Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

read excerpt* *Different edition

Save Me

by Lisa Scottoline (Goodreads Author)

3.52 of 5 stars 3.52 · rating details · 9,880 ratings · 1,632 reviews

From the New York Times bestselling author of Think Twice and Look Again comes an emotionally powerful novel about a split-second choice, agonizing consequences, and the need for justice

Rose McKenna volunteers as a lunch mom in her daughter Melly’s school in order to keep an eye on Amanda, a mean girl who’s been bullying her daughter. Her fears come true when the bullying...more

ebook, 384 pages

Published April 12th 2011 by St. Martin's Press (first published January 1st 2011)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 21, 2012 Cherie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book. I finished it in hopes that it would get better but I was disappointed. The premise - that a mother has to make a split second decision about whether to save her own child or someone else's and the consequences of that decision - was interesting and had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, that potential is never realized.

The problems?
1 - The dialogue is many times cheesy and unrealistic. I found myself rolling my eyes quite often throughout the entire book. Es...more I really wanted to like this book. I finished it in hopes that it would get better but I was disappointed. The premise - that a mother has to make a split second decision about whether to save her own child or someone else's and the consequences of that decision - was interesting and had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, that potential is never realized.

The problems?
1 - The dialogue is many times cheesy and unrealistic. I found myself rolling my eyes quite often throughout the entire book. Especially the scenes between Rose and Leo.

2 - The chapters are very short which irritated me. I suppose the author used this style to try and ramp up the suspense but in reality it just irritated me. Just when things were getting good the chapter would end. It made for some choppy reading instead of a smooth buildup of suspense.

3 - The characters were not believable. Many of them were very one dimensional - Leo (the husband), Melly (the daughter), Eileen (the other girl's mother), the lawyer and others. They all played a very specific role in the advancement of the plot - and that's all. They were never developed enough to be believable people to me and much of their personalities seemed cliched to me. Rose herself was a little ridiculous. She was very wishy washy. At first she's the assertive mother lion, then she becomes this jellyfish and then she becomes a superhero. If there had been good character development that showed the character's personal progression through these stages it would have been ok, but as written she seems to almost have multiple personalities.

4 - The story starts out as one thing and then turns into something different altogether. The first half of the book is about Rose's dilemma (as described in the book's description) and how she must deal with the fallout - other people's perceptions of her, the media, legal issues, etc. This part of the book was interesting despite the flaws above. And then, the second half of the book is something completely different. We no longer hear about the lawsuits or criminal aspects of the story. We no longer see anything about how she deals with the new public perception of her. Instead, this turns into a bad mystery novel where the main character goes off on her own to solve a completely unbelievable mystery - why the fire happened in the first place. The circumstances that are revealed are ridiculous to say the least.

This book is trying too hard to be too many things: a commentary on bullying, an emotional drama about an impossible decision, a Nancy Drew style mystery. It succeeds at none of them. I give it 2 stars because there were some parts (the first few chapters in particular) that held my interest and it was not bad enough for me to stop reading. Some entertainment can be had with this book if you are aware of its failings and are able to overlook them and suspend your belief for a little while. If you are looking for a real drama, look to Jodi Picoult or others. If you are looking for a serious mystery, look elsewhere. If you want a somewhat cheesy but maybe entertaining read continue with this one. (less)

like 20 likes · see review

Oct 21, 2012 Gretchen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been a fan of Lisa Scottoline since "Look Again" and I was excited to see "Save Me" at my local library.

Rose is a supermodel turned mother who is married to Leo, her lawyer husband. She lives in upper class suburbia with him, her daughter Melly by her former husband and their son, John.

The story begins with Rose volunteering at her daughter's school. She witnesses her daughter being bulled by another student and transforms into "mama bear" mode, calling out the bully and her friends and t...more I've been a fan of Lisa Scottoline since "Look Again" and I was excited to see "Save Me" at my local library.

Rose is a supermodel turned mother who is married to Leo, her lawyer husband. She lives in upper class suburbia with him, her daughter Melly by her former husband and their son, John.

The story begins with Rose volunteering at her daughter's school. She witnesses her daughter being bulled by another student and transforms into "mama bear" mode, calling out the bully and her friends and trying to reason with them. She detains the bullies at lunch while the rest of the class (except Melly, who has gone into the bathroom) heads out for recess. At that moment, there is an explosion in the kitchen and chaos ensues. When Rose finally realizes what has happened, she has to make a choice - lead the bullies to safety or save her daughter. At that point, she decides to make some effort to get the bullies out (but never follows up on that to make sure they're all out) and then find her daughter.

