Like any other person, I watch television/videos on the internet frequently. I first learned about Dear John via a YouTube trailer, then seeing the trailer a couple of times in theaters. When I read a little more about it, I decided to give the book a read.
Warning, if you haven’t read the book, or seen the movie, there are *SPOILERS* in this post.
Dear John is another book written by Nicholas Sparks that has been adapted to the movie screen. I figured since I’ve been two of the movies inspired by his novels (The Notebook, which I’ve read the book, and A Walk to Remember, which I haven’t) that I would probably enjoy this as well. Being the book lover I am I decided to read the book first and then see the movie when it comes out on February 5th.
Dear John is about John Tyree, a rebellious teenager raised by only his Dad, who joins the army a few years after graduating high school. He was doing very well, even being recommended for Officer Candidate School, before being stationed in Germany. John goes home on leave in June 2000 (dates are important in this story as I’ll explain later), thinking he’ll enjoy just another summer in Wilmington, North Carolina. However, a chance encounter in jumping off a pier and saving a girl’s purse will change his life forever.
The purse’s owner is Savannah Lynn Curtis from Lenoir, North Carolina. A girl from the “sticks” (she lives on a ranch), she is in Wilmington for the summer to build houses for Habitat for Humanity with some friends from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. She invites John to hang out with her and her friends at a bonfire they’re having at the house they’re staying at for the summer. John meets Tim, one of Savannah’s closest friends and discusses Tim’s cousin, who also happens to be in the army, but John doesn’t know him.
John and Savannah grow even closer when John teaches Savannah how to surf, a cute romantic gesture in my opinion. He takes her to a local restaurant, and after he takes her home she kisses him on the cheek, and John realizes he’s falling for the Savannah, who he’d only met just the day before! Crazy!
They date over the summer. Savannah meets John’s dad, who’s obsessed with coins. A lot. It was passed down when John’s grandfather died, and John’s dad tried to pass it on to John, but he’s not as interested as his dad. Savannah even takes John to church, something John hasn’t done for a long time.
Of course, John’s leave comes to an end and Savannah writes him his first “Dear John” letter, reminding him of the night they first met under the moon, and then when he looks at it (and she does as well) they will think of each other, and the wonderful week they spent together, ending the first of three parts of this novel.
The second part starts with John returning to Germany. He gets Savannah’s emails, but she prefers writing handwritten letters to John. John travels around a lot, and is given leave again in June 2001 to come home and see Savannah again. He meets Savannah’s family, and is happy to see her again. But it seems she’s adjusted without him, and he is angry that things aren’t like they were the summer before. They reconcile, make love, and John leaves for Germany again. They write, exchange letters being excited about John’s time in the army coming to an end.
That all changed when 9/11 occurred. John, who was supposed to be honorably discharged the following December, signs on for another two years in the army instead. While John’s dad battled a heart attack, John was fighting in Iraq. He got letters from his Dad, and Savannah. However, John’s latest letter from Savannah tells him that after 2 ½ years of waiting and understanding why John stayed in the army, she fell in love with someone else, ending part two.
When part three starts, John isn’t taking this well. He signs on to be in Iraq until February 2004, yet all his friends he once knew in the army are gone. John does spend more time with his dad though, but transfers home when he learns his dad had another heart attack to take care of him, even putting him in an extended care facility (a hard decision for many). Unfortunately, John returns to the war, only to come back for his father’s funeral.
John then decides to see Savannah. She married Tim, who is battling melanoma and needs treatment. Savannah wants to try breaking-edge treatments, but they can’t afford it since they are taking care of Tim’s autistic brother and the ranch as well. John and Savannah spend time together, visiting Tim and taking care of the Ranch. Before leaving to go back again, Tim and John talk about what John had with Savannah. Tim knows Savannah still loves John, even more than Savannah loves him. Tim tells John to take care of Savannah after he dies. John then makes an important decision. He loves Savannah, but she loves Tim, so he sells his dad’s coin collection to help Savannah pay for Tim’s treatment. John donates anonymously of course.
On yet another leave, he goes to Savannah’s and seeing Tim with her happy, he feels content, knowing that she still looks up at the moon, she still thinks of him and what they had.
I really see a lot of similarities between this and other Nicholas Sparks books. Everyone I’ve read, or at least seen the movie of, deals with a lost love. With A Walk to Remember, Landon falls in love with the preacher’s daughter, only to discover she’s got leukemia and is near death. They marry, and unfortunately she dies, but he has the memory of her for the rest of his life. Then with The Notebook, Noah and Allie have a summer romance that her parents don’t approve of, yet they reconnect and eventually marry. The one thing they didn’t plan was Allie having Alzheimer’s, with Noah trying to remind her who he is by reading from his notebook their story. He has lost his love, even though she is alive.
I was kind of hoping for a happy ending with this story – that John and Savannah would end together, but then it wouldn’t be a Nicholas Sparks novel. He likes to do that in his books, and I don’t think his novels would be as recognizable. I like to think his novels are more real – that you could see these stories happening in real life. And I think that’s why I keep reading them. Maybe I’ll pick up a few of his other books in the near future.
Anyway, that’s it for this week. I think I’m going to read a book called “The Virgin Queen’s Daughter” next week. Exciting!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll be back next post!
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