Dear John

Title: Dear John
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Warner Books
Publication Date: October 30, 2006
Rating: 3 Stars

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who has captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love—and face the hardest decision of his life.-GoodReads

I don't know why I decided to read another Nicholas Sparks book. I've read 3 before this one and I didn't care for them much. I'll even go so far to say that I hated the Notebook and only loyalty to the movie keeps me from saying the same about A Walk to Remember. So why do I keep coming back for more? I do not know.

I honestly don't have much to say about this book. It was good... I really don't have anything bad to say about it, just that it's not my type. The writing is fine, although, I would love to see Sparks try another pattern than the one he always follows but he is a talented author. I liked the story well enough, I actually can't say much about the pace of the book because I can't judge such a thing when I read a book in nearly one sitting.

The characters were likable but I didn't connect with them. I read in a couple of reviews that people were in love with John Tyree, I can't say I was. I liked Savannah but I didn't connect with her either. I didn't get close to the characters, I didn't get invested in their story so when the heart wrenching parts came (it's a Sparks book you know it can only end in tears) I didn't feel anything. I just felt like a casual observer. Unlike The Last Song I didn't even cry. I felt nothing.