Review: Somewhere Out There by Amy Hatvany

Somewhere Out There by Amy Hatvany

Published: March 1, 2016

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Format: via Edelweiss

Rating: 5/5

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Synopsis

Natalie Clark knew never to ask her sensitive adoptive mother questions about her past. She doesn’t even know her birth mother’s name—only that the young woman signed parental rights over to the state when Natalie was a baby. Now Natalie’s own daughter must complete a family tree project for school, and Natalie is determined to unearth the truth about her roots.

Brooke Walker doesn’t have a family. At least, that’s what she tells herself after being separated from her mother and her little sister at age four. Having grown up in a state facility and countless foster homes, Brooke survives the only way she knows how, by relying on herself. So when she discovers she’s pregnant, Brooke faces a heart-wrenching decision: give up her baby or raise the child completely on her own. Scared and confused, she feels lost until a surprise encounter gives her hope for the future.

How do our early experiences—the subtle and the traumatic—define us as adults? How do we build relationships when we’ve been deprived of real connection? Critically acclaimed author Amy Hatvany considers controversial and complicated questions about childhood through the lens of her finely crafted characters in this astute novel about mending wounds by diving into the truth of what first tore us apart.

My Thoughts

Somewhere out There will take you on an emotional ride from the first line. We meet Jennifer who has two young daughters and after struggling to try to survive she is caught stealing food and is sent to jail, and under pressure she is told to give up her rights. Torn, she hopes and prays that this will give them the best chance of having a life she wouldn’t able to give them otherwise.

Fast forward decades later we meet Natalie who was months old when she was given up and has lived a good life, she is married with kids and though she has always known she was adopted now she feels the urge to finally seek out her birth mother even though her parents don’t want her to and her biggest surprise is when she finds out she has a sister something she never knew.

Brooke, the oldest wasn’t so lucky, she was left in the system and has had a hard life and only depended on herself. She was old enough to remember her mom so her memories and hopes of a reunion aren’t as rosy of that of her sister. So when Brooke is contacted by someone claiming to be her sister she doesn’t know what to do but decides to meet. I loved seeing this relationship grow, Natalie getting the sister she has always wanted and seeing Brooke slowly but surely opening her heart and trusting people.

We also get to see Jennifer’s story and what brought her to do what she did and what has happened since. We see how she has learned to build her life back up after her life was a mess so early in life. Not to give everything away but the most touching and emotional part of the story was when they all meet. Wow! The emotions I felt when from high to low and back again. You don’t know what to think but you feel for all parties involved. Everyone’s emotions are valid and there is no one really to blame. There are reasons for what has happened and you can only build from the present.

This is truly the first GREAT book I've read this year. It will touch your soul and make you ache for the women in it. I really and honestly recommend this read with every fiber of my being; you cannot go on and not read this amazing book!