ENTERTAINMENT REALM

Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany. Publisher: Washington Square Press (March 4, 2014). Contemporary fiction. Paperback. 352 pages. ISBN 9781476704418.

A year after she signed papers to donate her daughter’s organs, Hannah still suffers from the loss of her young child. Unexpectedly she stumbles upon the recipient of her daughter’s kidney when Olivia and Maddie arrive at Hannah’s hair salon. Olivia harbors a secret that her husband abuses her both mentally and physically. She’s wanted to leave him but can’t because her Maddie, her daughter has been so sick for years and now at 15 just received the kidney transplant that saved her life. Hannah and Olivia form a fast friendship. She’s not hiding the abuse as well as she thinks. Hannah figures it out and wants to help her. Meanwhile Maddie, tired of years living as an invalid, plots her escape but also spends increasingly more time forging relationships [even new identities] on the Internet. Seems like you may have read similar stories but Amy Hatvany creates an impressive story and completely believable multifaceted characters you might meet. Didn’t expect to becoming completely engulfed in this novel. It’s a total page-turner. Perfect way to while away a cozy weekend.

RATING: ****/5

–review by Amy Steele

FTC Disclosure: I received these book for review from NetGalley.

purchase at Amazon: Safe with Me: A Novel