If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Nicholas Sparks, best-selling author of The Notebook and Message in a Bottle, stays true to his tear-jerking form for his latest novel, Dear John.

Dear John follows the relationship of John Tyree and Savannah Lynn Curtis and all the pain the relationship endures. John, a rebellious young man who spends his nights drinking with his loser buddies and his days bouncing from one dead-end job to the next, decides to join the Army. He becomes an infantryman and tours in Kosovo, among other places.

On leave, John goes surfing and it is on one fateful night, after a day of surfing, that he meets Savannah, and the two fall madly in love.

Sparks has founded his reputation on writing fluffy, heartwarming little novels and then immediately having them adapted into Hollywood screenplays that star the dreamiest Tiger Beat teens. This novel does not deviate from this formula at all.

Dear John opens no new doors for Sparks, but that may not necessarily be a problem for his fans. Sparks’ can’t-miss recipe has garnered him financial success, a huge fan base and even a little respect in the literary world, which is saying something, right?

The reader can easily envision, say, Josh Hartnett playing the part of John, and this is what draws Sparks’ readers in – the reader will feel as though he or she is reading an advance copy of the screenplay for this summer’s big blockbuster hit movie.

If you are familiar with Nicholas Sparks and you enjoy his writing, then you will be entertained by Dear John. If you have never read a book before in your life and have nothing to which you can compare Sparks’ new book, then you might, by default, like it. If you do not fall in to either of these two categories then avoid reading Dear John and just wait until it’s released at your local movie theater to see it when it inevitably becomes a film.

Contact ALL correspondent Dave Bolger at [email protected].

Dear John Written by Nicholas Sparks Published by Warner Books Stater rating (out of five): ** (Out of 5)