What do readers think of Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany? Write your own review.

I really enjoyed this book, which is a contemporary novel, even though my favorite type of book is historical fiction. The story moved with an appropriate speed, I felt as though the characters were very life-like and believable, the story line grabbed my heart without being maudlin, and the ending gave me a sense of satisfaction. The setting is Seattle WA and it involves Hannah, the mother of a pre-teen who is fatally injured in an accident. After being told that her child is brain-dead, she is forced to decide whether to donate her daughter's organs. While this would be a noble action, it also requires quick action and means saying a quick goodbye to her daughter. A year later and quite by chance, Maddie who is one of the organ recipients (another teenager) and Olivia her mother who now also live in Seattle come in to the beauty salon owned by Hannah. Maddie and Olivia have no idea who Hannah is but Hannah figures it out. It eventually is revealed that the father of that teenager is a dominating abuser who has forbid the family from attempting to contact the organ donator. The dynamics of the story involves the decisions that must be made if the secrets each of the three are to be revealed.

Narration of the novel is shared by the three and so the reader is able to understand each individual's point of view. While switching back and forth between narrators could have presented a difficult and disjointed situation, the author's writing style makes it very easy for the reader to accommodate and benefit from getting into the brain of all three characters.

I would recommend this book to everyone.

I received this book through the First Impression program of Book Browse. That fact did not impact my review in any way.

As I received this book as an advance copy and the publication date is till 2014, I was sad to be unable to use it as my current book club choice. I loved it and think the other ladies would too! It was a quick read, but partly because I didn't want to put it down. It touches on several sensitive issues-spousal abuse, organ donation and death of a child among others. The central characters are all dealing with major life challenges - Hannah with the death of her daughter, Olivia with an abusive husband and sick daughter, and Maddie, not only dealing with the physical trauma of being sick for so long, but having a violent, controlling father.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher through Bookbrowse. I have not read any of Amy’s books before, but intend to find them now! The first part of the book is difficult to read as you get to know Hannah who lost her daughter in an accident. She is trying to deal with her grief, as she can’t get over losing her daughter. She meets Olivia, whose daughter Maddie has an autoimmune disease and is growing weaker daily. Olivia also has a husband James who is abusive verbally and physically. Hannah quickly grows friendly with Olivia, whom she has found out received a liver from her daughter Emily. The story is difficult to comprehend, and more importantly difficult to understand. I think Amy has done a great job showing each woman dealing with their own issues, Hannah with grief over the loss of her daughter. Olivia, who is dealing with an abusive husband and needs to hide her shame. Maddie, on being a teenager and having an emaciated body. All these issues are well stated and raw with emotion. I don’t think I could have read this if I was or had dealt with any of the problems. I enjoyed the novel and look forward to grabbing another book by her.

Having just read "Safe With Me," I am having very mixed emotions about its content.
I was prepared to read about a mother's devastation on the loss of her daughter and her decision to donate the child's organs. I was not prepared to have the domestic violence – the voice of Olivia as she struggles with her abusive relationship with her affluent dark sided husband.

Having raised two daughters and now enjoying a delightful 16 year old granddaughter to love and cherish, it made the subject matter very real at times and I discovered it was difficult for me to absorb. Several times I put the book down and didn't return to it for several days. I believe the author made a statement on her acknowledgement page that she had tackled this subject once before unsuccessfully and was ready this time to really write it... and she did. I am not sure I liked the ending. Could there have been other options? This novel tugs at your heart way after having read the last page.

I Really liked this book. The female characters are well drawn and very sympathetic. The "bad guy" is great to despise. There are very insightful and poignant passages regarding the loss of a child. When I looked up and saw that there were only a few pages remaining, my heart sank; I was NOT ready to say goodbye to these three interesting women. I'm actually hoping for a sequel.

Amy Hatvany's "Safe With Me" was an enjoyable read. I was captivated from the beginning, and the storyline held my interest throughout. This book touched on several human and social issues: the unfortunate loss of a child, organ donation, domestic abuse, and bullying. Although I think Ms. Hatvany could have delved a bit deeper into the subject matters, her writing style was thoughtful and emotionally provocative. Her treatment of the love, pain, understanding, and sacrifices associated with mother/daughter relationships was realistic and heartfelt. I liked this book and would definitely recommend it to my book club. . Young adults could also benefit from reading "Safe With Me."

Amy Hatvany brings a lot of major issues to her book "Safe With Me" - single parenthood, the death of a child, organ donation viewed from both recipient and donor family, spousal abuse. She manages to weave all these topics together seamlessly into a plausible, well told tale. This quick read would be a perfect choice for a book club. Any one of Hatvany's big ideas would work as a conversation starter; all of them strung together would make for an interesting evening.

This is a book about women, three of them, Hannah, Olivia, and Maddie. My connection as a mother drew me into this book. I was crying by the end of the first chapter and yet the book is really about healing. Hannah's journey through grief. Olivia's quest for freedom from abuse, and Maddie's struggle to find out who she really is as a person kept me reading. Their connection through Emily binds the three of them together and kept me reading to find out the resolution.