Dear John Monthly Review

The novel Dear John by Nicholas Sparks is very well written, it is captivating with emotion and depth of two soul mates. It tells about young adults that must make difficult choices and knowing which path is the right path toward happiness. The story revolves around a couple who's lives intertwine and fine that they are one for the other. Nicholas Sparks writes imensly about Savannah Lynn Curtis and her passionate love for John Tyree. They first meet on the beach in North Carolina. From the start they were not similar at all. As a teenager John was a rebel and staright out of high school he enlisted in the army and Savannah was hardworking, and cared about her studies. But I've heard that opposites attract...maybe this is one of those cases. John has to leave after being on break from the army but returns to visit who he believes is the love of his life after he finishes his enlistment. Savannah writes to him overseas and tells him that she will wait for him so they can get married. An absolutely devastating thing occurs on 9/11 and after that day John thought it was his duty to reenlist in the army. Savannah was getting lonely and married her really good friend Tim. When john returns and finds Savannah married he is shocked. There love was truly put to the test after he returns. This book didn't have many flaws in my opinion. i could really only find one main one that bugged me throughout the story. At the beginning when we are introduced to Savannah i was a little bit surprised when the authour said she was a brunette. When in the movie and on the cover she is blond. Although i haven't seen the movie yet to me Savannah is like a whole different person. Since i saw the trailers she was blonde and since i didn't read the book before based on the trailers the actress was who i imagined savannah to be. Now in the book shes brunette so i get confused because when i think of Savannah i picture the movie actres but when i remember that she is brunette in the book i have a really hard time picturing what she looks like. Maybe its hard because there is no real brunette Savannah that i have seen..just a blonde one. For me this is one of the book's weaknesses so far. I really think that Nicholas Sparks should direct his own movies because the directors change a lot of small details but all the details are important form what the characters hair color is to what they wear to their personality. I'm sure he knows what he wants in the films about his movies. Hes the only one who knows how he really pictured all his characters. I love all his novels like the notebook,the last song, and A Walk to remember. The movies are also good. I think that John is the most changed character thta changes most throughout the novel, and the change is caused by Savannah. She makes him see the world differently, from a new perspective. Only a couple times did he visit his father since he was stationed overseas. On his leave he met Savannah and he showed her all the really nice places around the neighborhood. But she showed him something even better. She showed him how to be grateful for all that he has. In the past John rarely talked to his father. They had breakfast and hardly said a word and the same went for lunch and dinner and for past couple of nights John had gone to dinner with Savannah and his dad was alone. But i think he liked being alone. John always told his dad he didn't have a social life because all he ever does is stay in his den all day and look at, and adds to his coin collection. Over the years John's dad and his dad collected coins, it was something they enjoyed doing together but john found it to be stupid and worthless and he was wasting his time...little does he know the coin collection has a huge meaning. When Savannah tells John that she wants to meet his dad, John went in to total shock. He told her that all he talked about was his coin collection but Savannah thought it was interesting and cool that he had a passion for something. He's not wasting his time, he's doing something he loves. His dad's not much of a talker but nevertheless he was thrilled to meet Savannah even though he didn't show it. Savannah taught John to apprectiate his father because he has done so much for him, raised him all by himself and was there for anything he needed him for. In the end he opens communication with his father and john shares his feelings for Savannah. Before Savannah he didn't know how you can love someone in so little time. He felt like he already knew her. He started to picture his life without the army and only with Savannah and thought to himself how nice life would be if he only had Savannah. His dreams were crushed when he remembered that the army was there and that he would be leaving soon. He knew he would return to visit and marry Savannah. After John reenlists and comes back from iraq he comes to North Carolina to visit his dying father who had many heart attacks and unforunatly died from one. He finds out Tim married Savannah, he didn't like the fact at all. He remember that Tim had said he never had those feelings for Savannah. I think he’s thankful that someone was there for Savannah while he wasn’t able to. Tim gets sick and is close to dying, John feels sorry for him. John talks to Tim in the hospital and there Tim knowing that he is going to die tells john to make Savannah happy and to marry her. I think that it is at this point when John realizes that Tim would do anything to make Savannah happy and john knows that he has to do something to try and save him. After all Tim was the one taking care of Savannah while John was in the army. Savannah did love Tim and they lived together and taking care of Tims brother Alan who suffer autism. So John decides to sell his father coin collection and the money will go to save Tim. It was alot of money considering most of the coins were old, authentic, or one of a kind. Tim survives and with John selling his father’s coin collection to benefit someone else, Tim, shows that he’s a true hero and not just a hero at war. I think he still loves Savannah and wants her to be happy and that includes Tim being there because Tim loves her ad will sacrifice himself to make sure she is safe. I have high hopes for John and i know in the future he will go far. Im sure he will find someone he can love again maybe not as much as he did Savannah but someone he can be comfortable with. I am sure that it will be hard and love might not come as easily as it did with Savannah but whatever happens im sure it was for the best. At first John views Tim as a threat, then as a friend he can trust. The ending of the book made me sad..i really wanted them to end up tofether. It would have been more like a fairy tale ending. Nevertheless i would recommend the book to everybody. But please if you want to read it and haven't seen the movie....please read the book first. this book was filled with joy, sadness, hardships, and adventures. i really enjoyed this book and im looking forward to reading more books by Nicholas Sparks.

