Somewhere Out There

March 15, 2016

Too poor to take care of four-year-old Brooke and baby Natalie, frightened young mother Jennifer is forced to give up custody. Natalie is adopted and lives in a loving, if secretive, home, while Brooke bounces from one foster family to another, angry and unable to put down roots. Life continues about the same for the daughters. Natalie finds happiness with a husband and children, and Brooke faces loneliness and fear while fending for herself as a waitress. Jennifer, meanwhile, turns her life around after a stint in prison. When Natalie starts to investigate her birth family and circumstances, the three women's assumptions regarding family, love, and their pasts are turned upside down. Sometimes these characters can be confused for one another, as the narrative moves back and forth in time with changes in points of view. Realizations and transformations are at times too rapid. However, this is a compelling tale, and readers will be glued to the page to find out how events turn out, especially when things are challenging for Jennifer. VERDICT Adoption and its aftermath can be messy; Hatvany (Heart Like Mine; Safe with Me) gets that right in this novel, which will delight readers who enjoy stories of love and family complications.--Henrietta Verma, New York

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