i found the book exicting, the end was nothing i imagined, this is not a regular love story the author has gave the story depth and emotion. you find a new meaning for love in this book. you felt anger, happiness, and most of all sadness. the book gave me a something to think about.

I picked up this book after a friend of mine asked me to read it with her. I agreed and read it. I must say this is one of the worse books I have ever read. Nothing ever happens in the story and it was just a huge waste of time.

Good book but not all it was hyped up to be. Purchase was great though. This book was going for almost $20 at our local bookstore and I got here for like $7 and it was brand new and in great condition. Just ordered some more...

Another terrific Nicholas Sparks book. Tear Jerker, but really pulls you in while reading. Hard to put down.

My Grade: 4/5

I loved the movie trailer so much that I decided to read this before seeing it. I loved the movie The Notebook, which was also a book written by Nicholas Sparks but I'd never read anything by him.

I did NOT love Dear John. I hated the ending. I will not see this movie now. The rest of the book was an incredibly awesome, heart wrenching, love story superbly written. Again, the ending ruined this book for me.

P.S. - I loved John. That is all.

Let me just say I am beyond grateful this book was a short one. Being someone who has dated and married a military man I was expecting something far more meaningful, explaining the true passion of what a REAL couple feels when falling inlove so deeply in such a short amount of time and then having to leave one another. As someone who has experienced that, I was looking to read this novel and somewhat relive my own experience. NOT SO! This story was unbelievably flat and I felt as if although idealy we wish we could all be as perfect as Savanah, I would rather not be as boring as her. I found myself strongly disliking her and found that she lacked any real personality at all. It felt as though this awesome author was more focussed on writing a book about being vertious and religuous then writing a passionate love story to remember for years to come. As for me I find myself wishing I could forget how annoying Savanah was. John was almost induring but also extremely flat and more obsessed than passionate. I'm hoping someone comes along and writes a true to life love story about being inlove with someone in the military. It would also be nice if they could twist it around a little and make the female the one in the military, and her man waiting for her to return. It seems that story has never been told. Either way I am telling all my friends not to waste their time on this one, and honestly I'll be skipping the movie as well.

I watched the movie first and i didn't understand why Savannah did such a choice. In the movie she said that She didn't have a choice. But i didn't make any sense to me. So i left the theatre with a big question WHY? and i was mad...So i decided to read the book to find the answer.
But the book was different. I enjoyed every detail of it, and also the differences between the book and the movie. I was happy that John didn't injured while he was in war.
i didn't know that this book would make me that sad in the end, but when i read the last 2 pages of the book, i cried so hard because my heart was just breaking. I could't even breath normally. John's sacrifice was way too much for me. It reminded me of Jesus. Only Jesus would do such a sacrifice as this. I awfully feel bad for him, but at the same time i adored him.
I understood again, what true love means.
I truely thankful to the author Nicolas Sparks.
He is a gifted man from God...Thank you...

If you like thinly developed characters in a dull, unsurprising story that will put you to sleep, this is the book for you. At least four other authors wrote books with this same title in the past five years. Very contrite.
I am not a NS fan but thought I would give him a shot. Who knows, as the author of about eight books, maybe he learned something at this point. Not a chance. Get this one from the library. Save your money.

I think so many of his books are getting to be the same. Nothing grabbed me about this one. Did not have that WOW factor of some of his earlier books.

I bought this on my Kindle while on vacation thinking it would be a romantic, sad, light reading perfect for the beach. After reading part 1, the book was so dull, uninspiring, and insipid that I put the book away for weeks and only finished it because my daughter wanted to read it and I wanted to make sure the rest was appropriate for her. I can't believe I paid money for this crap. The characters are 1 dimensional stereotypes. I find Savannah pretty unlikeable and her behavior an utter mystery to me. Why would such a perfect, caring, loving, good, Christian woman behave as she did? I also did not like the way he treats Autism in the book - it's as if he realized it's a "hot topic" these days so threw it in after reading a magazine article about Autism - very shallow and disrespectful. I found it boring and annoying, and not in a good way. I don't mind a book that makes me feel something, even if it's hate, as long as I'm emotionally involved. This book didn't engage me at all. I knew exactly what was going to happen and I didn't care about any characters other than John and his dad. That said, the middle school girls in our town LOVE this book and that made me realize that this is exactly the immature, uncomplicated, romantic drivel that a young girl would enjoy. However, because of the casual treatment of sex and love (which was surprising given the part 1 treatment of such), I won't let my daughter read it yet.

A good read, predictable love story, but easy to read -- a person can sleep after reading. I ordered one book and received two, I sent one back with no problem.

