Safe Haven

Warm weather, the sun in your face...makes you think all is well with the world. After reading Nicholas Sparks book "Safe Haven" you might wonder, though, who is really safe. Someone who is supposed to be a great protector might turn out to be a hideous offender. Safe Haven is certainly a good read...what I call a beach read. It's set in the sunny south, Southport in the Carolinas. It is not for the weak at heart, though. It isn't a fun day at the beach. Abuse, neglect, arson, attempted murder. Perhaps this is Sparks most revealing book...a muse that is dark, frightening with an unforgiveable mean streak. The author, Sparks, stole our hearts with The Notebook, then came along a string of other contemporary love successes. The titles I forget (Sorry, Nicholas). Most were charming, enduring--all great beach reads. I particularly liked the settings for his stories because I'm an East Coast beach fan. If you've walked along the shore of Carolina Beach in September, the soft sand between your toes, the warm, warm surf splashing at your knees, the sun in your face, you'll feel like you've found your own Safe Haven. Something about the currents on a beach, the melody, the action...never quiet but always singing to your heart in one form or another. You don't know the words to the ocean's song, but you can't help but hum as you stroll along. Safe until the storm blows in...and that's what Nicholas Sparks' Safe Haven does to you. The pace, tension increases and strikes like a voilent storm. And after the storm.....back to the beach....Wil