Questions:

#3- weaknesses

#8- pick a character and write about them in depth (most changed)

#question in back of book #11. How do you think John views Tim, and how do his perceptions change by the end of the novel?

Dear John Letter #3

John returns home, however after 9/11 John feels the duty to reenlist in the army. After years away from each other, Savannah writes John another letter. It starts with Dear John and ends with good-bye. In part 3 of the book John's dad suffers from a heart attack and decides to take leave for a while and visit him. He had several heart attacks and unfortunately dies. As he catches up with Savannah he learns that she is married and to no one other Tim. The guy who said she was like a sister to him.

I think Savannah is different when John comes back to visit her she’s older, a college graduate and married. Tim gets sick and she’s trying to keep her business alive and she’s taking care of Alan, Tims brother with Autism. I do think Savannah is in love with John. She never stopped, she just forgot about it because she didn’t see him for so long. Even though their love reignites when she sees John again it will never be as it had been in the beginning.

At first John views Tim as a threat, then as a friend he can trust. When John finds out Tim married Savannah, he viewed him as a thief, someone who stole what was his when he wasn’t there to protect it. In the end, I think John forgives Tim and feels sorry for him. I think he’s also thankful that someone was there for Savannah while he wasn’t able to.

Selling his father’s coin collection to benefit someone else, Tim, shows that he’s a true hero and not just a hero at war. I think he still loves Savannah and wants her to be happy and that includes Tim being healthy. I have high hopes for John and i know in the future he will go far. Im sure he will find someone he can love again maybe not as much as he did Savannah but someone he can be comfortable with. I am sure that it will be hard and love might not come as easily as it did with Savannah but whatever happens im sure it was for the best.

the hidden temple ch.5

It looks like things couldn't get any worse, being stuck in the jungle without flashlights, moving every night to a different site. As that night came sooner than most i had appeared to be. Jim had gone fishing for dinner at a near by river while William and Cheryl were setting up the campsite again. Jonah and Riley stayed close by and had gone to look for dead twigs to make a fire. When Jim came back and was cooking the fish he caught and it was a big one i might add Jonah asked him a question.

"are there any other kids in the jungle or are we going to see any other tour?"

Jim simply said

"no, we are not going to meet up with another tour. There are several tours that go on at the same time but they are on different parts of the island..in a couple of days we will be where they are and they will be where we are now."

"and as for if there are any other kids....i've heard stories from my co-workers that they have come across a few stranded kids before from time to time. THey say they try to have them come back to the hotel with them but the kids keep their distance and seemed to have gone wild and adapted and forgotten all about their outside world. The suspect they are some of the kids that went..."

Cheryl rudely interrupted

"i don't want you scaring the kids Jim, lets leave this story for another time."

"yes ma'am"

Shorty after cheryl and william went to sleep and the kids were still up and asked Jim to continue the story. Without hesitation he started..

"The suspect they are some of the kids that went missing. They get lost and rarely get found. We always keep a picture of all the kids that go missing and we have to carry them on the tours they are like school pictures they say their names on it and on the back its their parents information and contact numbers just in case we can get them to go back to the hotel and their parents can pick them up."

This seemed to make Jonah a little bit more curious about trying to find other kids to play with besides his sister. As the light form the fire died out and the jungle was silent and everyone almost everyone was asleep it was a pretty good night. Except for the fact that Riley was having alot of trouble sleeping, she would fall asleep and the wake up and then fall asleep and wake up again. She was having terible night mares about getting lost in the jungle and never seeing her family again and having to survive on her own. All of this scared her and went running towards her mothers tent and slept there for the rest of the night. The only noise in the air was the sounds of crickets but yet who doesn't like crickets... of course unless one happens to find its way into your house and then you'll be up trying to find it.