I bought this for my daughter, who is almost 16 yrs old. She hates to read so we have a problem with that. However, she saw this movie and is almost all the way through with the book and says it is much better than the movie. She says it is a great book. That's saying something coming from her. :)

Let me start by saying I am a big fan of Sparks. His books are about love, romance despair and heartache. I finished this book in two afternoons after working all day. This story is about John Tyree who falls in love with a beautiful girl named Savannah while he is on leave from the military. They share a passionate romance before John must leave and return to the military. He promises to come back at his enlistments end and share his life with Savannah. As fate would have it things just don't work out as we plan. There are many twists and turns and the ending is not the one I hoped for. I have read everything Sparks has written and must say that I have never had any regrets, because I know his book will hold my interest.

I had never read anything Nicholas Sparks has written until yesterday. I started this book and finished it in less than 24 hours. It was an easy read with likeable characters who I felt an immediate connection with. I would love to read a sequel to this one, if Sparks were ever so inclined to write one! This is the first book I've read since finishing the Twilight Saga at the beginning of February that I really couldn't put down...and I've read about 5 books in between. I laughed & cried, and if a book can draw that kind of emotion, it must be a good one. I highly recommend.

If you love Nicholas Sparks' books you'd definitely fall more in love with his books because of 'Dear John'Dear John. Its such a good read. Not very predictable or typical and has a lot of twists!!

This book was a fast read. I enjoyed it. It was a tear jerker at some parts. I passed the book along so others could have an easy read.

Had been seeing previews of the movie on TV. I wanted the book, they are always more detailed than movies. This was no exception. The book arrived quickly and I read it right away. A great writer and a great book.

Having read several of his other books and enjoyed his storylines, I expected a modicum of character development. This book was thinly written and provided no plausability or engagement with any of the characters.

This was for my 16 year old granddaughter. She said it is a very good book

Not the depth that I would have liked. Just ok. I have to force myself to pick it up and continue reading.

This came right when you said it would. I have lent it to several peple who loved it. I am going to read it, next. My granddaughter said the book is better than the movie.

I decided to read this book after seeing previews for the movie (although I have not seen the movie yet). I was looking for an easy read that I hoped would not be too much of a cheesy love story, and this ended up being just what I wanted. Its not just a love story about a boy and a girl, but its also about a relationship between father and son (the later being what actually touched me more emotionally.) About halfway through, most things started to become predictable for me though. It does have a bit of an awkward ending, which left me wanting a little bit more, but at the same time I was glad that the author didn't sell out and conveniently kill off anyone just to give the readers the ending we'd want. Of course, it includes familiarities of North Carolina, which I love. All in all, an easy-to-read love story and I enjoyed it... just glad I spent less than $5 on it. (I purchased the Kindle edition for my I-Touch. Kindle is awesome!)

This is the first Nicholas Sparks' novel that I've ever read, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd heard that his books are tear-jerkers, and I was armed with a box of Kleenex when I began this book. Although I didn't actually cry, there were a couple of parts that made me tear up.

I was pretty impressed with Spark's writing style. It flowed well and was fairly easy to read, but it was deep and meaningful at the same time. The best word to describe the story is bittersweet. In a way, the story was incredibly sad, and I was disappointed in the characters for not trying to stay together longer. At the same time, I understood how hard the circumstances were, and I was proud of them for trying as hard as they could. Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic, but I found parts of the story really disheartening. I'm so used to the teen chick lit where everything ends with a happily-ever-after. It was a bit startling to realize that those don't always exist. That's what made this book so realistic.

Although I didn't bond with all of the characters, they were all very realistic. What I loved most about them was that they were flawed. No too-perfect Edward Cullen types here. John was an average guy, and while Savannah might not seem like your usual college student, I admired her faith and selflessness.

This book should come with a warning label that reads "BEWARE: THIS NOVEL MAY BREAK YOUR HEART." I learned that true love doesn't always lead to a happy ending. Still, I'm glad I read this; it opened my eyes to the meaning of true love.

This is an excellent book. Nickolas Sparks is brilliant writer.
The book is much better than the movie!!

Without spoiling the book for anyone all I will say is some love stories are just tragic, if you don't like tragic love stories don't read this book. Very disappointed in the ending

There was so much hype about this movie and knowing that the book is always better I bought this one. It was very predictable. I knew what was going to happen before it happened. It was quick, easy reading but wasn't one of Nicholas Sparks best.

I loved this book!it made me cry 4 times!!! it is so sad and happy!this is not to be missed!

This book bored me. Maybe that is because I'm not fifteen. I found it indulgent, obvious, and simple minded. The only thing that really interested me was the relationship between John and his father and this is not really central to the story. This book lacked in passion and depth.

Dear John was the perfect romantic read, it's a bittersweet love story. I *sighed* while reading and found myself saying "awwwwww" several times. Yes, it was kind of sappy, but hey, sometimes you're in the mood for a good, sappy love story.

