Dear John

I really wanted to read this one because it's at the theater right now.

It was so great. Such a wonderful love story that I can relate to in so many ways. It was similar to many events that have taken place in my life, so it really hit very close to home for me.

For those of you that haven't read it, it's about a young man -John- who grew up with only his father and after floundering and making poor decisions after high school decided to join the Army, to try to steer his life in a better direction.

A few years into his army career, he returned home to Wilmington, NC. He was on a two week leave that summer and he was visiting his father. During that time he met Savannah, a beautiful college student from UNC. She and a group of co-eds were at the beach for the summer to build houses for habitat for humanity.

They fell in love and after their stint at the beach together, she returned to college and he returned to Germany where he was stationed.

This story spans a 7 year time frame and during that time so much happened in their lives. September 11th happened, John's father had some health issues, Savannah finished her degree at UNC and their relationship continued long-distance... through letters.

It's a wonderful story and unlike other Nicholas Sparks books, I only cried once.... briefly. Nights in Rodanthe.. geez, I almost finished off a whole box of Kleenez and my eyes were swollen the entire next day.

I would recommend it to anyone who'd like to read a love story. I do have to warn, it didn't end ideally. At least, it didn't end as I would have wanted it to end. It had a sweet ending, just not the one I would have preferred.