Dear John Audio CD – Audiobook, December 7, 2009

Reading DEAR JOHN by Nicholas Sparks, it wasn't hardto figure out that somebody by the name of John (coincidentallythe main character) was going to get a letter from a girl heloved . . . yet even with that prior knowledge, the bookheld my interest because Sparks is such a masterfulstoryteller.As has been the case with virtually all his other books,Sparks here presents a story with characters that youreally care about . . . I wanted to see what would eventuallybecome of John Tyree, a guy who didn't have much goingon in his life until he helps Sarah Lynn Curtis retrieve a pocketbookthat she had lost . . . they quickly fall in love; however, shortlythereafter, John must return to complete his tour of duty withthe army.A long distance romance ensues, only to have the eventsof 9/11 come into play . . . then there's the disease ofJohn's dad (Asperger's syndrome), as well as otherassorted complications in both their lives, and nothinghappens as smoothly as you would like it to.DEAR JOHN held my interest until the very end . . . if you'rein the mood for a good, old fashioned romance that's alsoa tear jerker, then this is the book for you . . . or you couldalways wait for the movie that I'm sure will be developedin the near future.Sparks writes masterfully; among the many passages thatcaught my attention were the following:* It's no exaggeration to say that lives are on the line. One wrong decision,and your buddy might die. It's this fact that makes the army work. That'sthe big mistake a lot of people make when they wonder how soldierscan put their lives on the line day after day or how they can fight forsomething they may not believe in. Not everyone does. I've worked withsoldiers on all sides of the political spectrum; I've met some who hatedthe army and others who wanted to make it a career. I've met geniusesand idiots, but when all is said and done, we do what we do for oneanother. For friendship. Not for country, not for patriotism, not becausewe're programmed killing machines, but because of the guy next to you.You fight for your friend, to keep him alive, and he fights for you, andeverything about the army is built on this simple premise.* She smiled, flashing the small gap between her two front teeth. "Exactly.It can be coins or sports or politics or horses or music or faith . . . thesaddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply aboutanything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them,any happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to make it last.I'd love to hear your dad talk about coins, because that's when you see aperson at his best, and I've found that someone else's happiness is usuallyinfectious."I was struck by her words. Despite Tim's opinion that she was naïve, sheseemed far more mature than most people our age. Then again, consideringthe way she looked in her bikini, she probably could have recited the phonebook and I would have been impressed.* I thought again about the way she'd talked to my father. About the way shetalked to everyone, for that matter, including me. She had the rare abilityto be exactly what people needed when she was with them and yet stillremain true to herself. I couldn't think of anyone who remotely resembledher in appearance or personality, and I wondered again why she'd takena liking to me. We were as different as two people could be. She was amountain girl, gifted and sweet, raised by attentive parents, with a desireto help those in need; I was a tattooed army grunt, hard around the edges,and largely a stranger in my own home. Remembering how she'd been withmy dad, I could tell how gracefully her parents had raised her. And as shesat beside me, I found myself wishing that I could be more like her.

I really enjoyed Reading Dear John. In a nutshell, the story follows a twenty three year old in the military who met the girl of his dreams at the beach: Savannah Lynn Curtis. They are together for a few years and then after 9/11, he decides to stay in the army and she ends up with her best friend.________________________________________________________________________________________________________The beginning of the book was lovely. I have never been so engaged in a book. Their connection is magical and when they were together it felt so natural to me. From the first day they met at the beach, and when they went back to 'the house' for Barbecue, to when they went to the hamburger joint or the shrimp shack. You could tell that they were truly in love with each other. They wanted to spend every moment together. She takes him to the house her and her college friends are building, and tells him that she had almost been raped and that she hadn't really been with anyone in a long time. She also tells John she loves him for the first time.One afternoon, John goes looking for her and finds her at the pier, crying her eyes out. Basically, she was sad about him returning to Germany and leaving her. But she also gives him a book and states her belief that his father had asperger's. He didn't take it too well, and stormed off, and ended up getting into a fight with Randy, but punched Tim, Savannah's best friend in the whole wide world, in the nose.Savannah takes John's leaving hard, but promised to write to him, and that she did.*When John returned to North Carolina their chemistry was still strong, but less so than it was in the beginning. They fight a little because John doesn't like her taking him to see her friends all of the time. He got real mad one evening when she came home late from teaching. That night, they make love for the first time, and the spark is rekindled.*They John's dad has heart attacks and gets sick, bed ridden practically. It breaks John's heart, but grows closer to his father and comes to appreciated their relationship more than he had. While back in Germany, after a few months, John gets a 'Dear John' letter. He is crushed to learn she has fallen in love with another man. Then his Dad dies and he arranged the funeral, and ends up in Lenoir, and after many years, sees Savannah at her home feeding the horses. It really upset me that they were still so in love with each other, but couldn't be together. She ended up marrying Tim by the way, which was very annoying. She should have waited for John. He is in the Hospital with Melanoma and is getting treated for it. Savannah tells John about how sad it is, and everything. They end up almost kissing, and then he sees her naked. That killed me. I knew they both wanted to be together and her choice to marry Tim was even more annoying. WHY DIDN'T SHE WAIT FOR JOHN? I know it's morbid, but i was hoping Tim would die and they would end up together, but they didn't.Their last words are spoken in a parking lot, and they never hear from each other again. I really enjoyed this book. It was the first Romance novel i ever read, and am starting The notebook. I am also looking forward to watching Dear john the movie!