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Dear John
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Dear John (2006) (edit title/settings)

by Nicholas Sparks (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

When Savannah Lynn Curtis comes into his life, John Tyree knows he is ready to turn over a new leaf. An angry rebel, he had enlisted in the army after high school, not knowing what else to do. Then, during a furlough, he meets the girl of his dreams. Savannah Lynn Curtis is attending college... read more

Summary edit see section history

In the book 'Dear John' by, Nicholas Sparks, there was a mixture of bittersweet emotions while I was reading.
John and Savannah fall in love during a summer romance, but the summer always has to come to an end. John went into the army and was shipped overseas. The two lovebirds promised to... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

In the book 'Dear John' by, Nicholas Sparks, there was a mixture of bittersweet emotions while I was reading.
John and Savannah fall in love during a summer romance, but the summer always has to come to an end. John went into the army and was shipped overseas. The two lovebirds promised to wait for his tour to end so they could be together forever. John received letters from Savannah as soon as he could get them from where he was after he left for war. The letters came periodically and at the beginning of each one, Savannah would begin with, "Dear John." (this is where the title came from)
However, a happily ever after ending would be too easy. John decides to enroll for another tour, leaving Savannah to wait for him even longer. John soon finds that Savannah married her best friend. They had fallen in love when they went through hardships together, and Savannah had not been strong enough to wait for John. Since John still loved Savannah with all of his heart, he knew that it would not be fair to her to ask her to choose him, so he decides to let her go and forgive her. His love for her is stronger this his desire to keep her for himself.
The bitterness came from the main character, Savannah, getting married while her summer love, John, was in the army on a tour overseas. Apart from the heart ache of losing the one you love, the sweetness of the bittersweet emotions was overwhelming. Throughout the whole book I was content with what was happening. It all began with John saved Savannahs purse from the ocean, followed by Savannah inviting him to a cookout. After that, they began spending more and more time together, especially by the beach. It didn’t take the two young adults to fall in love, but they were never able to fall out of it.
When John came back from the war to see Savannah after she had sent him the letter explaining to him that she had gotten married, she sure enough fell in love with John all over again. John knew it wouldn’t be right to rip apart a marriage and he was still upset with what Savannah had done but like everyone, he had forgiveness. Overall, I think ‘Dear John’ was a very detailed, interesting, and well put together. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a romantic novel.

