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There are currently 65 member reviews
for Safe with Me
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Carol T. (Ankeny, IA)
A good book for a rainy afternoon
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.
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Sally H. (Geneva, OH)
A Compelling Read
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.
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Susan B. (Rutledge, MO)
much better than expected
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.
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Linda M. (Windsor, CA)
Safe With Me
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.
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Lori (Wayland, MA)
mixed feelings
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.
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Asha K. (Bellerose, NY)
Safe with Me
I got this advance copy from bookbrowse for which I am extremely grateful.
It is a quick read. Ms. Hatvany deftly links hot topic issues of organ transplant, domestic violence, loss of a child to death and women's independence in one artful narrative. She profiles a domestic violence victim with an affluent and influential background, very different from societal perceptions of DV. The story deals with the harsh reality of a child's sudden death and her mom agreeing to organ transplant to benefit other children, thus throwing together two women with entirely different lifestyles. An engrossing read which is also a tear jerker.
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Diane S. (Batavia, IL)
Safe with Me
I feel in love with Hatvany's first book, or at least the first to be released here called, Best Kept Secret. This one I had a few problems with, I felt it lacked focus, tried to cover too many things. Organ donation is a worthy subject all its own, throw in domestic abuse and one or the other will suffer. This one for me was borderline soap opera material, just one heartbreaking moment after another. She can definitely write, covers pertinent issues of the day but for me this novel was overkill.
Picoult fans will probably love Hatvany's novels.
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