Review: Dear John

I reviewed The Last Song earlier this month and loved it (keep Kleenex near you for the ending)...so to follow with my general rule, read the book before seeing the movie, I wanted to read Dear John as well. I did listen to this book on my iPod (rather than reading it) which might have altered my opinion a bit.

From author’s website: … Meanwhile, between founding the school and coaching track and field at New Bern High School (the team would win both the indoor and outdoor state championships that spring), I was already hard at work on Dear John. The book was inspired by the movie Casablanca, one of my favorite films, and like Casablanca, Dear John explores what it really means to love another. The book was published in October 2006 again debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Did you know: The film rights were purchases by Sony Screen Gems, and that the film stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfreid? John’s last name (Tyree) was a childhood friend of Nicholas’s? John’s character was inspired by Nicholas’s cousin, Todd Vance? Savannah was named after one of Nicholas’s daughters?

Synopsis: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.

Type: Fiction, 278 pages, Trade paperback

Quick Take: Let me start by saying the voice of the reader bothered me a bit so this might impact my review. I do not listen to many audio books and have to say I was surprised to find this bothered me, but it did. Dear John is a fine story but I didn’t connect to the characters which is I typically do with Sparks. There also was major revelation in the book that wasn’t explored, which I don’t understand. I will give the book some credit, it doesn’t end like one would expect which was a shining moment. I didn’t hate the book, it was just missing something for me.

Source: Personal copy