Book ~ "Safe With Me" (2014) Amy Hatvany

From Goodreads ~ The screech of tires brought Hannah Scott’s world as she knew it to a devastating end. Even a year after she signed the papers to donate her daughter’s organs, Hannah is still reeling with grief when she unexpectedly stumbles into the life of the Bell family, whose child, Maddie, survived only because hers had died. Mesmerized by this fragile connection to her own daughter and afraid to reveal who she actually is, Hannah develops a surprising friendship with Maddie’s mother, Olivia.

The Bells, however, have problems of their own. Once on the verge of leaving her wealthy but abusive husband, Olivia now finds herself bound to him as never before in the wake of the successful transplant that saved their fifteen-year-old daughter’s life. Meanwhile Maddie, tired of the limits her poor health puts upon her and fearful of her father’s increasing rage, regularly escapes into the one place where she can be anyone she wants: the Internet. But when she is finally healthy enough to return to school, the real world proves to be just as complicated as the isolated bubble she had been so eager to escape.

When Hannah's 12-year-old daughter, Emily, was hit by a car and died because of her injuries, Hannah donated her daughter's organs.  A year later, she is still grieving and barely surviving.  She is renting out the house that she and Emily lived in, has put most of their stuff in storage and is living in a small apartment above the hair salon that she and her partner and friend, Sophie, have recently renovated and opened.

When Olivia was in her earlier twenties, she met and married James.  He was a bit older than she was and after she married him, she discovered he was fairly wealthy.  A year later, they had a daughter, Maddie, and Olivia devoted her time being a mom and keeping her husband happy.  But not all is what it seems because James is abusive and beats Olivia on a regular basis.  She was going to leave when Maddie was younger but then Maddie got deathly ill and finally had a liver transplant last year.  Olivia put her plans on hold and planned on leaving when Maddie was 18 to avoid a custody battle, which she was sure she would lose.  So she smiles and sucks it up because she doesn't think she has any other alternative.

Now that she's well, James sends Maddie to a private school.  After being homeschooled for the last eight years and with no friends, Maddie has a hard time adjusting to the real world.  By chance, Olivia and Maddie wander into Hannah's salon and mention Maddie's transplant.  Hannah wonders to herself if Maddie had received Emily's liver but decides not to say anything until she knows for sure.  In the meantime, Hannah and Olivia become close friends.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style.  It is written from the perspectives of Hannah, Olivia and Maddie ... each chapter is focused on one of them (their name is at the beginning of the chapter so you know who's head you are in).  When it is written from Hannah and Olivia's point of view, it is in the third person; it is written in the first person when it is Maddie's point of view.  It was an interesting style and I liked it.  Through flashbacks, we learn about Emily's accident and James' abuse.  It's an intense story.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I would recommend this book.  I look forward to checking out others by this author.