Review: It Happens all the Time by Amy Hatvany

It Happens all the Time by Amy Hatvany

Published: March 28, 2017

Publisher: Atria Books

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4 /5

Synopsis

Amber Bryant and Tyler Hicks have been best friends since they were teenagers—trusting and depending on each other through some of the darkest periods of their young lives. And while Amber has always felt that their relationship is strictly platonic, Tyler has long harbored the secret desire that they might one day become more than friends.

Returning home for the summer after her college graduation, Amber begins spending more time with Tyler than she has in years. Despite the fact that Amber is engaged to her college sweetheart, a flirtation begins to grow between them. One night, fueled by alcohol and concerns about whether she’s getting married too young, Amber kisses Tyler.

What happens next will change them forever.

In alternating points of view, It Happens All the Time examines the complexity of sexual dynamics between men and women and offers an incisive exploration of gender roles, expectations, and the ever-timely issue of consent.

My Thoughts

It Happens all the Time is a hard-hitting story of two best friends whose lives are forever changed after one night out. Amber and Tyler have been best friends ever since Tyler and his family moved to town when Tyler was in his early teens. He soon became friends with the girl next door Amber. While they are just friends Tyler has always had feelings for Amber but never said anything since he valued their friendship. As they grow older Amber comes home after graduation and reconnects with Tyler and announces she is engaged, and of course, Tyler is crushed but continues to keep his feelings to himself.

One night they go out and Amber admits to flirting with Tyler but she never thinks that what happens next would ever happen. Years of feelings and his love for Amber takes over Tyler and he does the most unthinkable thing ever while making out he rapes Amber. She says no and he doesn't stop but Tyler doesn't remember her saying no and he doesn't think he raped her. This sets off a chain reaction that will break up friendships and relationships and messes with Amber’s emotional state of mind. Tyler’s past with his father and their relationship plays a huge part in all of this and you begin to question Tyler in general.

This story is powerful to say the last, no matter your opinion about Tyler. Is he a good guy yes, at least in the beginning, but he did a very bad thing. Does years of his father mental abuse play a part? Maybe. However, in the end, no means no and nothing excuses what he did. I loved the alternating chapters because we see how each one viewed the events as it happens. This story will make you think and it's a very emotional read one that will stay with you way after you closed the book. Amy Hatvany gives us a story that will have you shocked and in tears and will definitely have you questioning everything you think you knew.

#Contemporaryathon TBR

#Contemporaryathan TBR

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Challenges

1. Read the most recent contemporary book you purchased/acquired 2. Read a book with blurple (blue or purple lol) on the cover 3. Read a diverse contemporary (keeping in mind that it is Black History Month!) 4. Read a dark/emotional/hard-hitting contemporary 5. Read a contemporary that you meant to read in 2018 but didn’t 6. Read a contemporary in a non-traditional format 7. Read a contemporary with some sort of picture on the spine

Review: It Happens all the Time by Amy Hatvany

It Happens All the Time by Amy Hatvany

Published: March 28, 2017

Publisher: Atria Books

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

I want to rewind the clock, take back the night when the world shattered. I want to erase everything that went wrong.

Amber Bryant and Tyler Hicks have been best friends since they were teenagers—trusting and depending on each other through some of the darkest periods of their young lives. And while Amber has always felt that their relationship is strictly platonic, Tyler has long harbored the secret desire that they might one day become more than friends.

Returning home for the summer after her college graduation, Amber begins spending more time with Tyler than she has in years. Despite the fact that Amber is engaged to her college sweetheart, a flirtation begins to grow between them. One night, fueled by alcohol and concerns about whether she’s getting married too young, Amber kisses Tyler.

What happens next will change them forever.

In alternating points of view, It Happens All the Time examines the complexity of sexual dynamics between men and women and offers an incisive exploration of gender roles, expectations, and the ever-timely issue of consent.

My Thoughts

Amy Hatvany books always give you feelings that linger long after the last page is turned, and in This Happens All the Time she does an even bigger job by bringing women's issues to the for front. Told in alternating views we see how Amber and Tyler childhood friends end up somewhere they never thought possible.

Tyler has always loved Amber but to her, he was always just a friend, until one night after drinking she kisses Tyler and that one action sets Tyler off to actions he can never take back. I loved how Hatvany uses the alternating chapters to show us how each of the characters sees their actions. Like the saying goes there are 3 sides to the story yours, theirs and the truth. We see how they both viewed things in completely different lights.

When one hears “rape” we usually think of it as done by the hands of a stranger but most of the time it is done by someone we know, so when it came to this storyline we see Amber dealing with the fact that it was someone she grew up with leaving her with questions why? Amber’s pain will rock you to your core leaving you wanting justice. I won't make a case for Tyler what he did was beyond words but seeing his side lets you into his mind and how he saw things.