Her daughter suffered smoke inhalation but is basically alright, but as we discover, the bully suffered more serious injuries and her life hangs in the balance.

Rose becomes the town scapegoat then and her life begins to spiral downward. She knows in her heart that she did what any parent would do, but she feels very guilty about the fate of the other child, mostly due to her unresolved guilt from a past experience in which she was indirectly responsible for the death of a child.

Rose's husband Leo becomes her crusader, helping her to deal with her feelings and being her rock during this turmoil. He warns her against speaking to anyone about the explosion, but Rose is stubborn and foolish and chats it up with everyone she encounters, mostly in an attempt to prove her innocence and get to the real cause of the destruction, which was the explosion itself. Rose does eventually solve the mystery of the explosion, but the plot becomes almost implausible towards the end, with Rose transforming herself from clueless mommy to private investigator. She drives up and down the East Coast, disguising herself as a factory worker and a reporter to gain information to prove that the explosion was not an accident.

Unfortunately, I got sucked into the plot and wanted to find out what happened, so I endured the crazy plot twists and boring characters. I gave this book 3 stars instead of 2 because the mystery did suck me in.

More gripes: Rose is just unlikeable. She seems so shallow and boring and suburbany. At one point, Rose's friend actually tells her that the other mothers don't like her because she is pretty. Really?? Why was she trying to force Melly to read "American Girl" books? She desperately wanted her daughter to fit in at just about any expense. I found it very hard to sympathize with her. I even suspected her husband of having an affair because she was just so helpless and clueless. It almost seemed that he only married her for her looks because she just doesn't seem like she has much substance. The dialogue between Leo and Melly is just lacking in depth. I wanted him to be more of a part of her life instead of this boring "Disneyland Dad" character on the periphery.

I really wanted to find out why Rosie, the night nurse in charge of Melly while her mother was gone, just left and never came back to help Melly during the night. The author seemed to imply that Rosie was friendly and nurturing then just absent when she was needed. Was Rosie up to something devious? I felt let down by the dangling character development.

This book had potential to be something more than it was. (less)

like 1 like · see review

Jan 26, 2013 Linda Alexander rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

'Save Me' by Lisa Scottoline is the first novel I've ever read of her works. I've read some of the other reviews which were far from complimentary. While the writing seemed somewhat simplistic to me, the underlying story was pretty good in my opinion, though it tended to get a bit bogged down at times. This is a story about a couple, Leo and Rose McKenna having moved to a new location with her daughter Melly from a previous marriage, and their infant son Johnny. Leo is a lawyer, and Rose takes o...more 'Save Me' by Lisa Scottoline is the first novel I've ever read of her works. I've read some of the other reviews which were far from complimentary. While the writing seemed somewhat simplistic to me, the underlying story was pretty good in my opinion, though it tended to get a bit bogged down at times. This is a story about a couple, Leo and Rose McKenna having moved to a new location with her daughter Melly from a previous marriage, and their infant son Johnny. Leo is a lawyer, and Rose takes on the task of being a lunch room mom at the brand new school to keep an eye on her daughter because a particular girl named Amanda has been bullying Melly at school and harassing her about the 'raspberry' birth mark on her cheek. As a result of yet another remark about it, Melly heads for the bathroom, and Rose attempts to make Amanda understand the hurt she is causing her daughter. This delays Amanda and two of her friends from going to the playground on schedule. A huge explosion in the kitchen and lunch room creates a fire. Rose is suddenly put in a position of whether to take the time to try to get the three girls out of the cafeteria to the playground to save them or, to rush to get her daughter out of the the bathroom and to safety first. She compromises by first leading the girls to the hallway where a teacher is helping kids to get out the double doors that are standing wide open, and only after thinking the other girls are on their way out of the building, runs for the bathroom praying she is not too late to save her daughter. Unbeknownst to Rose, Amanda ran back into the cafeteria to grab her brother's Ipod she'd left behind and is badly injured and in a coma, and there is a strong possibility Amanda may not survive. The mothers of the students all turn on Rose, accusing her of saving her own daughter and leaving the other three girls on their own in the fire and smoke. Very soon Amanda's mother is interviewed by a television reporter and is making noises about suing Rose, though Melly is also hospitalized from smoke inhalation and the doctors have said another five minutes could have taken Melly's life. It all ends up with Rose discovering that it is entirely possible the fire did not occur by accident, and a female teacher and two of the cooks have been killed in the explosion and fire. It truly is a great story, and a situation that could easily occur in many situations, giving a mother only moments to make a decision as to which decision to make. In talking with recommended lawyers, Rose learns she could be held legally liable both from a Civil and a Criminal law suit against her, causing she and Leo to lose their home and possibly end with Rose being sent to prison. It truly does have a good base to this story. As stated at the beginning, the writing style is too simplistic, and the story gets bogged down. It seems nearly every other page has 'Mommy' inserted between two paragraphs without knowing why, and the husband Leo is just sort of on the sidelines throughout most of the book until the very end. This is the reason I reluctantly gave it only 3 stars. (less)

