Once again Lori L. Otto delivers a story that reaches into every corner of your heart. The best part about Dear Jon is that we get to spend time in Jon's head, which really, is a great place to be.
Dear Jon follows the fallout from the end of Olivia, but from Jon's point of view. Now, let me just say that I spent a fair amount of time at the end of Olivia and in the beginning of Dear Jon being cross with Jon. That's not to say I dislike him, or that I don't understand where he's coming from, but spending so much time with Livvy, I'm very protective of her and in this case I expected more from Jon.
But that's just the point. With Lori Otto's writing we become very invested in each and every character. Their decisions affect us. And in the end, they are just people who also make mistakes. (Well. Maybe not Jacks... ;-)) Livvy and Jon think that Jon is super well adjusted and makes ALL the right choices and is always the responsible adult. We (and Livvy and Jon) forget that Jon is still young and sometimes (not often but sometimes) his youth does show.
I know many readers have been unsure of Jon, but this book will make your minds up once and for all. Jon is a stellar young man, who feels things deeply, and who can make mistakes. And he recognizes this by the end of the book. We can only hope that his actions have not broken him and Livvy for ever.
And that's the other wonderful part of this book. Yes, Livvy is the one who did the bad thing at the end of Olivia. Yes it's her actions that caused this break. But Jon's actions, or reactions, in the end threaten their happy ever after the most, in my opinion. And even though this book is from Jon's point of view, through Livvy's letters we see her struggle with her mistakes, and grow as a person and a young woman through her efforts to rectify those mistakes. Livvy makes the effort and we see this clearly through her letters. Jon sulks, mostly, and by the end of the book I think he comes to the same conclusion the reader (or at least me) does. Livvy has taken an awful moment and used it to examine herself as a person and then grow and move on as a better person. Jon sees this; we see this; and Jon recognizes his own part in all of this as well.
We also get to see some moments and memories that we have not been privy to before, in Livvy's life and in Jon's. And we get to see Jon's family, and how he is with his brothers and with his mother, which is equal parts adorable and heartbreaking. It's not all pretty, but it does all reinforce what a wonderful guy Jon is. And his brother's are going to be just as wonderful because of him. #teamWill
You cannot miss reading this book if you've read the first two books of the Choisie series. Dear Jon is an important piece of the puzzle, and an absolute joy to read.
#teamChex #teamLion #teamJon #teamOtto #teamFollowYourHeart
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