This is a book that demands to be read. It’s a hard topic to read but for that reason it must be read. We tend not to talk about issues that we aren’t comfortable with but we have to get over it in order to learn. While this isn’t a light read by any means it is one that you will learn from and sometimes those are the greatest ones we will remember.

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

Add to Goodreads * Amazon

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!

WoW [140]

Waiting on Wednesday [Wow] is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Somewhere Out There by Amy Hatvany

Expected Publication: March 8, 2016

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Synopsis

What happens when two sisters who were torn apart when their young mother abandoned them—and grew up in tragically different circumstances—reunite thirty-five years later to find her? For readers who love Jodi Picoult, acclaimed author Amy Hatvany fearlessly explores complex family issues in her gripping, provocative new novel.

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.

Why I Can’t Wait

First off I love Amy Hatvany books! Secondly this one sounds amazing, love books that focus on family especially sisters and this one has a storyline that I can’t wait to devour.

Review: Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany

Safe with Me by Amy Hatvany

Published: March 4, 2014

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Format: via NetGalley

Challenges: 2014 NetGalley/Edelweiss

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

A novel about two mothers and one daughter who are linked by tragedy and bound by secrets, from the acclaimed author of Heart Like Mine. Now, in the provocative Safe with Me, Amy Hatvany explores controversial and timely issues with astonishing emotional complexity.

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.

My Thoughts

Amy Havanty weaves together a tragic yet amazing tale of love, heartache, and having the strength to move on when life has taken everything you live for away.

Safe with Me is the tale of Hannah and her story of moving on after the death of her only child. A single parent who wanted so much to have a child she did it alone. One ordinary day unlike any other her daughter was killed after she was hit by a car. Those moments were the ones nobody, no parent should ever have to deal with. Once she was told she wouldn’t survive she was asked if she wanted to donate her organs, needless to say she was at a loss for words. She decided she would, hoping that this act would make her daughter’s death at least help others.

This leads us to the Maddie, a teen who has dealt with being sick almost her entire life. She is told she needs a transplant really soon if not she won’t have that much longer. Her mother Olivia is always by her side while her father is mainly just working leaving them by themselves. Olivia has some secrets of her own, ones that she has kept for as long as she can remember. You see Olivia is being abused by her husband. From the moment Olivia met him she thought he was the answer to her prays. He was rich, successful and was willing to help her with her mom. He eventually swept her off her feet, they married and from that day on he started hitting her. She changed who she was physically and never uttered her opinions all to satisfy him. After time she grew tired and was ready to leave after she had Maddie but she needed a plan. However Maddie got sick and her plan was put to the back burner because of Maddie’s health.

Call it fate and just a plain coincidence Maddie, Olivia and Hannah’s lives all inserted. They were brought into each other’s lives for a reason. They all helped each other heal and escape all the pain and sadness they were dealing with. This story as heart-wrenching as it may be, it does give us hope. Hope that no matter how bad things may feel at that moment, always know you will come out the other side. We must deal with the pain to truly appreciate all the things we have and to know that we are all brought here for a reason. Big or small all our lives have purpose in this world.

THE BOTTOM LINE... IT'S...

Review: Heart like Mine by Amy Hatvany

Heart Like Mine by Amy Hatvany

Expected Publication: March 19, 2013
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Format: ARC provided by NetGalley
Rating: 4/5

Summary

When a young mother dies under mysterious circumstances, those she leaves behind begin looking for answers in the past—and find a long-buried secret they could have never imagined. Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be?

At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been the one taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again.

But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew.

Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant and hopeful portrait about womanhood, love, and the challenges of family life.

My Thoughts

Where do I start? I was hooked from the very beginning. With Amy Havanty amazing writing who could blame me? The story was told in alternating voices, those being Victor, Ava, Grace and Kelli.  It all surrounds the impact after the death of Kelli. Kelli was depressed after her divorce from Victor. But was it the divorce or something else that has made Kelli not be able to function? In flashbacks we hear Kelli’s story and find out what all happen.

Throughout the book we also read about how her death affects her ex, their kids and his new fiancée. While I enjoyed all the characters the most I found compelling was Grace. Grace had always made it clear she wasn’t interested in having kids. So when she met Victor who wasn’t into having more kids she thought everything would work out fine. After Kelli’s death she was force into the “mother” role. Dealing with her own mother issues she wonders if she’s cut out to handle all this. Although she has her ups and downs with the kids she soon realizes she was wrong. She comes to love them as if they were her own.

With Ava and Grace putting clues together into why Kelli died they discovered it wasn’t the divorce that pushed her over the end but something else. No one knew of the secret in Kelli’s past. While I won’t ruin with spoilers I will say this book is simply amazing.

This book will keep you glued and engaged from the start. It’s a story of grief, love and most importantly family. At the end of the day after all the world may throw at you family is the one thing that will always be there for you. Family doesn’t always have to be in the traditional sense but it’s simply made up of those who love and care about you in spite of everything.