Distance changes everything

John can’t stop thinking of Savannah, even in the hardest moments he knows that Savannah is capable of making him feel complete. He finally quit the army because of difficult situations inside and outside and he travels to Savannah´s hometown. When he finally meet each other both realize that everything change. The situation is complicated because now they are not supposed to be together.  This part is really interesting because it makes you think about how fast time passes and that the decisions you make in the past define your future. Sometimes you can’t change the present because of those decisions, is hard to accept it but that is how things work.

Quotes:

“You have already met him, she said, turning around, she squared her shoulders… Its Tim.”

“And yet…there eas something I knew she was not telling me. I heard it in her voice, in the hint of sadness…”

John reencounters his father

This part can be a little bit boring because it narrates how the relationship between John and his father gets better. I think it gives you an important message: everything can get tough in life, but you will always have your family that will accept you and support you, in return, you have to take care of this invaluable treasure that life gives you.

It surprises how the experiences in Iraq transform John, he becomes more sensible and, now, he is capable of understanding his father and he erases deep wounds made on the past.

Quotes:

“It was the last time I ever saw him alive.”

Vocabulary:

1. Pag. 247. Gleam:  A brief beam or flash of light.
2. Pag. 257. Stiff: Not moving or operating easily or freely; resistant.
3. Sultry: extremely humid and hot.
4. Pag. 260. Flared: To flame up with a bright, wavering light.
5. Dew: Water droplets condensed from the air, usually at night, onto cool surfaces.
6. Chirping: A short, high-pitched sound, such as that made by a small bird or an insect.
7. Hay: Grass or other plants, such as clover or alfalfa, cut and dried for fodder.

September 11

The event in New York changes everything.  John decides to stay in Germany 2 years more because he feels the necessity of being useful to his country.  Savannah supports the decision but it is difficult for her to understand that they won’t be able to enjoy each other company during 2 years more. John is sent to Iraq and he lives experiences that make him maturate even more.  In the middle of the war, a letter of Savannah changes everything and John realizes that maybe it was a mistake to volunteer 2 years more…

This is the first real problem in the novel, and this time the reader may not understand Savannah and that is the difference between this book and others. The author narrates something real, after all, distance does matter, and you can’t choose everything you need to decide and evaluate every option.

Quotes:

“I wanted a life with Savannah, more than I wanted everything”

Vocabulary:

1. Pag. 220. Waned:  To decrease gradually in size, amount, intensity, or degree; decline.
2. Pag. 223. Baited: to entice, especially by trickery or strategy.
3. Alleviated: to make (pain, for example) more bearable.
4. Fuzzy: covered with a mass or coating of fine, light fibers, hairs, or particles.
5. Blurred: To make indistinct and hazy in outline or appearance; obscure.
6. Pag. 227. Puked: The act of vomiting.
7. Cussed: Perverse, stubborn.

First leave

After a year of no seeing each other, John visits Savannah and they spent a lot of time together and with their families. During this period, they intensify their love and they share activities in which they know each other deeper. I think that this is the part in which both of them really fall in love and they are sure that one day they will be together forever.  It did not happen too much during this part, I enjoy it because everything seems right and innocent. I like Savannah´s opinion about relationships and how he reacts to several situations. But as everything in life, nothing lasts forever, and, after a couple of weeks, John returns to the army.

Vocabulary

1. Pag. 189. Limped: To walk lamely, especially with irregularity, as if favoring one leg.
2. Pag. 190. Plopped: To fall with a sound like that of an object falling into water without splashing.
3. Pag. 194. Stifled: To interrupt or cut off (the voice, for example).
4. Bliss: Extreme happiness; ecstasy.
5. Pag. 195. Zigged: to turn or change direction suddenly.
6. Zagged: To turn or change direction suddenly. Usually used in contrast to zig.
7. Pag. 197. Plied: To join together, as by molding or twisting.
8. Shebang: A situation, organization, contrivance, or set of facts or things.
9. Pag. 199. Remnants: Something left over; a remainder.
10. Pag. 204. Sweltering: Oppressively hot and humid; sultry.

The sweetest letter

My favorite part is this one; John returns to Germany and receives the first letter. It is a long letter but is the sweetest letter I have read. Savannah tries to print all her feelings without keeping anything for herself. Without doubt, this letter is an important factor of the success of the relation. John finally notices that he means a lot to her and that both will do the impossible to keep their love alive. I specially get interested in making a letter like this one someday in my life. Although writing letter is a little bit old-fashioned I think that is really romantic and that is a sweet way of expressing your feelings to someone special.

Quotes:

“I love you, John Tyree, and I´m going to hold you the promise you once made to me. If you come back, I ´ll marry you, If you break your promise, you will break my heart.”

