is a beautiful novel, with lovable characters and a story with several turnarounds of situation. I’m sure you love it as much as I did! As for me, I’m going to watch the movie as soon as possible, because I don’t want to leave John and Savannah and because I love Amanda Seyfried, who plays this main character.