Safe Haven: Questions, Predictions, Connections

This week, I have continued to read the novel Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. While reading, I discovered that this novel, as well as most Nicholas Sparks novels, cause the reader to ask a lot of questions as well as make a lot of predictions. The author uses a lot of flash backs and foreshadowing in this novel. In order to understand some of these questions and predictions, you may need some pre knowledge of the book, in which you can refer to my previous blog which includes a brief summary. Below is a list of questions that have arisen in me throughout the course of this book:

• Why did Katie move to Southport to begin with? She claims that she wants to start fresh, but there has to be a deeper reason behind this.
• How does Katie's neighbor, Jo, know Alex so well? She seems to know him a lot better than she is letting on, and almost seems to be hiding something from Katie
• What is Katie afraid of? Katie always seems very jumpy and on edge, and if she lets her guard down for a while, she seems to regret it later.
• Are Katie's only two friends in Southport, Jo and Alex, connected in some way?

To answer some of the questions, I've also made quite a few predictions:

• I think that Katie Jo and Alex are definitely connected in some way. They are both major characters in the story, and Katie's two best friends, and them being connected would put together a lot of unsolved puzzle pieces.
• I believe that Katie's past, whatever it may be, will play a huge role in the novel because of the way the author has incorporated it into the plot, and built suspense with it. I think it will affect her relationships with Jo and Alex in some way, because both of them seem very curious about why she moved here, and her past seems to be a major part of the novel.
• I believe that Katie's past has something to do with a husband, considering Alex's unspoken prediction from his past experiences in CID with the habits of women in abusive marriages.

Although this book may be hard to connect to for a younger reader, considering the main characters are adults, you can still connect to certain aspects of the book and the way the characters feel. There is a line in the novel about Alex that many younger people could connect to, "He was surprised, though, by the almost teenage-like enthusiasm that he felt at the prospect of seeing her again." Most teenagers can relate to this feeling of excitement in the beginnings of a first relationship or crush. Also, I feel that many people would be able to relate to Katie's feelings of just wanting to start fresh. We've all gone through tough things in our lives and have been tempted just to start all over and put the past behind us at times. Lastly, many younger people would be able to connect Katie's isolation at the beginning of the novel.

Overall, this novel has really got me thinking, and I would definitely recommend reading it if your looking for a suspenseful romance!

 Below is a link to the movie trailer that does a great job of reflecting the suspense in the novel!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejQEdUwv0ew