Vocabulary

1. Pag. 184. Smirked: a smile expressing scorn, smugness, etc, rather than pleasure.
2. Pag. 186. Ticker:  Any of various devices that receive and display similar information, such as stock market quotations, electronically.(a watch)
3. Aisle: A part of a church divided laterally from the nave by a row of pillars or columns.
4. Slung: To hurl with or as if with a sling, a weapon.
5. Duffel: A blanket fabric made of low-grade woolen cloth with a nap on both sides.
6. Pag. 188. Squirming: To feel or exhibit signs of humiliation or embarrassment.
7. Feigned: something that is made up, ficticious.
8. Pag. 189. Saddle: A leather seat for a rider, secured on an animal's back by a girth. Also called regionally rig.
9. Dicey: Involving or fraught with danger or risk.
10. Waddling: To walk with short steps that tilt the body from side to side.

John returns to Germany

After the fight, the couple makes up and spends their last days together before John returns to Germany. Tim, always hoping the best for Savannah, supports her and is friendly with John. I admire Tim because he shows how he truly loves Savannah because he does not act selfish, he doesn´t mind If she is with another guy, he only wants to see her happy. I will love to have a friend like Tim, someone who really cares about you and that supports you in every decision you make. Along the novel, you can get confused because is difficult to decide who is best for Savannah, if John or Tim.

At the end, I think this dilemma is present in every woman´s mind. Is difficult to choose between someone you love and someone who is the best for you.

The chapter ends when, finally, John has to return to Germany and both promise to write to each other and maintain a relationship no matter the distance.

Quotes:

“I was thinking that I wished you had been with me the last couple of days. I mean, I enjoyed getting to know everyone better. We ate lunch together, and the dinner last night was a lot of fun, but I just felt like something was wrong, like I was missing something. It was not until I saw you walking up the beach that I realize it was you.”

“I promise to be a perfect gentleman”

“I knew that I could live to be a hundred and visit every country in the world, but nothing would ever compare to that single moment when I first kissed the girl of my dreams and knew that my love would last forever.”

Vocabulary

1. Pag. 116. Dreading: to anticipate with apprehension or terror.
2. Pag. 129. Blurt: to utter suddenly and involuntarily.
3. Pag. 136. Swiped: an unexpected criticism of someone or something while discussing another subject.
4. Pag. 151. Wincing: to start slightly, as with sudden pain; flinch.

First Fight

In this part of the book, John and Savannah have their first fight because Savannah gets really interested in the problems between John and his father. John feels angry about a comment that she says and it leads in a bitter situation. I like this part because it shows how every couple has problems no matter how in love they are. The way the author narrates the situation is realistic and the details of how John feels about it really make you feel like you can understand John perfectly.

I feel identified with John because sometimes, when I am angry, I do things that I would not do if I were relaxed and this actions bring me consequences that I regret later.

Quotes:

I think this quote is something that every woman in the world would like to hear from the man they love, it is really sweet.

“As soon as she said it I found myself wondering if Savannah was too good to be true”

Pag. 98. Banger: a type of firework that explodes loudly.

Blast: the rapid movement of air away from the centre of an explosion, combustion of rocket fuel, etc.

Vocabulary

1. Pag. 99. Cobwebs: something like a cobweb, as in its flimsiness or ability to trap.
2. Pag. 101. Misfit: a person not suited in behaviour or attitude to a particular social environment.
3. Petty: of a narrow-minded, mean, or small-natured disposition or character.
4. Clatter: to make or cause to make a rattling noise, esp as a result of movement.
5. Pag. 102. Stubborn: refusing to comply, agree, or give in; obstinate.
6. Dwell: to live as a permanent resident.
7. Pag. 110. Flaws: an imperfection, defect, or blemish.
8. Pag. 111. Scowl: to contract the brows in a threatening or angry manner. 

I love you too

This part is one of my favorite parts, after a couple of days; this couple realizes that they are meant to be. As I said before, they take their time and began to share experiences that create bonds between them. They make little jokes all the time and they never hurt each other. Savannah is always respectful and demonstrates that she is a good girl interested in making happy everyone near her. On the other side, John is a gentleman with her and always tries to say how much it likes to be with her. Finally, after a perfect night they confess their love. I love this part because, without the necessity of a romantic situation they always feel like if they were in a movie, they enjoy each moment and they don’t need anything else.

It is very important to say that Savannah also gets interested in John´s father and she develops and important role in the relationship of John and his father. I think that this is very important because someone who truly loves you also wants the best for your family, and that is what Savannah shows.

Quotes:

I really liked this quote because is pretty much like something I would say about certain situations at school.

