A mysterious woman arrives in South port, North Carolina and her sudden arrival brings questions about her past. Beautiful and not confident, Katie does not want to form personal relationships with anyone. She buys a small cottage hidden in the woods and stays there unless she is working. A series of events causes her to start easing into a relationship with her neighbor, Jo, and the owner of a local shop, Alex. Loosening up a bit, Katie begins to start liking having relationships again and starts to fall in love with Alex and his two children. As Katie begins to fall in love, her dark past begins to catch up with her; a past of running away and crossing the country to be safe. With Jo's support, Katie is forced to decide between a life of safety or a life of risk with rewards. She realizes that love is really her only safe haven.  

I think one of the main themes of this storys, of course, is love but also relationships. The whole story is based upon a woman running away from a terrible marriage which is a result of a bad relationship. A type of relationship that the book seems to tackle is friendship as well. Katie never really had many friends until her neighbor Jo moved in. They shared secrets and spent a lot of time together, but in the end it turns out Jo was just a figment of Katie's imagination; somewhat of an imaginary friend. Finally, of course, romantic relationships are a big part of the story. Alex shows so much love towards Katie that she has never felt before and Katie is just the woman that Alex is looking for; she is beautiful and loves his kids more than anything. Their relationship turns out to be really strong.

When I first started reading the chapters that Jo was in, I just thought that she was a good friend and neighbor to Katie. As I read on, I saw a connection between Jo and Carly, Alex's wife that died. I think that Jo is  a spirit of Carly in a way that she wants them to be together because she knows that they truly love eachother. Jo is like a figment of imagination that is in Katie's life to help her find Alex because Carly only wanted the best for Alex and her children. Jo/Carly know that Alex and Katie need eachother in their life.

Let's talk about Kevin. Kevin, Katie/Erin's abusive husband that she ran away from, seems to be very strange to me throughout the book. Of course he is an alcoholic and alcoholics are always crazy but what i relaized was that he always states bible verses and compares things that other people do wrong to God. For example after he has sex with a woman he met at a bar he thinks to himself that the bible says have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. This is not the only time he refers to the Bible about a wrong doing. I think Kevin  has so much sin in his life that he feels to resight what the Bible says. He also is so used to Erin forgiving him for what he has done wrong, so maybe he feels that God will do the same.

 Katie/Erin-The main character in the book. She starts off with long blonde hair(as Erin) and later on in the book ends up with short brown hair(as Katie). She is described as "the most beautiful woman" many times in the book. She lives with her abusive husband, Kevin. Erin eventually runs away from her husband and makes it to a small town in North Carolina called Southport. There, she creates a whole new identity and starts her whole life over in a small cottage. Little does she know that she will meet the love of her life, Alex, and his two children. She also makes a new friend, Jo.  
Alex- The owner of the town grocery store in Southport. He is a single father of two children, Kristen and Josh, because his wife Carly passed away. Alex falls madly in love with Katie because of her care for his children and her beauty. 
Kevin- Katie's husband who is a police detective for Boston.  Katie leaves him because of his abusive ways and Kevin feels no one else should have her if he doesn't. He uses his detective skills and resources to track her down and try to set a building on fire that she is in. He  is also in an intense brawl with Alex until Katie intervenes ending the problem  forever.
Kristen-Alex's daughter who builds a bond with Katie early on in the book.  
Josh- Alex's son who enjoys spending a lot of time outdoors and eventually develops a connection with Katie.

Nicholoas Sparks is one of the most beloved story tellers of all time. All 17 of his books that he has written are New York Times bestsellers. Unlike most authors, Sparks does not have a specific writing style, he  sticks to the theme of love. In each novel he writes about a different persepctive of love. For example in "The Notebook" he writes a story based on unconditional and everlasting love.  "Safe Haven" is more based upon searching for love.