Dear John letter#1

So far in the book Dear John by Nicholas Sparks we meet most of the characters. We as readers are introduced to John, John's dad, Savannah, and all her friends. Savannah works with habitats for humanity, which helps people who need homes to live in. She would never hurt a fly and was really smart, talented, and was raised good. John on the other hand was a rebel, for his father never really cared about what he did. He enlisted into the army right after high school and had a lot of tattoos. Savannah and John meet how anyone can meet. She needed help and he offered it. It seems to me that they both are pretty into each other but they are not sure its real. John doesn't want to take it to far to fast because he doesn't know what kind of a girl she is and he really likes her and doesn't want to ruin things. He rathers they be friends than strangers.
At the beginning of the story when we are introduced to Savannah i was a little bit surprised when the author said she was a brunette. When in the movie and on the cover she is blond. Although i haven't seen the movie yet to me Savannah is like a whole different person. Since i saw the trailers she was blonde and since i didn't read the book before based on the trailers the actress was who i imagined savannah to be. Now in the book shes brunette so i get confused because when i think of Savannah i picture the movie actres but when i remember that she is brunette in the book i have a really hard time picturing what she looks like. Maybe its hard because there is no real brunette Savannah that i have seen..just a blonde one. For me this is one of the book's weaknesses so far.
I really think that Nicholas Sparks should direct his own movies because the directors change a lot of small details but all the details are important form what the characters hair color is to what they wear to their personality. I'm sure he knows what he wants in the films about his movies. Hes the only one who knows how he really pictured all his characters. I love all his novels like the notebook,the last song, and A Walk to remember, and im sure i will like Dear John too.
I think that the most changed character will be John, because at first he doesn't ever really talk to his dad they just eat breakfast and go their separate ways. His father owns a big coin collection and thats all he ever seems to talk about. John doesn't find real interest in his hobby because he thinks its a waste of time and he's missing out on life. But when Savannah comes his way she wants to meet him because she thinks its nice that hes has a passion for something and she makes John understand that. His dad's not much of a talker but nevertheless he was thrilled to meet Savannah even though he didn't show it. Savannah tells john to appreciate his dad because he was the one that raised him and took care of him and slowly John begins to take it all in and change.
I am really looking forward to finish reading this book because i want to see how John turns out in the end. After the book i really want to see the movie and then i will probably write a blog post about me analyzing it and comparing it to the book.

John Dies @ the End Monthly Book Review Final

The Book John Dies @ the End is a novel about two best friends: John and Dave. Dave is re telling all his adventures with John to a man named Arnie. Arnie Blondestone is a journalist investigating paranormal affairs, Arnie Blondestone is referred to David by way of Amy. David's relating of his tale to Arnie acts as a farming device for the narrative. He is a highly skeptical individual, which proves to be a challenge for David given the absurd (and largely unfalsifiable) aspects of his account.This is my favorite passage but this passage not only sets the playful tone of this horror story, but it also early foreshadows the novel's powerful ending: In the course of solving the following riddle, you will either reveal the terrifying secret at the very core of existence, or go utterly mad in the attempt....Let's say you have an ax. The kind that you could use, in a pinch, to hack a man's head off. And let's say that very situation comes up and for some very solid reasons you behead a man. On the follow-through, though, the handle of the ax snaps in half in a spray of splinters. So the next day you take it to the ax store down the block and get a new handle, fabricating a story for the guy behind the counter and explaining away the reddish dark stains as barbeque sauce.Now, that next spring you find in your garage a creature that looks like a cross-bred badger and anaconda. A badgerconda. And so you grab your trusty ax and chop off one of the beast's heads, but in the process the blade of the ax strikes the concrete floor and shatters.This means another trip to McMillan & Sons Ax Mart. As soon as you get home with your newly-headed ax, though, you meet the reanimated body of the guy you beheaded last year. He's also got a new head attached and it's wearing that unique expression of "you're the man who killed me last Spring" resentment that one so rarely encounters in everyday life.You brandish your ax. He takes a long look at the weapon with his squishy, rotting eyes and in a gargly voice he screams, "that's the same ax that slayed me!"

Is he right?

