Dear John
Realistic Fiction
By Nicholas Sparks
Reviewed by Eleni R
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
“In our time together, you claimed a special place in my heart, one I’ll carry with me forever and that no one can ever replace.”
That’s exactly how John Tyree, a soldier on a few weeks leave from the Middle East, feels after only a few unsuspected days spent with Savannah Curtis, a quiet, sweet, naive girl like none he’d ever met before. Secrets, friendships, hopes, dreams, laughter, tears and most importantly love are shared in the slimming days that follow until the fateful day of John’s leave. But when John returns, he leaves with three promises, to write Savannah constantly, to marry her and start their life together as soon as his tour is up, and to love her, unconditionally, forever. Counting down the days until his return to Savannah, and the father he left behind, grows easier all the time, at least until the fateful day of September 11. John, like many other soldiers, decides to renew his tour, leaving his father behind, and most importantly breaking his promise to Savannah. Even John couldn’t have seen the turn fate would take all because of that one choice, the choice that would change the course of his life and the one he envisioned with Savannah.
Dear John is a touching story with an unpredictable plot that takes you through every emotion possible. Nicholas Sparks makes you feel as if you’re right next to John the whole story, feeling his happiness, sorrow, hope, and heartbreak, wishing you could change the course of his fate. This story of romance, friendship, family and the power of love is sure to be relatable to anyone who’s ever loved someone enough to do anything for them, even if they’d broken your heart into a million pieces. It’s also certainly relatable for people with family members, friends, or lovers in the army. Dear John really is a novel that will force you to think, wonder and ask yourself how it’d feel to be in the shoes of a soldier, and especially the shoes of the ones they leave behind. It really forces you to reflect and even made me realize how hard it must be to constantly be wondering, worrying and hoping. Dear John certainly is one of a kind.