“…that´s what I don’t like about college, by the way. It’s like a lot of people don´t believe these years really count, so you are allowed to experiment with… whatever.”

“Shouldn´t you save things like that for someone you love? So that it really means something?”

Vocabulary

1. Pag. 77. Striking: Attractive attention, impressive.
2. Pag. 78. Cluttered: to move about in a bustling manner.
3. Pag. 79. Rummage: to search (through) while looking for something, often causing disorder or confusion.
4. Pag. 85. Strays: a domestic animal, fowl, etc, that has wandered away from its place of keeping and is lost
5. Pag. 87. Sophomore: a second-year student at a secondary (high) school or college.
6. Struggling: to exert strength, energy, and force; work or strive.
7. Wispy: a thin, light, delicate, or fibrous piece or strand, such as a streak of smoke or a lock of hair.
8. Hovered: too remain suspended in one place.
9. Pag. 89. Naive: having or expressing innocence and credulity; ingenuous.
10. Pag. 93. Omen: a phenomenon or occurrence regarded as a sign of future happiness or disaster.

Love at first sight

The second part is when it really begins the love story, they (John and Savannah) meet each other in the beach surrounded by a situation that puts John in a hero position, after that, Savannah wants to know him better and both get interested on each other.  In this part it is also important the presence of other character: Tim, the best friend of Savannah, which is in love with her but he seems to be only a special friend.

During this part, you can realize the importance of being honest and natural. It is more difficult to build a relation with someone that does not show himself as it really is. Both, John and Savannah, realize that they can build something special so they try to be natural and they take their time to know each other without forcing the situation, they spend a lot of time just enjoying the moment.

Quotes:

“Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there´s nothing to make it last”.

Vocabulary.

1. Pag. 36. Lingered: To be slow in leaving, especially out of reluctance; tarry. 
2. Pag. 54. Peering: To look intently, searchingly, or with difficulty.
3. Pag. 60. Nudge: To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal.
4. Pag. 72. Wincing: o shrink or start involuntarily, as in pain or distress; flinch.
5. Chastised: To punish, as by beating.
6. Pag. 73. Sucker: One that sucks, especially an unweaned domestic animal.
7. Pag. 74. Struck: Affected or shut down by a labor strike.
8. Pang: A sudden sharp spasm of pain.
9. Pag. 75. Tugged: to pull at vigorously or repeatedly.
10. Pag. 76. Swirl: To move with a twisting or whirling motion; eddy.

John madurates

In the first part of the book it is described the personality of John and his relationship with his father which is really important all along the novel. It explains that John was a rebellious guy and that he didn’t have a sense of life. Then he entered the military and find out this feeling of being part of something and that other people depended on him. That is why I attached this quotes that give an idea of how John felt about what he was doing and the important change in his life.

I think this part says a lot of that process that every human need to find what he wants in life. For some people it is an easy process, but for others, like John, it takes a lot of time and you need a difficult situation (like being in the army) to really understand which are the thing that really worth it.

Quotes:

“…but you are forced to learn the most important lesson in life, and that´s the fact that you have to live up to your responsibilities, and you had better do it right”

“…For friendship, not for country, not for patriotism, not because we are programmed killing machines, but because of the guy next to you”.

Vocabulary: 

1. Pag. 17. Booze: An alcoholic beverage.
2. Pag. 17. Broach: to bring up (a subject) for discussion or debate.
3. Pag. 24. Lead: To show the way to by going in advance.
4. Pag. 25. Seldom: Not often; infrequently or rarely.
5. Pag. 26. Gear: A toothed machine part, such as a wheel or cylinder, that meshes with another toothed part to transmit motion or to change speed or direction.
6. Pag. 27. Blurry: To make indistinct and hazy in outline or appearance; obscure.
7. Pag. 28. Latter: Being the second of two persons or things mentioned
8. Pag. 29. Skimmed: To remove floating matter from (a liquid).
9. Pag. 32. Purse: A bag. 
10. Pag. 35. Wring: To twist, squeeze, or compress, especially so as to extract liquid.

Introduction: Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

The book I read is called “Dear John”, I don’t think that is the best title for this history because the history is more about moments face to face than letters. I loved this novel because is not as other love stories, it is more real. First of all, you are never sure of what is going to happen, for example, when I read the last page I was not expecting that end. I also like that the narrator is a man because, in a way, it is always interesting to be in the mind of someone of the opposite sex. That is why I think this book is perfect for young women or even young men to realize the importance of love in our life and to give importance to what true love means.

The book has 350 pages, but it is not difficult to read. Sometimes you may have some trouble with specific words, but that is why I will post in this blog some words that, for me, are difficult to understand. I hope you to enjoy the book and, of course, this blog!