Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

I used to be a huge Nicholas Sparks fan. He wrote about the "movie love" that I love and he is from NC so most of his stories are set in familiar places. I cried my eyes out reading The Notebook and to this day that book and movie are still on my all-time favorites list. I loved Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember too. But slowly his books became too predictable for even me.

But since I now have to watch commercials due to not having DVR, I kept seeing the commercial for the movie Dear John. What can I say? I am a HUGE sucker for movie love and Channing Tatum is HOT and the actress that plays the female lead is on one of my favorite shows- Big Love. But since the book is always better than the movie, I had to read the book first.

I still heart Nicholas Sparks. I flew through this book in 3 days. I was reading it in my car at stoplights. It's just such an easy romantic read that sucks you in.

The main character Savannah is from Lenior, NC which is literally 15-20 minutes from my hometown of Morganton. So needless to say I could relate to her. The boy John is from Wilmington which I have been to many times. Savannah goes to UNC which is right up the road from where I am now. So really the whole story felt like it could be written by people I actually might know.

Savannah meets John while he is on leave from his army base in Germany. She is staying with a group of students from UNC who are there for a month to build some houses for Habitat for Humanity. He is there for 2 weeks visiting his dad. Their paths cross and immediately they are smitten with each other. By the time John's leave is up, they are full blown head-over-heels in love.

The rest of the story is about how they try to keep their relationship and love going through letters and short phone conversations and visits. You'll have to read it to find out the rest, but I will tell you it made me think about what true love really looks like and acts like.

It doesn't have that happily ever after ending I love, but it doesn't have that tragic someone dies ending either. At first I hated the ending because it didn't wrap up everything in a nice little happy bow, but I appreciate it and what the author is trying to get across.

It's a story about soul mates and love- in many different forms.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I still haven't seen the movie, but I heard they totally changed the setting and the ending.

Also last summer I listened to Nicholas Sparks other book The Last Song on my way to the beach. It was pretty good and apparently it is going to be made in to a movie too!

3 comments:

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

I felt the same way about Nicholas Sparks but this book and The Last Song have made me a fan again. This book was good, but I liked The Last Song better. The movie Dear John kinda made me mad... I don't understand why they did what they did. Let me know if you see it!

Fannie said...

I read Message in a bottle .. a long time ago and I still remember most of it. Which is really a big deal for me since I forget a movie within an hour of watching it, lol. I think that book and Dawson's Creek (filmed in Wilmington, right?) actually started my obsession with NC, haha.

I'm looking forward to seeing Dear John when I'll be in the mood for a good cry :) The story as you described it sounds interesting, I'm curious to see how much the movie differs from that.

Jenthebeachbum said...

Gah! This is sitting on my shelf right now, it just came in the mail last week. I have to finish up this other book I am in the middle of then that is next! I have to read it before I watch the movie too. I love it when the setting in a book is familiar to me.

 
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