An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life–until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else.
What is it about a Sparks novel? It is like this rhythm to these books… almost like the sway of the ocean…. calming. Yes that’s it. His books are calming. When I first put this audio in, I had to smile when the narrators voice came on… there it was. Just like in the books… this soothing voice. Ahhhhh… Sparks.
She wore the slightest hint of perfume that reminded me of Paris…. even though I had never been there.
Nicholas Sparks’ story of John, his “not so much” relationship with his father, and Savannah, the girl with the kind eyes and welcoming smile… wrapped me right into the center of it. I grew to enjoy the slow narrative drawl of John and liked the twist of this love story – being told from the rebellious Army guys point of view.
I learned about Asperger’s Disorder and found it a value to the book to put this within the story line. It was a chance to learn about something I literally knew nothing about.
An enjoyable audio I highly recommend.
This book is counted in the following Challenges:
I received my review copy from Hachette Audio
Book Journey 
Sounds good, Sheila! I haven’t read any Nicholas Sparks for awhile…I guess it’s time to do so.
This would be a great one to start with Laurel!
I love Nicholas Sparks. Whenever I feel as if I need a good cry I’ll pull out one of his novels.
Lydia have the tissues ready…
I enjoy Nicholas Sparks even though they are somewhat predictable. This is one of his that I really want to read.
If you need the book Angie let me know, I have two copies.
After a couple of Sparks books, I just gave up on him. Wish I liked him better; so many people get so much enjoyment from his books.
I sometimes find him wishy washy Lisa but this book surprised me.
I have this one on my bookshelf and am looking forward to reading it. Do you remember where the audio challenge was?
I do – and I am going to sign up for it too:
Royal reviews
http://theroyalreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-audio-book-reading-challenge.html
I haven’t gotten to this yet.
I liked hearing your thoughts on it.
It was enjoyable Vicki, and I liked that he didnt go with the standard ending that I find in most of his books.
This sounds really good, it’s interesting that he’s included information about aspergers in there. A really good book I read about a main character who had aspergers / autism was The Curious Incindent Of The Dog In The Night Time. I read it a couple of years ago & would really recommend it :o)
Sarah, I read The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night a few years back for our book club. I forgot that it was also the same illness.
Your review increased my interest. My son struggles with what we think might be bipolar disorder. And while this isn’t the same as aspergers, I’m sure we face some similar struggles in parenting. And of course the rest of the story sounds great, too!
Laura Hartness
The Calico Critic
That part of the book surprised me Laura – in a good way. When this illness was described I found it really interesting. I didnt know much about it and they describe it very well.
Don’t usually care for Nicholas Sparks as his books are a little too sweet for my taste, but this one looks good! Will see if my library has a copy. Thanks for the review Sheila!
I agree Alexia – I have always said that Sparks books are the same – there is a man and a woman and by the end of the book they are together – his stories are just about how that happens… but this one had more meat to it.
I always like Sparks books! Glad that you enjoyed the audio!
Thanks Staci!
All of his books are so good. Adding it to my must read list.
Good call Natalie 🙂
Audio books are such a blessing. They allow me to “read” to many more books. My husband doesn’t have time to read and has really enjoyed the books on CD I’ve brought home. We get to discuss books now. Our library is slowly expanding their collection.
My husband doesnt have much time to read either Pat. I am trying to get him listening to audio when we travel. Still working on getting him hooked…. 🙂
Great review. I just got this audio book in the mail this morning. Can’t wait to listen!
Jody – at first I found the southern accent bothered me… I thought oh boy… can I listen to hours of this? But it grew on me… as did the character of John. Enjoy!