Nicholas Sparks
Dear John (2006)
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Genre: Gentle
Plot Summary:
Raised by a reclusive father, John Tyree spends his teenage years in rebellion. He doesn't feel like he connects with his father, who can't seem to talk to his son about anything but collecting coins. The activity that used to be a bond between them becomes something that John doesn't want anything to do with. After high school graduation, John slips from one job to the next, his nights spent drinking and picking up women. Eventually, though, he realizes the emptiness of his current behavior and, on a whim, decides to enlist in the army. John feels like the army forces him to grow up, but the biggest influence on his growth as a person turns out to be a girl he meets while on leave. Her name is Savannah Curtis, and she is in John's hometown to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. John feels a very strong connection to Savannah, and the two of them hit it off right away. Savannah meets John's father and, due to her experience working with people with developmental disorders, she tells John that she believes his father might have Asperger's Syndrome. John is angry, at first, that she would try to diagnose his dad, but soon is thankful for it, since he is better able to relate to his father after knowing. By the end of his leave, the two have agreed that they have a future together as soon as John is discharged from the army in December of 2001. However, when the events of September 11 occur, John feels it is his duty to sign up for another two years. That decision ends up costing him Savannah, though, as she grows apart from him during the following two years. Shortly before his second tour of duty with the army is to end, she sends him a "Dear John" letter. John stays with the army and loses contact with Savannah. SPOILER In spring of 2005, John's father's health really begins to fail because of heart problems and John makes the difficult decision to put his father in a nursing home. Seven weeks later, his father passes away. While he is home on leave to attend the funeral, he decides to visit Savannah. He learns that she was married to Tim, a friend of hers that he'd met at the same time he'd met Savannah. The next day, he learns that Tim has melanoma, and the couple do not have enough money for an experimental treatment that might save Tim's life. John sells the coin collection bequeathed to him by his father and donates the money anonymously to a fund set up to raise money for Tim's treatment. The book ends in 2006. Tim had the treatment and is in remission, and John knows that, while he can't be with Savannah, he is glad that Tim is well and that Savannah has a chance at happiness.
Geographical Setting: Primarily North Carolina, but also Germany and Iraq
Time Period: Present (2000-2006)
Series: None
Appeal Characteristics:
The plot is very straight-line, and events unfold in a measured pace. There is quite a lot of dialog interspersed with the narrator's description of past events. The characters are very well developed, and a lot of emphasis is placed on the drama between them. Even tertiary characters that don't really have a part in the story are given personality and detail to make them feel very real. The story is told in first person, and this helps the reader to identify with John, and to understand him. The story emphasizes people and their relationships. The background is fairly minimal, with just enough detail given to place John in a particular location. The focus is on John's feelings for Savannah, rather than what might be happening currently. The tone of the story is wistful, reminiscient and a little bittersweet, since John has already told the reader that he still loves Savannah but will never be with her.
Read-alikes: Readers who enjoyed Dear John should read Sparks' The Notebook, if they haven't already done so, which NoveList recommends as a good place to start. The Last Valentine, by James Michael Pratt, is similar in tone to Dear John. In this bittersweet love story, the lovers are also separated by a war; however, in this case, the man, Neil, goes missing in action. His young wife, Caroline, remains faithful to him through the years. Fifty years later, she learns that his remains have been discovered in the Phillipines and receives his papers.As with Dear John, the book's plot is character driven with emphasis on the drama between the characters. Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven is the story of a man who, upon his death during an attempt to save a little girl, discovers the true worth of his life when he is visited in heaven by five people, a-la a Christmas Carol. As with Dear John, the reader starts out knowing the end to the story. The rest of the story is woven around Eddie's life and has the same measured pace that Dear John does. The book's tone and message is bittersweet and states that our lives are interwoven with others' and little sacrifices we make can have far reaching consequences that are worth more than we may realize. To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Kay, has a similar straight-line plot and wistful, emotional tone as that of Dear John. It is the story of an old man, Sam Peek, who, upon the loss of his wife, begins to see a mysterious white dog no one else can see. His family is worried he's hallucinating, until they begin to see evidence of the white dog as well. The dog remains Sam's companion as he lives out the rest of his life. The Ultimate Gift, by Jim Stovall, is the story of Jason Stevens, a selfish young man who will only inherit his uncle's fortune if he completes a year's worth of tasks set out in his uncle's will. In doing so, he begins to learn there is more to life than money. It has a simple plotline and measured pace, much like Dear John. Emphasis is placed on the development of the main character, and readers are able to identify with Jason's struggle to grow into a better person. Anne Rivers Siddons' Colony is the story of Maude, a southern woman who married into an aristocratic family. The book portrays the struggles she's gone through in her life and the drama that happens between the characters. Colony has very well developed characters and a reminiscent tone that is similar to Dear John.
Red Flags: character death (in the past and not dwelt upon, but may still upset reader), 9/11 and the Iraq war (very vague mentions of violence, less than one might see on the news)
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