Safe
Haven

By:
Lexis Mendoza

Safe Haven Safe Haven is a Nicholas Sparks novel on love, bravery, and learning to trust again. These are themes within the book that we see repeated multiple times. I know many people say that there are too many love stories out there, and that they are all the same; a girl meets a guy, they fall in love, they get married, and have children. However, this is not just another romance novel, it tells the story of what many women go through but not all are strong enough to get away from and start a new life. This is the story of Katie who had enough courage to take that step and escape. The first theme is love. I know many people think love is overrated, but in this book it’s a lifeline between Katie and a man named Alex. Alex is a single father with two kids, a son named Josh, and a daughter named Kristen. Katie comes from a past she isn’t proud of she was married and her husband would beat her over and over again. When Alex finds out why Katie thinks she doesn’t deserve him and that they shouldn’t be together, he told her:
“Listen to me,” he said. He used a finger to raise her chin. She resisted at first then gave in, finally looking at him. He went on.”There’s nothing you can tell e that will change how I feel about you. Nothing. Because that isn’t you. It’s never been you. You’re the woman I’ve come to know the woman I love.”
At this moment, Katie realizes Alex isn’t like other men, and that he will never hurt her. Katie realizes that the love Alex has for her is pure and genuine. Alex shows his love in another occasion too. While they were having a conversation Alex asked her:
“I just wanted to know if you thought about it. Us eventually getting married I mean.”
Katie knows she can’t get married because she isn’t legally divorced. She is very hesitant and has an argument about it with Alex about how even though she left her husband it still wouldn’t feel right to her. Katie lets him know that it won’t feel right to her until she is divorced. She tells him something about polygamy being against the law. What she realizes though is that Alex would never be an abusive husband, like her husband Kevin is. The second theme is bravery. It happens to be the biggest theme in this book. Katie reminded herself of her bravery as soon as she got away:
“She’d done it, she reminded herself. She’d escaped and Kevin was hundreds of miles away and didn’t know where she was.”
Katie escaped her abusive husband after many years of pain and suffering. Later on came another situation where she was brave not just for herself but for Alex’s kids as well:
“Josh! Get up! The house is on fire! We’ve got to get out!”
It would be impossible to say that Katie wasn’t scared, but she was. She feared that maybe something would happen to the kids. However due to her bravery the kids did live and were able to get out safely. There comes a time when Katie can actually say that her bravery did set her free. However in the end of the book we can see how Katie’s bravery shined through. She faced her abusive husband Kevin, and killed him. He would never hurt her again; he would never lay a