By Blake Dykes

Friday night was a night I had been looking forward to ever since I finished the book Safe Haven. I finally got to see the movie. While I was not entirely excited about the overall outcome of the movie, I also was not disappointed. It is typical that movies are usually never as good as the books; that is mainly because movies do not go into as much detail as the book.

For starters, I enjoyed the book more because it really went in depth about Katie’s past and all of the abuse that she endured. The book really made me feel her pain, and I could vividly see each punch Katie would take from Kevin. However,  the movie just showed a few flashbacks, never allowing the viewers to see how wicked his character truly was.

Another better aspect of the book is that the reader witnessed how insane Kevin was because we were able to read all of his thoughts. I read how he rationalized his abuse that he inflicted on Katie, and how he made it acceptable in his head.

A bigger difference between the book and movie is the role that Jo plays. In the book Jo is more significant, and the connection between her and Katie is much more developed. Jo is constantly giving her advice about Alex and his children.

Despite the obvious connection between Katie and Alex, the book seemed to have more events that brought them closer. I was able to understand what drew them together. I specifically remember a passage in where Alex came over to Katie’s, and Katie relieved her past, telling him everything that had happened to her, and Alex was her shoulder to cry on. However, in the movie, it appears Katie will never admit her past, or the awful marriage that she is still involved in. It actually shows that Alex does not even believe Katie’s past, he just thinks that she is lying.

Overall, Safe Haven is a good movie if you have no read the book. However, if you have read the book, I would brace for some disappointment.