Dear John

When you fall in love, you would do anything to be there for that special someone, even if they were a hundred, a thousand, or a million miles away. Long-term relationships can work from a distance. There are lots of forms of communication: e-mail, telephone, writing. You can make time to talk every day even if you can't physically see each other. You can make it last right?

In Dear John, by Nicholas Sparks, John Tyree and Savannah Curtis have to hold on to their love by continuing their long-distance relationship.

Rebel John drops out of school to join the army, leaving behind his only family member, his quiet and reserved father. Despite the fact that John and his father are complete opposites, he still regrets leaving him alone in North Carolina. So when he returns, he's determined to try everything to form a more solid relationship with his dad.

After a long day's surf in the ocean, John spots four college kids on the dock. One of the girls is yelling for her friends to help her save her bag that was knocked into the water. John can tell that her friends don't care so much about her bag, so he decides to do his good deed for the day and save the bag. Savannah's bag.

As a reward for saving all her valuables, Savannah invites John along with her to their beach cottage. Several other college students are staying there as well, to work on their Habitat for Humanity project. John agrees and their connection is instantly made.

John and Savannah continue to spend as much time as possible together. However, Savannah works during the days on the construction site at the same time John's father is at work. As soon as Savannah is finished, John spends time with her at night, while his father is alone at home. On his break from the Army, John really wanted to become closer to his father. He was determined to make this happen. Savannah, being the pure, caring, loving person that she is, sees this when John speaks of his father. She can see that they've never really been that close, and John's father is difficult to talk to as well. So she asks John if she can meet his father. This way John can be with her and his dad at the same time. This only strengthens the bond between John and his father, and John and Savannah.

Soon, John has to return to the Army, and Savannah has to follow her peers back to school. As quickly as their adventure begins, it ends, but their love continues despite their distance. They write love letters to each other every single day, and John phones her from his base whenever he can. He doesn't have that much time left in the service. He plans to settle down with Savannah as soon as he gets out, and she wants to marry him and start a family as well, but when 9/11 comes around, John has no choice but to fight for his country.

More years pass that John and Savannah are apart, and the letters begin to come less frequently. Until the very last one..

Another brilliant novel by Nicholas Sparks, Dear John proves that not every negative thing said about long-distance relationships are true, and sometimes, opposites really do attract. This book is all about love, family, and determination. This book proves that love can stand through the toughest times, whether it be a relationship between a man and a woman, or between father and son. With love, anything is possible.