Set in modern day North Carolina, John and Savannah meet while he is on military leave for two weeks during the summer. John is a reformed bad boy, who was raised by his father and joined the army shortly after high school. Savannah is a good girl/college student. The two are opposites, yet are drawn into each other from the start. They fall in love during the short time they have together, and when John has to go back to Germany for a year, they promise to wait for each other. John and Savannah write letters to each other while they are apart and after the year is over, the two reunite and they are both still in love. But as they are forced to be apart for longer than expected, their love is tested and they begin to grow apart.

The book is narrated by John, and you get to see how much he does love Savannah. I really like John's character. He was loyal, kind and caring. Savannah irritated me just a bit. I think it's because she seemed childish at times, and as the two would have arguments, I found her annoying. All in all, I truly enjoyed this book and will read more Nicholas Sparks. I enjoyed the writing and the storyline.

I just loved this book. What an enjoyable read. The ending was not what I would have preferred, but it was done so well, that I was okay with it, and even in agreement. I enjoyed it and will read it again.

Loved the characters and wanted a different ending but the story was believeable and selfless. What true love is supposed to be, it's innnocent.

I feel that this book had a lot of detail that was quite boring. It left me wishing for the end to come faster. I also felt that the description of the characters didn't fit the time period. It felt to me like the characters belonged in the 1940's. While it may sound like I didn't like this book, I did enjoy the story. It is very predictable, but still enjoyable. The last 100 pages were more interesting and kept my attention. All in all, I would suggest this book to those that enjoy romantic stories by Sparks. I think you have to be his fan in order to like this one.

This book is a true tear jerk-er, no doubt, but it's also a wonderful story of an impossible yet unwavering love between two people and an even more wonderful story of love and understanding between father and son. If your looking for a cookie cutter happy ending love story this may not be your book, but if your looking for undying, unconditional love this book is worth a try. I will read this book again one day and it will remain in my permanent library.

I read it in two days. Could not put it down. Great Nicholas Sparks story.

Bought this book for my 16 year old daughter and she couldn't stop talking about it. It sent her through all sorts of emotions and even triggered a few tears. She said it was a lot better than the movie, so now I may just have to give it a read as well.

This book was just what I needed after reading a lot of non-fiction about depressing but interesting topics. It was an easy read but was captivating. Having the book in the man's point of view was a nice change as usually it is the women who are deemed hopeless romantics. While the story was a little far fetched, it left me teary eyed with the extent John loved Savannah.

Great book!

My review refers to the audio version of DEAR JOHN.

I decided to give this one by Nicholas Sparks a try after my daughter (14-years-old) came home from the movie theater and sighed, "This is my new favorite movie. I cried at the end. Everybody in the theater cried." Rather than spend a small fortune to see the movie, I went to my local library looking for the book. All copies were checked out, so I picked up the audiobook and listened to it on my way to and from work, the store, running errands, and once while sitting in my driveway just to get to the end of a particular CD. I am not a fan of Nicholas Sparks, though I have read a couple of his other books and saw two movie adaptations. I knew before listening to it what I was in for.

Initially, I liked the story about John and Savannah. I could imagine both of them meeting and wanting to get to know each other better in the usual "Boy Meets Girl" storyline. As the story progressed, I became more sympathetic to the character of John as he became emotionally mature and responsible. He grew up significantly after joining the Army. Savannah, on the other hand, seemed to regress and become more selfish and one dimensional as time went by. Ultimately, I ended up not caring for her and wondered why John remained in awe of her and in love with her, and seemingly would feel that way forever.

Others here have remarked about John's relationship with his father and how the coin collection that initially kept them apart eventually brought them together, so I won't add to what's been written. Sparks used John's father's mental condition, along with another minor character's mental difficulty, as the glue bonding John and Savannah together.

By the end of the book, I had had it with John and Savannah and wished I hadn't spent so much of my time listening to another one of Spark's formulaic, somewhat disappointing works. 2.5 Stars

I read this book in about 2 days, I could not put it down. Although it is a typical love story I found the characters intriguing and likeable. I am embarrassed to admit it but I cried in the middle and I cried in the end. I don't know if I will feel the same way when I watch the movie. I think the ending of this book is sad but it shows that life doesn't always end with happy endings and that love alone sometimes isn't enough, other circumstances and LIFE gets in the way. I really feel for John's character in this book, in the way he feels for his father and Savannah. Great book but totally cheesy/romantic and I loved it, much like I loved "The Notebook".

I have read many Nicholas Sparks books and for the most part have enjoyed them. I loved the notebook and I am always hoping that he will write another book along those lines. This book is over the top and very dissapointing! I found myself skimming and skipping pages of the book and a general feeling of annoyance as I read. One of the main problems with this book is that it is so cliche it is ridiculous! Almost every page is filled with either a cliche sappy romance scene or overkill on tragedies and the worst part is the way it ends. I felt like it was a waste of my time.

