The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

Noah and Hazel’s relationship begins to change significantly in this section of the novel. Romantic feelings between the two become much more serious after their kiss on the Ferris wheel, and soon the whole town is vicariously involved in their relationship. In Chapter 9, Noah and Hazel face concern from their friends about how close they are getting. After hearing gossip about the two being together at the carnival, Annie tells Hazel “You can’t get feelings for him. I mean, Noah is fun to hang out with, but he doesn’t have serious relationships. Like, at all” (69). Annie is aware of Noah’s penchant for brief relationships with tourists and people who won’t be staying long in Dream Harbor, but she attributes this habit to Noah’s putative unseriousness. In reality, Noah is driven by self-doubt, longing for a more committed relationship but fearing that he is an unworthy partner. Logan also approaches Noah to warn him about Hazel, believing his introverted and serious friend doesn’t know what she is getting into by dating the casual and unserious Noah. 

Despite these warnings, neither Hazel nor Noah can stop thinking about the other. Hazel’s own self-doubt prevents her from telling Noah that she is interested in more than having fun with him. She wants to tell him “That he was a breath of fresh air in her musty life, that he was slowly reminding her how to let go, that he was waking her up like the sun after a long winter,” but she keeps these feelings to herself because she knows “none of that seemed casual” (71). Meanwhile, Noah tries to deny his feelings as well, telling himself “Hazel Kelly was passing through his life and he needed to shake off all these crazy feelings he was having. He needed to stop noticing her eye color” (86). Both of their feelings for one another continue to grow as their relationship becomes sexual and they learn more and more about one another. Ironically, both are plagued by the same fear about their relationship, worrying that their feelings are becoming too serious for their casual relationship. Hazel and Noah’s relationship continues to shift throughout the novel, building on these complex feelings.

The theme of Romance as a Source of Self-Confidence is a common one in contemporary romance novels, and it is especially poignant in The Cinnamon Bun Book Store. This is particularly true for Hazel, whose relationship with Noah fuels her growing sense of self-worth. With Noah, she feels that she is cared for and desired for the first time, especially once they begin their sexual relationship. At this time, she describes the feeling of being in “a new body. A body that wanted and was wanted. This body was sexy and desirable, and even if those feelings hadn’t totally sunk into her brain yet they had been thoroughly absorbed by her skin” (118), showing a great change from how she felt in past relationships. Though Hazel sees herself as a new person, Noah knows that he is just bringing out the parts of Hazel that she keeps hidden. Noah is still drawn to the qualities Hazel is insecure about, such as her introverted and bookish nature. He notices that “She never seemed self-conscious when she was extolling the virtues of her latest read with the inhabitants of Dream Harbor” (110), and he admires her passion for reading. Just as Noah brings out Hazel’s best qualities and makes her feel more confident, Hazel tries to do the same. She tries to reaffirm his family’s care for him and tells Noah he is a good uncle, helping to alleviate some of the insecurities he feels about leaving his family behind.

Though Hazel’s belief in him dampens Noah’s insecurities, many of them still plague Noah throughout this section and impact his decisions. When he admits to Hazel in Chapter 11 that he never finished high school, he automatically assumes Hazel will think the worst of him and try to push him to go back for his degree as others tend to do. He is shocked when Hazel instead connects this fact to his habit of downplaying his intelligence. In this section and others, Noah tries to distract Hazel from digging deeper into his past, telling her “I’m not so much a mystery as a screw-up. Sorry to disappoint” (62). Noah’s insecurities not only make him fear that he is not good enough to return to his family but also that he is not good enough to be with Hazel. When she invites him into her apartment at the end of Chapter 13, Noah is convinced that he only has “two months with Hazel and he should take full advantage of that time” (110). Unable to see that Hazel is genuinely interested in him, he clings to the comfortable belief that their relationship is only a fling. Though Hazel overcomes many of her insecurities earlier in the novel, Noah struggles to move From Self-Doubt to Self-Acceptance, especially when it comes to accepting that he is worthy of being with Hazel.