Somewhere Out There

Somewhere Out There: a novel by Amy Hatvany. New York:Washington Square Press, 2016. 344 pages.  Readers Club Guide. *****

"I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been desperate." Jennifer is a young single mother, no job, no home, no money. She is trying to raise her daughters, Brooke, who just turned four and Natale, only six months old by living in her car and begging for money on street corners. She is too proud to call her mother and ask for help which leaves her very few choices. When sentenced to jail for petty theft, child endangerment, and neglect, Jennifer makes the ultimate sacrifice to give up her daughters to foster care to be adopted. Brooke is convinced her mother will return for her and Natale, so she is devastated when Natale is adopted without her. Natale grows up in a loving secure family until she discovers that she is adopted and her mother will not discuss her birth mother or anything related to the adoption. When Natale's daughter is assigned the creation of a family tree, Natale resolves to find her birth mother and get the answers she seeks to her past.


Hatvany takes us on a journey through the lives of three women and the impact of their choices.  A loving, haunting tale of a naive mother, adoption issues, and the legal system. When all seems lost, Hatvany gives hope for a better future through acceptance and forgiveness. Well-written, extraordinary characters who come alive through the difficulties they face daily and their interactions with each other. Life doesn't always provide nice, neat, happy answers. Fans of Jodi Picoult and Catherine Ryan Hyde will love this complicated story.

I received a copy from BookSparks for a review.

Amy Hatvany is the author of Best Kept Secret, Outside the Lines, The Language of Sisters, Heart Like Mine, and Safe With Me. She lives with her family in Seattle, Washington.

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