Another great story from the best Author-Nicholas Sparks. I was unable to put the book down. I cried through the whole book. It was such an inspiring story and had you feeling as if you were there. The characters were so in love and had you wondering what would happen next. Each chapter had me so in tuned and ready for the next surprise. I can't tell you how much I loved this novel and would highly recommend it to anyone that is also inspired by Nicholas Sparks. I am excited to start his newest novel, "The Last Song".

I was so disappointed with this book. It felt rushed and shallow from John's perspective. I didn't get the depth of feeling that normally accompany a plot like this. Instead it felt like a chronology of events from when they meet until the end. And although I enjoyed the premise and found the ending sad I felt it an appropriate ending. It was about the only thing I truly felt was done right. I doubt I will go see the movie now, since I only read the book because the movie looked good.

I was able to get this book for 4bucks and some change, and with shipping and handling i spent less than 9 dollars! There is no way I could have got this good of a price at one of the book stores and the gas it would cost just to get to the book store. This is a great book, just like most of Nicholas Sparks's books. Its not a long read but I was able to finish in with in 48 hours. My friends and I swap books all the time and my friend that I let borrow the book got it done in 2 days too. You just dont want to put it down. I would rather have the original book cover than the movie picture, not that Channing Tatum isnt nice to look at, but thats just my personal preference. I love buying things from Amazon, for the most part, I am able to get things at cheaper prices than I can at the store or whatever. Happy shopping!

My husband is in the Army and I actually heard how this ends on a radio show covering the movie which was what prompted me to read the book instead of watching the movie first. My husband is deployed and I felt similar to others in regard to how the story unfolded. Without ruining the ending, I highly doubt it would have turned out the way it did in real life....but I'm not the author. :o) It was a good read either way and I had difficulty putting it down even if I didn't like the ending.

Nicholas Sparks is not a Great Writer...
his words have no Magic in them at all....
he has no FUn element or style...
none the less his wrtiring is very simple and esay...tht the fast read makes the book enjoybale...
but here, theres nothing much at all...
its a ROm-Com book but it has an Unusual ending...
and thts the only reason why i am giving it a 3 out of 5....
for not being so obvious...
LOVE is not BLACK nor White...its the GREY space tht leaves u here nor there.....

Wow, really a great book. I had so much difficulty putting it down. I found it so frustrating that John kept leaving Savannah despite his true love for her. It brought me back to memories of myself when I was in high school and college. It made me think of falling in love and I had vivid memories of how I fell in love with my wife. While reading this book I kept looking over at my wife and I was thankful I did not have those horrible, "miss you" feelings that I once had when I was younger.
I could not stop reading the book only because I wanted John to end up with Savannah and spend the rest of his life with her. I was so SHOCKED that he kept re-enlisting and even more surprised when I found out Savannah married Tim. I found myself with some heartache at the end of this book. I would love to re-write the ending a completely different way, with Savannah always waiting for John and him not re-enlisting over and over.

A great book, but it was a difficult ending for me

This is my first book by Nicolas Sparks, but it will not be my last. Dear John is such a great read, and the love story will probably bring tears to your eyes. I was really interested in reading this book for the chemistry between the characters. Just a good read, esp. for women who love romance.

Nicholas Sparks did it again. This book was so full of happiness, love, and loss and despair. I have read it twice, and have fallen in love over and over. It's just so perfect...I want to read it again! Definitely something to read!

Predictably terrible writing. I'm half way through the book and rapidly skimming. I won't be too anxious to buy another Nicholas Sparks book.

I wanted to read the book after seeing previews for the movie that came out. I wanted to make sure to read it first seeing how the book is always better than the movie. I was very delighted with this story and I cannot recommend it enough.

Okay after you've read all of Nicholas Sparks's novels up to date they all start sounding the same. But this one was EASILY the worst, hands down. The title gives the whole plot away. A "Dear John" letter is a letter you send someone when you break up with them to be with someone else. The prologue always tells you that John and Savannah don't work out.
What really pissed me off was the "conversation" Sparks reused. John and Savannah used the exact same lines as Landon and Jamie from A Walk to Remember! "Sweet tea, please." "Make it two". And in every book Sparks has written, someone is always a rebel and someone always ends up getting really sick or dying. That plotline gets boring after what, 6 novels, don't you think?
And if John and Savannah truly loved each other like they said they did/showed then SAVANNAH WOULD NOT HAVE MARRIED TIM. She would NOT have cheated on him for so long while he was away. And on Tim, too! What a user. Sparks made her out to be this perfect Southern belle but in the end my impression of her was entirely changed. She's such a dumb, pathetic cheater. And John should NOT have gone against his father's will and sold the coin collection! His father spent his entire life collecting those and he throws it all away. What huge respect he has for his father's death. What true "love" John and Savannah shared...