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

This was a story of tragedy and grief in many domestic forms. The book was quite well written but it certainly didn't leave this reader feeling anything akin to happiness. The voices of Olivia and Hannah seemed genuine but Maddy sounded much too mature for a 16yr old. Especially one who had little social interaction until she was 16. The accidental meeting of the two mother's and Maddie was handled in a realistic way. I could see it actually happening in that situation.

All in all, this was a good read and I'd recommend it to older teens as well as adults.

Hannah's and Olivia's worlds intersect in what some may call serendipity and others say G-d. Does it matter how? In any event, each woman has made life decisions, journeying different courses yet bonded in a way unfathomed. They and Maddie benefit from the friendship which appears initially contrived, yet proves true the age old adage, "Blood is thicker than water." Hatvany creates believable characters. The reader is able to climb into each person's head, get what's going on, and then enjoy a deceptively simple story that raises the question each stage in each character's life: What would I have done?

I loved this book. It's a short read, the language isn't fancy. But the story of two mothers struggling to come to grips with their circumstances is very profound. As a mother, especially the mother of a daughter, I found myself attempting to put myself in the place of these women. Its was very difficult and I found myself on the verge of tears as I read. I don't know if I could cope with the facts of either woman's life and I am not sure which would be more difficult; losing a child or living a life of fear. This is a great book for women struggling with abuse. I give this book a good instead of excellent because I felt the ending was unsatisfactory but I did enjoy the book overall

This is one of those relatively light-in-plot-and-character books that pulls the reader in anyway. I hunger for a book with well developed characters and character/plot driven responses, but until I find the next one, Amy Hatvany's Safe with Me will do.

With the exception of a few incidences of "that would never happen" (a personal pet peeve), this is a well-told story and a well-written book. The entire book is written in the present tense, except for when a character's past experience is related, and the author succeeds in accomplishing this consistently. Only Maddie's account is in the first person, making her stand out as the most important character. Ms. Hatvany deals well with the subject of organ donation, exploring the perspectives of the physician, the donor's next of kin, and the recipient and family. However, I wish she had left the domestic violence out of this book; I don't think it really added anything and it was so egregious that (for me at least) it distracted from the overall story line. For those reasons, I probably would not recommend it to my book club.

I had relatively low expectations for this book and was very pleasantly surprised to find myself liking it a great deal. I found it to be well-written and the characters interesting, engaging and, most of all, believable.

The subject matter is intense but dealt with realistically and sensitively. I certainly didn't expect to cry so often while reading, and since I usually don't go for tearjerkers, I never thought I would like the book as much as I did. Recommended, even for the skeptical.

I was fortunate to receive an advance reader copy of this book. I have mixed feelings about the book. On one hand, it was a compelling read that was hard to put down. On the other hand, I was only prepared to read about the devastating loss of a child and her organ donation; I didn't expect to read about a book about domestic violence, and I didn't really want to. I have read enough books about domestic violence, and I think this didn't add to the genre.

I would have preferred the book to have focused on the organ donation part of the story. I didn't appreciate the addition of wife beating, and it detracted from the more interesting and unusual theme of organ donation for me. I think fans of Jodi Picoult would appreciate this book, but the stress I felt reading it would keep me from recommending it to book groups.

Safe With Me was a quick, easy read - quick because I didn't want to put it down. I thought the characters were realistic and well-written. The author captured the teenaged Maddie very well - realistically portraying her fears about starting a new school, making up a fake internet identity, and the burgeoning relationship with the boy from school. The book would be a great book club choice prompting discussions on why women stay in abusive relationships and regarding Hannah's decision to withhold key information from her new best friend.