For my monthly review i chose to answer questions 3,4, and 8. I ended up combining questions 4&8.

#3
I think this book in my opinion has weaknesses. There was an over amount of weaknesses because the book was overall good and interesting but it is easy to get lost. It can get pretty confusing and there is also a lot of things going on at one time and there are many things they talk about. It is packed to its slimy and otherworldly gills with a levitating, drug-dealing Jamaican, a Morgan Freeman-lookalike detective, a Mall of the Dead, a man made of roaches, crashing a Las Vegas séance, exploding body parts, Shadow People, other dimensions, portals to Hell, time travel, J.-Lo, a very odd dog and many, many hideous monsters. In other words, if you’re looking for something random, say, like a gigantic gorilla-arachnid hybrid, this book probably has it. There conversations may appear to be out of the ordinary. Another weakness that i would like to point out is that there are way too many characters. The story starts out as with a mind game that makes you think, then it goes to flashbacks to reality to flashbacks and then back to reality. Next it goes to where John and Dave go to a party and meet a man called Roger. He is on a drug called the "soy sauce". He also knows what Dave dreams about and he said " I interpret dreams for beer". Much to Dave's surprise Roger got his dream right, but had no beer to pay him and left. Later on in the story it gets me even more confused because at of no where Dave starts to talk to a man named Arnie and Dave is telling him his life story and all the adventures he's had with John. So i think that this book is basically is a flashback. Molly..who's Molly?? Amy..who's Amy?? Fred..who's Fred?? Dr.Marconi..who's Dr.Marconi?? I wish i knew who all these characters are but some of them come in at totally random spots in the story and sometimes i get so confused that i mix up characters names and I'm like " who's who??". These are small weaknesses. I can easily go back and re-read a section just to understand it better but then yet again i am a teenager and i do like to take the easy way out so i would probably go online and look at summary's of the book on the Internet.

#4 and #8
HeHeHeHe. How would i describe David Wong's style of writing much less where i would begin. I believe that his style of writing is will and should fall into it's own category. Sure the genre of the novel is Horror..but for me its more like paranormal..extraterrestrial type of writing.
David Wong talks about supernatural things happening. There are so many creatures in the book as well as characters. He talks about things like spiders, creepy -legged creatures, and from people turning into snakes to a man made out of meat trying to kill them. John and Dave also talk in a lot of wired codes like: "Your pimp says bring the heroin shipment tonight, or he'll be forced to stick you. Meet him where we buried the Korean whore. The one without the goatee." It meant "come to my place as soon as you can, its important." Also there was " Oh, and don't forget, tomorrow is the day we kill the president." Which meant "Stop and pick me up some cigarettes on the way.(pg.3) The drug that John and Dave are on is called the Soy sauce. John also never mentions the name of the place they are at it always usually it reads [undisclosed]. Another thing about his writing that I've been thinking about the title of the book: John Dies at the End. We know John doesn't really die, at least not in the physical sense. But maybe a part of John does die, at discovering Monster Dave has replaced his best friend. A possibility or something closer to the meaning of the title? Or maybe I'm trying to read too much into this.Actually, it's ironic, seeing as John's the only main character that HASN'T died in some form. Dave died, Monster Amy died, Falconer died, and Drake died. Except John died at the beginning, just after he took the soy sauce and he and Dave got arrested.He was clinically dead, meaning he appeared dead on the surface, but I personally wouldn't count it given the book's standards for death. However, "John Dies at the End" may have another meaning...?? John does appear to die after taking the Soy Sauce. Maybe that's what the title references. John Dies at the End (of the last point in his life that can be called normal.). Most of my friends that saw the cover of the book first read the title and said "John dies at the end....well that pretty much spoils the ending" and then they look at the back and see the amputated arm and say "what kind of book are you reading". The title just keeps you wondering if John really does die at the end.John is for sure oblivious mainly because he's on "the sauce". He is one of the novel's main protagonists and long-time best friend of Dave. John is shown as being somewhat eccentric and he has a tendency to exaggerate descriptions for dramatic effect, including boasts about his sexuality and embellishments of his personal achievements that border on and--in many cases--infringe on outright falsehood. Nevertheless, John is a loyal companion and, in spite of his idiosyncrasies, surprisingly moral and upstanding.

