Dear John is the story of a military man called John, and it revolves around his relationship with his girlfriend Savannah as well as his father, and how his being in the military affects both. John is somewhat of a rebel when he is a youngster, and his relationship with his father is under immense strain on account of his father’s apparent lack of communication. It is under these circumstances that he joins the military. He meets Savannah when he is on a vacation, and the usual thing happens. They fall in love.
It is Savannah who points out that John’s father might have Asperger’s Syndrome, a disorder that could be the reason behind his unwillingness to talk about anything except his passion for coins. This brings the realization that it is not that his father does not want to communicate, maybe he just cannot do it. This realization considerably improves the father-son relationship, which makes John see Savannah in a different light.
John and Savannah share some special moments on the vacation, after which he goes back to the military. They write to each other and decide to wait till John’s term in the military gets over to get married. However, the stress of military life and the long distance between them creates a strain on John and Savannah’s relationship. Circumstances make her come close to Tim, Savannah’s childhood friend, a guy whom John has met and liked. She writes a "Dear John Letter" to John, and that’s the end of their relationship. Then 9/11 happens, and John decides to extend the term of his service in the military. Life is tough on him, and he loses his father during this period.
Several years later, John goes back to Savannah’s hometown, where he discovers that Tim is dying of a melanoma. Savannah is working on a ranch, trying to help autistic children, something that has always been her dream, and leading a tough life. All three of them – Savannah, John and Tim – realize that the old flames between Savannah and John have not died down. In spite of Tim and Savannah’s attempts to reignite these flames, John feels that it is best to move out. And that is exactly what he does – leaving Tim with the proceeds from the sale of his father’s coin collection, so that he can continue with his expensive treatment.
The epilogue shows John returning to Savannah’s place secretly one more time, and he sees a recovered Tim leading a happy life with Savannah. He also notices something that proves that Savannah still has a soft corner for him, and with that satisfaction, he returns back to his routine life.
I found the book to be average. The love story isn't what broke my heart, it was John and his father's relationship. It was so sad to read about it. John never understood his father, and therefor treated his father really horrible. He was embarrassed of the way his father raised him and the lack of worldly possessions they had. The only connection they had with each other, was a coin collection. John also diminished that tie with his father, because he was sick of only talking about coins with his father. But, because of his father's Autism, that's all he could handle. When John finally learned of his father's Autism and accepted it, things changed between him and his father. John understood his father's daily routines and his lack of communication. For the next two years, John and his father talked and spent more time with each other than they had in all of the prior 20 years. Then John's father died of a heart attack. This just about killed me to read. I can't comprehend not having a personal relationship with my dad like I have. And for John to finally find his father and then to loose him, is rough. But John was left with peace and understanding. He knew that his father had raised him the best he could. I probably wouldn't recommend reading this book unless you want to cry. I would rather cry because the book is so happy. This book ended, with nothing good for John, he lost his father and the love of his life.
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