SAFE+HAVEN



**//Safe Haven//, by Nicholas Sparks **

Nicholas Sparks >
 * Author **
 * Lives in North Carolina
 * Married to Catherine Sparks
 * Published 17 novels including //The Last Song, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Dear John, and Safe Haven//
 * All his books have been on Times Best Seller
 * Launched the Nicholas Sparks Foundation
 * www.nicholassparks.com


 * Genre **
 * Romantic Thriller
 * Romantic story of Alex and Katie's love for one another and how their relationship grows
 * Kevin's hunt for Katie makes this book a thriller


 * Characters **
 * **Katie Feldmen**- Katie, the main character, is actually known as Erin Tierney, runs away to Southport to get away from her abusive husband named Kevin, and falls in love with Alex
 * **Erin Tierney**- real identity of Katie Feldmen, wife of Kevin Tierney[[image:drakalogia/safe-haven-julianne-hough-josh-duhamel1.jpeg width="360" height="255" align="right" caption="(collider.com)"]]
 * **Alex Wheatley**- father of Josh and Kristen, lives in Southport, falls in love with Katie, owns a store in Southport
 * **Kevin Tierney**- husband of Erin/Katie, abusive, detective, alcoholic, tries to find and kill Katie
 * **Josh** **Wheatley**- Alex's son
 * **Jo**- "Neighbor" of Katie, ghost/spirit of Carly
 * **Kristen** **Wheatley**- Alex's daughter
 * **Carly**- Alex's deceased wife, mother of Josh and Kristen
 * **The** **Feldmens**- senior neighbors of Erin and Kevin, Erin steals identity from their deceased daughter.


 * Setting of Story **
 * //Safe// //Haven// takes place in Southport, North Carolina, near Cape Fear and the ocean. It is a very small southern close knit town.

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 * Brief Summary **
 * //Safe Haven//, by Nicholas Sparks, is a novel that takes place in Southport, North Carolina. The main character, Katie Feldmen, runs away from her abusive husband, who is also a detective, named Kevin. After many attempts, she decides to run away to Southport, North Carolina. Katie’s original name is Erin, but she changes it to hide from Kevin. She changes her name to Katie, because her neighbors’ deceased daughter whose name is Katie looks like very similar to Erin. In Southport, Katie meets a man named Alex and they fall in love. Alex owns a convenience store and has two young children, Kristen and Josh. Alex’s wife, Carly, died two years ago from cancer and left Alex to raise the children on his own. Katie’s neighbor, Jo, becomes one of her good friends whom Katie tells her life story to. Later, Kevin follows Katie to Southport after his neighbor tells him a clue that turns his life around. After investigating, Kevin finds Katie and many things go wrong. You will have to read the book to find out!




 * Conflict **
 * Katie runs away from her abusive husband
 * Katie's past haunts her in Southport
 * Kevin follows and finds Erin


 * Round and Flat Character Analysis **
 * **Katie Feldmen/Erin Tierney**- She is a round character, because she changes her appearance, personality, and her reason to stay in Southport. Originally she was a long-haired blonde, but changed to a short-haired brunette. Her original reason to stay in Southport was to get away from Kevin, however Alex changed her mind and encouraged her to stay in Southport with him and his family.
 * **Alex** **Wheatley**- Alex is a round character, because before Katie showed up in Southport, he was still grieving from his wife’s death. Once Katie came to town he started to cheer up because he knew he found someone that can take the place of his wife, Carly, in a positive way.
 * **Kevin** **Tierney**- He is a flat character because he never changes his ways. Kevin stays an alcoholic and abusive throughout the novel.
 * **Jo**- She is a round character because she learns to care about Katie and Alex’s relationship. She gives Katie advice throughout the novel and we learn who she really is.

Relationships
 * Themes **
 * ** Friendships **
 * Katie doesn't have many friends, because she just moved to Southport.
 * Katie tries to keep a low profile to hide from her husband, which prevents her from making many friends.
 * However, she meets Jo, a neighbor, and they talk, give each other advice, and help each other.
 * **Romantic** **R****elationships**
 * Erin was married to Kevin Tierney[[image:safe_haven.jpeg width="420" height="211" align="right" caption="(hollywoodreporter.com)"]]
 * In Southport, she falls in love with Alex Wheatley
 * Kevin becomes angered by the relationship between Katie and Alex
 * Love is the only safe haven for Katie


 * Inference and Analysis **
 * Life may get hard at times but you have to follow your heart and do what is right for yourself and others.


 * Favorite Quotes with Explanations **
 * **// “He always apologized, and sometimes he would even cry because of the bruises he'd made on her arms or legs or her back. He would say that he hated what he'd done, but in the next breath tell her she'd deserved it. That if she'd been more careful, it wouldn't have happened. That if she'd been paying attention or hadn't been so stupid, he wouldn't have lost his temper” (Sparks 196). //**
 * This quote talks about the abuse that Erin received from Kevin. It is very significant to the story because the only reason Erin became Katie and moved to Southport was to get away from her abusive husband.
 * **// "If Alex has chosen you, then I want you to believe I have chosen you as well" (Sparks 424). //**
 * This quote was said by Carly, Alex's deceased wife. She wrote to Alex’s future wife in a letter before she passed away. Carly says that if Alex has chosen you, then so did she.
 * //** “That's the thing about life. A lot of the time, it isn't easy at all. We just have to try to make the best of it” (Sparks 150). **//
 * This quote is told by Katie. She was talking to Jo while saying this quote. Katie wants her to understand that life is long and you just have to be positive and try to make everything better than it is.


 * <span style="color: #8d00ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 190%;">Literary terms **
 * ** Foreshadowing ** - suggesting, hinting, or indicating what may occur later in a narrative
 * In the novel, the narrator shows us the abusive relationship between Erin and Kevin while they were married. The details given tells what their relationship may be like in the future
 * When Kevin spots Katie in Southport and spies on her, it is clear that something will go wrong and things will go downhill.
 * ** Flashback ** - an interruption of the chronological sequence of an event of earlier occurrence.
 * Katie has numerous flashbacks about her life in the past. Most flashbacks, if not all, include her life with her abusive husband and how she was treated.


 * <span style="color: #8d00ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 190%;">Connections to Other Real Life **
 * Physical and Emotional Abuse
 * Alcoholism


 * <span style="color: #8d00ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 190%;">Movie Trailer **

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 * <span style="color: #8d00ff; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 190%;">Recommendation **
 * I recommend for everyone to read this book. Safe Haven was well written by a well known author, Nicolas Sparks. The story and lessons are something many can relate to. For instance, Katie had to live with an abusive and alcoholic husband. It is a heartfelt, jaw dropping novel that will leave you trembling while you read. If you like romantic novels or intense novels, you will enjoy Safe Haven.
 * (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7812659-safe-haven) More reviews of Safe Haven