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Dear John

By Nicholas Sparks

(149)

| Others | 9780751541885

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Critics

Dear John

Nicholas Sparks’s latest novel, DEAR JOHN, currently is atop the New York Times bestseller list, and for good reason. Sparks writes human emotion with empathy and deals with life-changing subjects that corral the reader's interest. Love between unlik ... (read full critics)

bookreporter published on Thu, 27 Oct 2011

Dear John By Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks has been the undisputed master of the modern-day love story since the 1996 publication of his debut, The Notebook. His 11th novel, Dear John, follows two star-crossed lovers wholesome Savannah Lynn Curtis and soldier John Tyree who fa ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Thu, 16 Sep 2010

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8 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

Very Predictable

This was a good book, meaning I could not put it down and just had to finish it. It was the first Nicholas Sparks book I've ever read too. For me the ending was just too predictable it was as if any author could have thought of it and wrote it. I did not bother to see the movie. But its a good weeke ... (continue)

This was a good book, meaning I could not put it down and just had to finish it. It was the first Nicholas Sparks book I've ever read too. For me the ending was just too predictable it was as if any author could have thought of it and wrote it. I did not bother to see the movie. But its a good weekend read.

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Mhughes4097 said on Mar 25, 2010 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

"Beautifully moving...Has tremendous emotional depth, revealing the true
meaning of unconditional love."
---Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine
The title of the novel reminds me of the song "Dear John",
a breakup letter to end a romantic relationship. Similarly,
in the novel, John Tyr ... (continue)

"Beautifully moving...Has tremendous emotional depth, revealing the true
meaning of unconditional love."
---Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine
The title of the novel reminds me of the song "Dear John",
a breakup letter to end a romantic relationship. Similarly,
in the novel, John Tyree, met a girl of his dreams, Savannah Lynn Curtis on his leave from the army. They both realized they had found their true love; however, during their long separation, Savannah fell in love with someone else and wrote John a Dear John letter.
The novel is a heartbreaker in some ways.
What I've learned from this novel?
1. A major event or an important decision can change the
course of life forever.
2. A parent's love for their child/children is forgiving,
unconditional, and unlimited.
3. We have to find passion in life.
I can't agree more with what is said in the novel:
...the saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who
don't care deeply about anything 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... (p.71)
4. What true love really means:
Love means that you care for another person's happiness
more than your own, no matter how painful the choices
you face might be. At the end of the novel, John made
the hardest decision in his life in the name of love.
Dear John is a novel that will touch your heart.

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Anniechan66 said on Feb 27, 2010 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

I cried and wept and laughed a little bit. I want a John!!!

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Vale Jane Vesper Eloquim said on Jun 4, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

This was a little melodramatic, trite and commonplace.

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Pikappa said on Jun 1, 2011 | Add your feedback

It inspires you to think what true love really means... quite impressive

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Bafsteacher said on Feb 6, 2011 | Add your feedback

Selfless Devotion

The book is not especially thrilling but still quite attractive because there is always the existence of tension. I kept wondering what would become of John and Savannah and couldn't but sigh because of circumstances that one can do very little to change, such as September 11.
Selfless devotion see ... (continue)

The book is not especially thrilling but still quite attractive because there is always the existence of tension. I kept wondering what would become of John and Savannah and couldn't but sigh because of circumstances that one can do very little to change, such as September 11.
Selfless devotion seems to be an important theme in Sparks's books. I read his "The Notebook" and this one, and the heroes in both books are just "saints"! I just wonder if this would ever happen in real life! But the author seems to be really religious in a way, although I am not sure if he is a devoted Christian or not. The sacrifice and devotion depicted in his book is always so beautiful and idealistic that I think not only I but other readers may read it "with a grain of salt." Oh, well, I may be too cynical, but it's just normal to have such doubts.
In addition, the pace is really slow because the author focuses more on the inner feelings of the narrator, John Tyree. I became really impatient for the first 100 pages or so. The plot "thickened" after that but somehow it's still thin and weak, if I may say so. Yet the part about his father really moved me deeply, and I think this is the best part in this book.

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Ruth Ye said on Jun 26, 2010 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

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Book Details

Rating:
(149)
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English Books
Others 368 Pages
ISBN-10: 0751541885
ISBN-13: 9780751541885
Publisher: Sphere
Pub date: Jan 29, 2010
Also available as: Mass Market Paperback, Paperback, Hardcover, Audio CD and eBook
In other languages: other languages 繁體書, Libros en Español