John Dies at the End is a hilariously frightening and frighteningly hilarious genre-bending book by author David Wong. It is a blend of comedy, horror and sci-fi that manages to mix alternate realities, creepy monsters and dick and fart jokes seamlessly!This book may be confusing but its not boring i can't stop turning the pages. Sure there is a lot of stuff going on at once but they are funny..its easily addictive and you want to see what other things they come up. with.

What exactly is a blue moon?

A blue moon can refer to the third full moon in a season with four full moons, or the second full moon of a calendar month. Most years have twelve full moons that occur approximately monthly. In addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains roughly eleven days more than the lunar year of 12 lunations. The extra days accumulate, so every two or three years (7 times in the 19-year Metonic cycle), there is an extra full moon. Lunisolar calenders have rules on when to insert such an intercalary of embolismic ("leap") month, and what name it is given; e.g. in the Hebrew calender, the month Adar is duplicated. The term "blue moon" comes from folk lore. Different traditions and conventions place the extra "blue" full moon at different times in the year.
In calculating the dates for Lent and Easter, the Clergy identify the Lent Moon. It is thought that historically when the moon's timing was too early, they named an earlier moon as a "betrayer moon" (belewe moon), thus the Lent moon came at its expected time.Folklore gave each moon a name according to its time of year. A moon that came too early had no folk name, and was called a blue moon, retaining the correct seasonal timings for future moons.The Farmers Almanac defined blue moon as an extra full moon that occurred in a season; one season was normally three full moons. If a season had four full moons, then the third full moon was named a blue moon.Recent popular usage defined a blue moon as the second full moon in a calendar month, stemming from an interpretation error made in 1946 that was discovered in 1999. For example, December 31, 2009 was a blue moon according to this usage.A "blue moon" is also used colloquially to mean "a rare event", reflected in the phrase "once in a blue moon". Last year on new years when we had a blue moon i really couldn't tell much difference.
The most literal meaning of blue moon is when the moon (not necessarily a full moon) appears to a casual observer to be unusually bluish, which is a rare event. The effect can be caused by the Tyndall effect(in turn, caused by smoke or dust particles in the atmosphere), as has happened after forest fires in Sweden and Canada in 1950 and 1951. As well as after the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which caused the moon to appear blue for nearly two years. Other less potent volcano's have also turned the moon blue. People saw blue moons in 1983 after the eruption of the El Chichon volcano in Mexico, and there are reports of blue moons caused by Mt.St.Helen in 1980 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991.Using the Farmers' Almanac definition of blue moon (meaning the third full moon in a season of four full moons), blue moons occur:
* November 21, 2010
* August 21, 2013
* May 21, 2016

Relationships

Relationships. You can feel so attached to a person that you think you will end up with them forever. You start to make a story in your head about your life ans how the other person fits in. I know a couple that has been together for almost 10 months now, and they seem so in love. They already made plans for the future and they can both see each other at the end. They keep a diary and they both writ in it everyday..they already finished ones and now they moved on to another one. When you are young relationships can seem like the most important thing in the world. This is one of my favorite lines from the song Letter to me by Brad Paisley:

And then I'd say I know its tough
When you break up after seven months
And yeah I know you really liked her and it just don't seem fair
All I can say is pain like that is fast and it's rare

[1st Chorus]
And oh you got so much going for you going right
But I know at 17 it's hard to see past Friday night
She wasn't right for you
And still you feel like there's a knife sticking out of your back
And you're wondering if you'll survive
You'll make it through this and you'll see
You're still around to write this letter to me

Sure you are young and you need to experiences things both good and bad but there are some relationships out there that are like why bother. YOu see two really friends and then they decide they have feelings for each other and they are happy one day and then 2 weeks later they're broken up and then sometimes its awkward and thy can't even be considered friends any more....they basically wasted their friendship. Useually when teenagers breakup its over a small argument that isn't even important. The couple i know has had millions of small fights but they realize that the love that they have for each other is much greater than a stupid argument. I also know another couple who got together and then after a couple of months they broke up. My friend asked me if she should get back together with him and i told her it wasn't worth getting back together because it may be worse if they did and broke up again. Of course she didn't listen to me and after a while they broke up again and decided they should still be "friends". Even after they broke up and were so called "friends" people still came up to me and asked me if they were still going out and i couldn't blame them..they did look like they were still dating and then i guess it got too awkward and they decided not to even talk to each other any more. Now they talked everything out again and decided to be "friends" again .....let's see how long it lasts this time. Relationships aren't everything, there is so much out there that you can accomplish by yourself.