Sam's Letters to Jennifer (Patterson, James)

Rating:
Summary: Love is in the air!
Review: Patterson should stick to romance! His last two have been wonderful and I have managed to read both of them in one sitting. I love the idea of writing letters-to tell a story. This story manages two love stories in one book AND throws in a little mystery at the same time. I can't imagine a tougher life than the one Jennifer is leading. So many different obstacles to overcome. She is very lucky to have Sam in her life. I won't spoil any of the book I'll just say it's an amazing read and I will cherish this as much as I do Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas!

Rating:
Summary: Awful Attempt at Feminine Voice
Review: This book was sappy and awful. Patterson fails at capturing the female voice and presents us with unrealistic, bordering on ridiculous dialogue. Who talks, or even thinks, like this? Jennifer varies between sounding like a teenager with all the italics and exclamation points, and sounding like a Hallmark card. "Thank you for sharing the letters with me"??? And what a stupid premise. Yay, let's all cheer grandma's fling with the town preacher. Woohoo? Patterson needs to stick with suspense. Both this novel and "Suzanne's Diary For Nicholas" show that he has no talent for writing romance. He obviously thinks that women think like sentimental morons.

Rating:
Summary: Love Never Dies...
Review: This has got to be the best book I have EVER read!!! I couldn't put it down. I read it within 24 hours! I laughed, but mostly I cried throughout this book. It has romance and suspense and keeps you interested. This is a memorable story that will stay with you for quite some time, especially if you're a romantic at heart.


Rating:
Summary: Kleenex clutcher!
Review: True lovely - if predictable - book. It is a one sitting read, but have a kleenex in hand! I enjoyed the easy reading, honest characters, and change of pace for Patterson. I give it 4 out of 5 sniffles.

Rating:
Summary: * Sam's Letters to Jennifer ~ Book Review *
Review: When on hears the name James Patterson, mystery novels come to mind. However, this novel is at the other end of the spectrum. It shows the remarkable writing versatility of this author. Sam's Letters to Jennifer is a well-written book that includes "come to life" characters, and a poignant ending. It is extremely hard to put down, and anyone who reads it will find it hard not to finish in one sitting. It is compelling and intriguing because it pulls the reader in and doesn't let go. From beginning to end, Sam's Letters to Jennifer will have the person who reads it enthralled and wanting more when the novel has concluded.

Having suffered a double tragedy recently in her life (loosing her husband and unborn child in two unfortunate accidents), Jennifer, a newspaper columnist, returns to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin when faced with the probability of losing the most significant person left in her life - her grandmother, Samantha. As she battles with her own pain and the ambiguity of her grandmother's condition, Jennifer discovers letters written to her by Samantha, that tell of her grandmother's life and her incredibly unexpected love story.

In these letter's, Sam discloses several deep secrets and her concealed love nicknamed "Doc". By example, Samantha also encourages Jennifer to give life and love a second chance. Opportunely, Jennifer reunites with an old childhood friend from Lake Geneva, Brendan Keller, and things eventually begin to escalate between the two. They spend the majority of their time together- taking long walks, swimming, having dinners together on a daily basis, and of course visiting Grandma Sam in the hospital frequently. Jennifer and Brendan seem to fit together perfectly and everything seems too good to be true once they fall deeply in love. But when Brendan reveals his shocking secret to Jennifer, her world becomes rapidly dire once more and it seems unbearable. Bolstered by her Grandmother's touching story, Jennifer begins to feel again that love will find a way.
Throughout this book, Thomas Patterson uses well-written descriptions to depict each character's personality and character traits very clearly. For example, Jennifer's friends describe her as being "married to her job, a basket case, a hopeless workaholic, and romantically challenged" (9). The characters physical appearances are portrayed as being laid back and casual. Brendan is described, as "His hair was light brown, with a soft tousled wave and...he had very blue eyes". Also he was " wearing khaki shorts, a Notre Dame t-shirt, and the strangest old man sandals" (60-61). Even though the author describes the characters well both physically and emotionally, the reader can allow their imaginations to envision each characters manifestation in addition, because he does not describe each character with an extreme amount of detail physically (which is a refreshing twist to this book).

Patterson uses simple, yet effective, detailed, and comprehensive language to paint a picture of the setting. "...The lawn flowed downhill to the shoreline. I could see the long white dock jutting out onto the moonlit and glassy surface of Lake Geneva. The water was a mirror for the star-pricked sky" (20). Sam's Letters to Jennifer is filled with figurative language such a similes, metaphors and personification, and also is detailed and described well. An example of a simile when Patterson describes Sam's garden is: " Irises fluttered like flights of bluebirds on their stems" (71). When he describes Jennifer's emotional stress he writes: " I felt a curtain of sadness drop" (85). These are just a few examples of Patterson's many figurative language uses throughout the book.

This romance-themed novel is set in a couple of different locations, the main one being Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Since there is reference to former president Bill Clinton in the story, one could conclude safely that this book is set in a fairly recent time. An educated guess would be the late 1990's to the early 21st century.
The main characters in this novel are vividly brought to life as they nestle their way into your hearts. Jennifer is a beautiful young columnist from Chicago, Illinois. She was married to a man named Danny but a tragic accident sadly took him away from Jennifer. She is very devoted to her work and is "romantically challenged" (9). Samantha is Jen's grandmother who lived in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The two were best friends and were very close to each other. She is described as a good listener, caring, and holds good eye contact. Sam was still lovely in her older age and had a loving soul to match. Danny, Jennifer's deceased husband, was sweet, caring, paternal, and a good person. He tragically died in a surfing accident in Hawaii. Brendan Keller is a handsome, tall man of 6 feet 1 inches tall. He is an excellent swimmer and is also intelligent, kind-hearted, sweet, romantic, fun, and young-at-heart. He and Jennifer fell deeply in love when they met up at Lake Geneva during the summer when her grandmother fell ill. They used to be childhood friends during the summers on the lake. Once they fell in love, they realized that they were meant for each other.

Simply put, this book is touching and compelling. I enjoyed this novel immensely. I enjoyed it because it was a heart-warming romance novel that was well written and purely an exceptional book. It is a powerful story of love and second chances. The story of love lost and found is universal in its appeal. The novel progresses in simple, short chapters, which keep the flow of the book moving and attention grabbing, and the scenes are continuously changing so the reader never gets uninterested. Patterson manages to cleverly include several heart-tugging plot lines in a single manuscript. They only flaw in my opinion is the ending. While the conclusion is a bit too buoyant for belief, otherwise this tearjerker story is an overall success. James Patterson's concise style of writing brings out the great emotionality of the story.
By: Shelly Johnson


Work Cited

Patterson, James. Sam's Letters to Jennifer. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2004.



Rating:
Summary: So Heartwarming, Perfect Chick-Lit
Review: Written by, WHO? Patterson, who does mystery better than anyone in the business, wins with this touching story. Jennifer is very close with her grandmother, Sam, who is ill. Upon returning to Sam's house in order to be near her while she is sick, Jennifer is welcomed by a stack of letters written by Sam, intended for Jennifer to read in order to gain insight into her grandmother's life. In the meantime, Jennifer meets an old acquaintance and in her reluctance to do so, actually befriends him. Through him, she is able to find an outlet for her grief and guilt surrounding the death of her own husband.
Very well-written, I can't wait for something new by Patterson!