In Safe With Me, a woman loses her daughter in a tragic accident, and through organ donation her daughter saves many other lives. Through the eyes of the grieving mother, one of the organ recipients, and the recipients ‘mother, we follow their ups and downs. This book is heartfelt, harrowing and suspenseful and keeps your eyes glued to the page (or your ears to your earbuds in my case.)
Book: Safe With Me by Amy Hatvany. Simon & Schuster Audio, On Sale Now
Book Info: Received for review from Simon & Schuster Audio. Running time: 10 hrs, 21 mins. Read by: Joy Osmanski, Rebekkah Ross, Cassandra Campbell. Also available in ebook and hardcover from Washington Square Press 352 pages.
More Info: Goodreads | Audible | Amazon | IndieBound
Cover Story: Pretty! I like the light reflecting off the water. Each of the three women in this book is dealing with change, and I think the cover represents the characters “getting their feet wet.”
Character Connections: Safe with Me has three interconnected stories:
Hannah: Hannah is a single mom who lost her only child in a car accident. She’s not coping well with the loss, but is going through the motions of her life. She donated her daughter’s organs as she would have wanted and unexpectedly runs into one of the organ recipients.
Olivia: Olivia is in an abusive relationship and only stays so that she doesn’t lose custody of her daughter. Her husband is wealthy, powerful and punishing but Olivia doesn’t think he’d ever hurt his daughter, Maddie.
Maddie: Maddie has been sheltered and sick for years. The liver transplant from Hannah’s daughter gave her a new lease on life, and now she’s going to high school for the first time. She retreats to the Internet where she has some anonymity since her new school peers aren’t exactly welcoming.
Drama, Danger, Despair: This book is intense, like whoa! Safe With Me covers Organ donation, Internet safety, marital abuse, death and grief, and finding yourself again. After reading this one, you’ll definitely want to pick up a lighter read. The beginning of the book with the hospital scenes, and Hannah’s emotional state over losing her daughter just had me all tied up in knots. The various issues are handled with respect and sensitivity but all the same they can be hard to digest.
Mothers and Daughters: Some of the central relationships are the bonds between mothers and daughters, especially in the teen years when daughters start pulling away a bit. Hannah misses her daughter terribly and thinks about all the what-ifs, and if there was anything she could have done differently as a parent. Olivia suffers abuse because she wants to be in the same home as her daughter, and keep her safe from her husband. It’s interesting to get the teen perspective as well, with Maddie, so we can see her side of things, and she’s a smart, bright, sensitive character in her own right.
Fast Friends: Each of the three women featured in the book needs a friend. Though linked by the organ donation, they help each other in unexpected ways.
Listen With Me: I listened to Safe With Me audiobook, read by Joy Osmanski, Rebekkah Ross, and Cassandra Campbell. There are three pov’s and three narrators, so that makes it easy to keep track of each character. I’m familiar with these narrators from other books, and they were believable in their parts and made me care about the characters. I listened to about 6 hours of this book during a readathon recently and it definitely had me hooked.
Lend an ear:
The lowdown: This is a heavy, yet hopeful, book. The tension builds throughout, especially in regards to Olivia’s marriage, and the third act will have you on the edge of your seat. Safe With Me has a satisfying ending that makes the journey worth it. Maddie’s story adds a YA element so this one may have some crossover appeal.
Related articles
- Book Review: Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany (readerlymusings.com)
- Review: Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany (randombookmuses.com)
- ARC Book Review: Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany (booksintheburbs.com)
- An Interview with ‘Safe with Me’ Author Amy Hatvany (thedailyquirk.com)
Hmnmm, I can’t decide if I would enjoy this. It might be too much for me. Just the summary makes me all sad.