Safe Haven: Book To movie compare and contrast

As I am nearing the end of Safe Haven, it has occurred to me that a lot of people might be interested in hearing some of the differences and similarities to the novel and the movie. I'm not entirely finished with the novel, but I only have a couple of chapters left, so I think I have enough info to do this. I also just re-watched the movie last night for the third time, and after reading the book I realized how much was different for the first time.*SPOILER ALERT*(If you plan on watching the movie or reading the novel, I recommend stopping here) I'd like to start out with some of the differences I noticed in the book and the movie:

• First off, I noticed that Alex's daughter's name is different in the movie. In the novel her name is Kristen and in the movie her name is Lexi. Although this minor difference didn't have much of an impact on the plot, it was enough to leave that wondering in my head of why the producer felt the need to change her name.
• Also, in the novel Katie goes from being blonde to brunette when she runs away and in the movie it is switched. This once again had no real impact on the plot but just left me wondering.
• This difference I actually do feel impacted the plot. I remember my first time watching the movie, and you don't know why this police officer is chasing her and what she did until the very end, when you find out that he is her husband and she ran away from an abusive relationship. This is teased throughout the movie, and it adds a sense of suspense. In the book you find this information out in the very beginning yet you don't begin to see Kevin's point of view until towards the very end. I personally like the way the movie teases this, because I felt it built more suspense and kept me on the edge of my seat, giving me the need to finish the movie to find out what happened
• In the movie I found Josh to be more tentative to Katie's involvement with Alex, while in the book he seemed to welcome her with open arms. I feel like once again this was a good call by the producer because I feel like it reflects just how hard it's been for the family to get over the loss of their mother.
• In the movie, Jo turns out to be Alex's deceased wife in the end, and she has been almost a ghost following Katie around the entire time. In the book, however, I'm not sure if this is going to be the case, even though I'm not entirely finished with it, because already, Alex's wife has a different name(Carly) and the idea that Jo knows Alex and his family from being their grief therapist has already been brought up. I like the way this unwinds in the book just a little better because it keeps the book realistic but the movie plot twist does add an element of surprise

These are only a few of the major differences I noticed between the book and the movie!
Some similarities include

• Katie's initial tentativeness at the thought of welcoming someone new into her life
• Kristen's(Lexi's) particular fondness toward "Miss Katie".
• The way that Katie used a fake identity to hide from her husband and that her old name used to be Erin Tearney.
• Kevin's insanity and obsessive drinking of vodka is reflected in both the book and the movie, and I definitely feel this is an extremely important part of the plot

Personally, I have liked the book better so far because there is just so much more information and you get to hear what Katie and Alex are thinking, and get tiny details that are unable to be reflected in the movie. However, the movie is also fantastic and I would actually recommend seeing the movie before you read the book if you would like to do both because the elements of surprise in the movie could be ruined by reading the book.

Below is a link to a cast  interview for the movie which reflects their thoughts on the movie versus the book!
Cast Interview