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Dear John |  | Author: Nicholas Sparks
Creator: Holter Graham
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Category: Book
Buy New: $26.63
as of 9/9/2010 10:22 EDT details
New (2) Used (5) from $4.49
Seller: bordeebook
Rating:  519 reviews
Sales Rank: 1081894
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 8
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 5.8 x 5.3 x 1.5
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
ASIN: B003STCRH4
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
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. Go Behind the Scenes of the Motion Picture Dear John (Sony Pictures, 2010)
Starring Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum
(Click on each image below to see a larger view)
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Product Description
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.
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 519
 The Book: So much better than the movie! September 7, 2010
Katie Galati (PROVO, UT, US)
DEAR JOHN by Nicholas Sparks is a novel I would read again. It may be your typical love story, but has surprising twists the reader is confronted with on the first page of the novel. However by the end of the story, I had completely forgotten about what I had initially read because I did not want it to be true. I wanted a happy ending and that is not necessarily the message Sparks is trying to convey in this story.
I laughed. I cried. I felt nearly all the emotions John and Savannah felt. That is the sign of an incredible book. The way Sparks wrote the novel engulfed me in the story to the point where I had to set out time during the day to get things done, otherwise I would have just read this book all day.
I may be a sucker for sappy love stories, but who isn't? The book still had deep insight into the purpose of relationships and how one person can change the lives of everyone around them--like Savannah did. The ending of the story can be interpreted several ways: Savannah thought she loved Tim as much as he had always loved her so she stayed married to him out of naivety, or because marriage is a commitment and she did not want to give up. No matter the reason, John is still left high and dry, only to serve his country and live without the one and only woman he ever loved.
I was able to feel the magnitude of the pain John felt when he saw Savannah for the first time wearing a wedding ring. The description in the novel is extremely vivid and eloquent. The situations in which the two are placed are realistic and allowed me to picture the settings easily.
However, because the story is told from a young man's point of view, it is obvious there are a few things that are too good to be true. The way John describes Savannah is a bit unrealistic at times. He points out details and soft images that a soldier stereotypically would not notice, so it is hard to believe he would think that way.
Another possible plot hole was the fact the two fell in love in two weeks time. Yes, that may be possible, but for them to stay together long distance through college and fighting a war in Iraq made it hard to believe their summer romance would last. I felt this way especially because they were hardly able to talk on the phone and letters were all they had to communicate. That would be hard to continue after only knowing someone for less than a month.
These two plot holes are easily ignored because of the tone of the story. It is not a novel one would read to analyze, but rather a book to enjoy on the beach or when feeling lonely. It could easily be read in a day if time permitted.
If you love Nicholas Sparks, you will love Dear John. Sparks' writing in this novel reverts back to his classic style and is sure to be enjoyed.
Oh, and one last thing: I would recommend the book over the movie any day of the week!
Dear John August 29, 2010
Katina Coutscoudis Ryder
In reading this story I was impressed by John's emotional growth in learning the true meaning of unconditional love. I loved this story.
Reunion
Dear John August 25, 2010
Jean Williams
I liked all the information that was written. I am very happy with the way Amazon does their products and I am a happy camper. thank you
Great Book/Quick Read August 25, 2010
ashnbriesmom
Loved "Dear John" and I couldn't put it down! Can't wait to watch the movie now! Wonderful story of true love and the lengths people go for those they love.
 *yawn* August 18, 2010
Ronda J. Wintheiser
Dear John,
You sucked.
I'm sorry to pain you, but that is the unhappy truth. Granted, I first began reading the book already prejudiced against it, but I was secretly hoping it would turn out to be spectacularly brilliant, or at least be one of those guilty pleasure-type books. I was miserably disappointed.
The story gets rolling with John, a troubled young man who joined the army because he was bored with his life and couldn't think of anything else to do. On a two week leave, he goes home to visit his father, and during his stay he meets a young woman named Savannah. They have their little intrigue, and by the time the two weeks are up, they're madly in love. John leaves her with the promise that he'll come back to her in a year. But the events of 9/11 end up changing his plans drastically. I'm sorely tempted to go ahead and spoil the rest of the plot for you, but I'm in a charitable mood tonight.
After hearing from everyone what an amazingly powerful love story Dear John was, I was hoping for a really deep, substantive romance. What I got, however, was a namby-pamby romance in which the deepest feelings fail to rival those involved in a middle school crush. Maybe nowadays, that's what passes for a romance, but after reading Jane Eyre, it just didn't make the cut for me. Comparing Nicholas Sparks' mediocre work with Charlotte Bronte's masterpiece probably isn't entirely fair, though. John's 'love' for Savannah doesn't seem to extend beyond how cute and nice she is, and how good she looks in a bikini. Which is pretty much all there is to her anyway. And if Savannah had really loved John, she would not have done what she does towards the end of the book. At the end of the novel, John sells his dead father's coin collection and uses the money to do something really big and magnanimous for Savannah. This is portrayed as some kind of 'sacrifice' on John's part, which is hogwash, because John didn't care two straws about his dad's coins, and was probably glad to get rid of them.
Savannah. Okay, so she's really really pretty, and really really nice, believes in God and does charity work and all that. Which is great. But there's just something wanting. She lacks depth. She's just not an interesting character. If she had had a little dry wit, or if her faith was emphasized more than it was, that would be at least a step in the right direction. Throughout the book, Savannah reminded me of frosting--so sweet it makes you sick. She doesn't have any other flavors to her, no spice, no sourness, no salt, nothing savory. Just sweet. Blech.
John himself could have been a complex character. Emphasis on the could have been. A troubled youth who has a rocky relationship with his father, and suffers from problems with drinking and committing to women--now THAT should have made for an interesting character. But he wasn't. John was a very boring narrator. If he had had a sense of humor, the whole book would have been improved significantly. As it is, John plods along through the story as if the events he is describing are the most boring and unexciting things he's ever done. I tried reading it out loud at one point--I could scarcely keep myself from reading in a monotone.
Dear John has its good points. It's nice that one of the main characters has a strong belief in God, for one thing, although that fact isn't emphasized as much as I would have liked it to be. It's a pretty clean story, too, except for one particular scene, where John and Savannah decide to have sex for the first time. It's painted by the author to be this beautiful and touching moment between the two of them, despite the fact that they're not married. But then, these days we do everything backwards anyway--move in together, have kids, and THEN: "Oh, gee, honey, maybe we should get married!" Novel thought indeed.
That being said, overall, Dear John was a pretty boring read. I most definitely would NOT read it again, which is saying a lot coming from me, because when I really like a book, I always make sure to pay it the compliment of reading it again. And again, and again and again... Don't get me wrong here, I'm all for a light, easy to digest book that doesn't really have a lot of substance to it, but this one is just not my kind of junk food, I guess. So, if you think you'll like it, go for it. But if you end up utterly despising it, just remember...I told you so. ;)
-Carissa Wintheiser
08/18/10
Showing reviews 1-5 of 519
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