Dear John
By Nicholas Sparks
ISBN# 9780446698320
Author’s Website: http://nicholassparks.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
*Beware of SPOILERS*
John Tyree joined the army at a time in his life that he was completely lost. He was living with his dad, going from one dead-end job to the next, jobs that always ended with him being fired. He lived his nights partying and drinking in bars with his buddies and going off with any able-bodied female he happened to find. And, when a girl that he actually felt serious about ditched him because of the life he was leading, it was the wake-up call he needed. He enlisted and the army saved him.
Once in the army, John never had interest in drinking or girls like some of his army buddies did. That is until he was on leave and ran into the beautiful Savannah. The two clicked right away and they both fell in love during those two weeks together. However, he soon had to return to the army and their relationship shifted to a long distance romance. John was determined to beat all odds and make their relationship work. But then right before his scheduled discharge the nation was rocked by 9/11 and his need to protect overruled his desire for freedom. He reenlisted. At first Savannah seemed to understand, but John saw their relationship slowly changing until the day he received the letter no man wants to receive, the one that broke his heart into a thousand pieces, the one that ended their relationship once and for all. Now John must find a way to pick up the pieces and move on with the rest of his life. But can he ever get past his one true love?
I usually like Nicholas Sparks’s books, but I really struggled with this one. Instead of the emotional love stories I’ve come to expect from him, I found this book to be boring and quiet depressing, to be honest. This is a book that shows a man sacrificing everything for his country and getting nothing to show for it in the end, but a broken heart.
I really did not like Savannah. I found her to be too much of a goody-two-shoes when they met to be realistic. She doesn’t cuss, drink, and is a virgin. In the end, I found her to be a selfish brat. There was the whole situation when he came home for his first leave after they had started their relationship and she was all mad about him acting up in front of her friends. She never cared or asked what he wanted to do even though he only had two weeks to spend with her, she even dictated one of those weekends was to be with her family. Whenever he had to go back she’d be all dramatic making him feel even worse than he already did for having to return to the army. Then, she breaks up with him, chooses to be with someone else and still wants to hold on to him in her own way when things go bad. I’m so glad that John wised up, but I was so hoping for a better ending for him, he deserved that much. I also really hated what he did with his inheritance, yes it was a selfless thing, but I really wanted to see him do something for himself for once.
I’m glad I’m done reading this book, I’m just sad that I didn’t enjoy it as I had expected to.
And considering how I feel about Savannah, I feel that Snuff by Slipknot is the perfect song for this book. Here are some of the lyrics that seem to apply…
“It took the death of hope to let you go
So break yourself against my stones
And spit your pity in my soul
You never needed any help
You sold me out to save yourself
And I won’t listen to your shame
You ran away – you’re all the same
Angels lie to keep control…
Ooh, my love was punished long ago
If you still care, don’t ever let me knowso here’s the video, which has a pretty creepy beginning.”
And without further delay … here is the video … the beginning is a little creepy.
