“Our story has three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. And although this is the way all stories unfold, I still can’t believe that ours didn’t go on forever.”

Nicholas Sparks begins Dear John like the rest of his books: tears. Readers began crying during the opening letter from John Tyree, the protagonist, looking over the hillside at his epic love, Savannah. The story then jumps back to the summer of 2000 in North Carolina. John is on leave for two weeks when he meets Savannah, and the two weeks is the first part of three in the book.

John Tyree’s character develops more than any other character in the book, simply because readers learn of his backstory and are inside his mind the entire book. The background of John allowed readers to better connect with his character. Otherwise he would have seemed like a jerk in the beginning without the backstory. He goes through so much crap with Savannah and the army in the years of the book. Readers feel like his character was not able to express himself the way he wanted to or was thinking simply because of how his dad was and raised him. John never explained his feelings before Savannah, so when Savannah wanted him to he simply could no.

Savannah’s character allowed John to develop, however, and she was not John’s downfall. Her character is essential to the story beyond the fact of being the love interest. If the characters were both each other’s best friends, which they were, but simply friends, many readers still would have loved the book and relationship. Her character got a little backstory, but discovering John along with her brought more connection to the readers.

The characters drive Dear John much like any other Nicholas Sparks’ book. Many readers believe Nicholas Sparks’ novels are repetitious of each other, but Dear John is a story all on its’ own. While it may not have the happy ending many readers looked for, the ending was perfect for the characters. What is the ending, you ask? Guess you will have to read the book yourself.