Characters edit see section history

  • John Tyree: Is the protagonist of the novel and the story is told from his point of view. In the hope of finding meaning in his life he enlists in the American army and the experience changes his life and it can be argued that it ultamiatly cost him the greatest thing he treasured in life. He falls deeply in love with a girl Savannah he meets over the summer after saving her purse. When he decides to throw his relationship away by re-enlisting in the army again and again his relationship quickly becomes over with Savannah. Throughout the story, the two figure out how to keep love a live!
  • Savannah Lynn Curtis: Meets John during her spring break, building houses for the Habitat for Humanity is her passion. She soon falls madly in love with John and he fell in love with her. She gets very close to him, and then John decides to re-enlist, and after he does it again, and again, and again Savannah decides she is pretty much done with him. They quit talking when Savannah quits getting the letters from John that he writes her everyday. That is just the start of the ending of their relationship. When John returns on emercency leave, Savannah and him reconnect only to end with John finding out something that he didn't want to face.
  • Tim Wheddon: a friends of Savannah's, and becomes a friend of John's. When he learns of how John and Savannah's feelings are mutal, he becomes protective of Savannah.
  • Mr. Tyree: John's Father, it is strongy implied that he has a mild case of autism or similar condition. He has raised John on his own after his wife abandoned them shortly after John was born
  • Alan Wheddon: Tim's brother, who has Autism. Savannah takes care of him when Tim is in the hospital and has the horse farm for people like Alan.
  • Tony: John's friend in the army. He knows all about Savannah and when John and Savannah are done for good, he is the only person John really has left.
  • John: A man who wasn't looking for love; but, found it.
  • Louis Eliasberg: girlfriend dating someone in the military
  • Molly: Add a description of this character.
  • Toby: John's combat buddy and friend in the army.
  • john: surfer who family problems
  • Susan: Loved it so much. Could not put it down. Even though the ending wasn't the typical/mainstream/template/"Disney"-type ending, it was one of my favorite books ever. Probably because it was just slightly out of the box and also because it captured the subtleties of characters and nuances of situations, so very well. The descriptions were stellar; i felt like I was where the book was taking place. I highly recommend. The movie, on the other hand, was a huge letdown. Read the book instead of watching the movie!
  • Midas: Savanah's favorite horse since childhood. She also owns it.
  • John: went off to war, main character
  • Brad
Show all 15 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “"I'm not perfect, either. In the end, it's only God's judgment that matters, and I've learned enough to know that no one can presume to know the will of God."”
    Savannah
  • “Passion is passion. It's the excitement between the tedious spaces, and it doesn't matter where it's directed. It can be coins or sports or politics or horses or music or faith. . . the saddest people I've ever met in my 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 tha's when you see a person at his best, and I've found that someone else's happiness is usually infectious.”
    Savannah
  • “...I finally understood what true love really meant. Tim had told me—and shown me—that love meant that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be.”
    John
  • “And when her lips met mine, I knew that I could live to a hundred and visit every country in the world, but nothing would ever compare to that single moment when I first kissed the girl of my dreams and knew that my love would last forever.”
    John Tyree - in narration.
  • “In the end, I figured, this war was no different from any other. Wars always come back to the quest for power among the competing interests, but this understanding didn't make life on the ground any easier. In the aftermath of Baghdad's fall, every soldier in my squad was thrust into the roles of poiceman and judge. As soldiers, we weren't trained for that.”
    John
  • “When you're struggling with something, look at all the people around you and realize that every single person you see is struggling with something, and to them, it's just as hard as what you're going through”
  • “It's possible to go on, no matter how impossible it seems, and that in time, the grief . . . lessens. It may not go away completely, but after a while it's not so overwhelming”
  • “Our story has three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. And although this is the way all stories unfold, I still can't believe that ours didn't go on forever”
  • “I fell in love with her when we were together, then fell deeper in love with her in the years we were apart”
  • “When I think of you and me and what we shared I know it would be easy for people to dismiss our time together simply as a by- product of the days and nights spent by the sea. A 'fling' that in the long run would mean absolutely nothing. That's why I don't tell people about us, they won't understand and I don't feel the need to explain. Simply because I know in my heart how real it was. When I think of you, I can't help smiling knowing that you've completed me somehow. I love you - not just for now, but for always an I dream of the day that you'll take me in your arms gain.”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • love meant that you care for another person’s happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be.
    Highlighted by 593 Kindle customers
  • 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.
    Highlighted by 505 Kindle customers
  • Passion is passion. It’s the excitement between the tedious spaces, and it doesn’t matter where it’s directed.”
    Highlighted by 424 Kindle customers
  • “My dad always said that when you’re struggling with something, look at all the people around you and realize that every single person you see is struggling with something, and to them, it’s just as hard as what you’re going through.”
    Highlighted by 322 Kindle customers
  • A person with autism lives in his own world, while a person with Asperger’s lives in our world, in a way of his own choosing.
    Highlighted by 279 Kindle customers
  • I’d love to hear your dad talk about coins, because that’s when you see a person at his best, and I’ve found that someone else’s happiness is usually infectious.”
    Highlighted by 239 Kindle customers
  • And when her lips met mine, I knew that I could live to be a hundred and visit every country in the world, but nothing would ever compare to that single moment when I first kissed the girl of my dreams and knew that my love would last forever.
    Highlighted by 238 Kindle customers
  • I had no regrets about the way I’d turned out. Regrets about the journey, maybe, but not the destination.
    Highlighted by 76 Kindle customers
  • Carl Hiaasen because his words flowed easily and he always made me laugh. I couldn’t help but think that if schools had assigned these books in English class, we’d have a lot more readers in the world.
    Highlighted by 36 Kindle customers
  • I studied him as he went through the motions, knowing I was doing exactly the same thing that I’d grown angry at Savannah for doing. It’s strange how knowledge changes perception.
    Highlighted by 30 Kindle customers
Show all 20 quotes from this book

Organizations edit see section history

  • Habitat for Humanity: A nonprofit Christian organization that partners with future and current homeowners to build simple, decent, and affordable housing for low to very low-income families. Volunteers and future homeowners work together in the building process. Houses are sold at no profit and owners are charged no interest. The purpose of the organization is to bring families and communities in need together with resources and volunteers to eliminate substandard housing in low-income areas.Source: http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper149.html
  • Taliban: An Islamic group based in the Middle East.
  • United States Army: Add a description of this organization.

First Sentence edit see section history

"What does it mean to truly love another?"

Glossary edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • True love: Love means that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be, they matter more.
  • Cope: Coping is dealing with a problem that is hard for you to handle. Both John and Savannah have seperate personal problems they have to cope with and they use each other' strength and encouragement to do that.
  • The Importance of Friendship: Savannah and John have such a strong friendship that carries them through so much. They are so close that they are both best friends and lovers.
  • Selflessness: John gives up everything he has for Savannah.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 200 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
This book is in 2010-2011 Iowa High School Battle of the Books. (authoritative list)
This is book 154 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 3 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels In 2006. (authoritative list)
This is book 151 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This book is in Movie Tie-Ins 2010. (community list)
This is book 162 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Nicholas Sparks (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Ingegerd Wallberg Tronslien (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Warner Books
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2006
ISBN: 978-0-446-52805-4
Page Count: 338

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: 2006020714
  • Dewey: 813.54 FIC SPA

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

This book is great for someone who needs to cry. Honestly, I would not have anyone under 14 read this book. Some of the content is very intense and might confuse someone younger.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

  • Nicholas Sparks: The author's webpage. You can learn more about the author and his books.

Movie Connections edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Notebook
  • The Last Song

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