like 1 like · see review

Feb 29, 2012 Sian Milne rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well I found this to be incredibly disappointing.

It started off quite promising; an explosion, who does Rose save? her daughters bully or her daughter? She reaches a compromise and manages to save both (or so she thinks). What she later realises is that that something else happened and one of their lives hangs in the balance.

When I started reading this, I was in the mood for the type of moral dilemma type of book this represented to me. Then about 200 pages in it turned into a "murder mystery" a...more

like 32 likes · see review

Jun 08, 2011 Chris Wolak rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've read all of Lisa Scottoline's novels...she's one of my favorite writers, but Save Me didn't do it for me. I'm so disappointed and can't help but wonder if the book was rushed out in time for Mother's Day as well as for it's bullying theme. The first couple chapters were okay, but I only made it just past page 60 or so, then started skimming pages, then started skimming whole chapters, then just gave up on it. I am not a skimmer, but I was hoping to find something that would convince me to k...more

like 14 likes · see review

Apr 16, 2012 Ambyr rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own

I REALLY wanted to like this book. My real rating is probably somewhere around 2.5, but I had to drop it down to 2 for several reasons.

First and foremost, I am all for shorter chapters. Books that have 60-page chapters have been proven to be harder to read for most people, and I'm one of them. Shorter chapters make it easier for me to read more ("Oh, it's only 1 AM, I can read one more!"). This book's chapter sizes FREAKING KILLED ME. I think the longest one was four pages. Some people might pre...more

like 6 likes · see review

Nov 20, 2011 ABookVacation rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel is interesting in that it starts out as a drama, but later becomes a mystery as Rose embarks on a quest to find the truth while protecting her daughter and clearing her name. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was going to think of this novel when I picked it up. Originally, I was excited, but as I read the many reviews out there, across all the spectrums, I began to wonder if I would like it at all. What I found, upon reading it, is that I truly loved it, but it is for a certain type of...more This novel is interesting in that it starts out as a drama, but later becomes a mystery as Rose embarks on a quest to find the truth while protecting her daughter and clearing her name. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was going to think of this novel when I picked it up. Originally, I was excited, but as I read the many reviews out there, across all the spectrums, I began to wonder if I would like it at all. What I found, upon reading it, is that I truly loved it, but it is for a certain type of reader… one who is able to look past far-fetched scenarios and timelines and just enjoy a work on the whole. If that doesn’t sound like you, you may not care for this novel, but I highly enjoyed it.

The novel starts out very real. The situation Rose finds herself in, choosing to help her own child, or the bully who constantly picks on Melly, is one no one would ever relish. It’s a very tough decision, one that need to be made in a split second, and I truly agree with what Rose chose—trying to save them both. This is a very real depiction of a mother’s worst nightmare, and though I believe Rose made the right decision, it haunts her as Amanda ends up hurt anyway. Though the town doesn’t know all the facts, a mob mentality quickly takes over, and watching as Rose runs the gauntlet of her peers was gut wrenching at times. Throughout it all, I sided with Rose and what she did, but it is her choices after the fact that made me want to shake her. Understandably, she is under a lot of stress, as any parent would be in this situation, and I love that Scottoline keeps this very real. This situation really could happen. Yet, while I realize Rose is not always thinking clearly, the fact that she repeatedly makes stupid mistakes drove me insane, especially as her husband and lawyers do give her great advice, but her stubbornness gets in the way of heeding it. In this circumstance, it is Rose that digs her own social grave within the township. Again, this is very real, and though Rose occasionally made me angry through her asinine decisions, I can’t say I’d be any different if my child’s life, and my family, were on the line.

When the story gives way to mystery, I became extremely excited as it added to the drama of the township, however, things began to become a little far-fetched as it progressed...

To read my full review (11/20):

http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...

I won a copy of this on Goodreads First Reads!
(less)

like 1 like · see review

May 17, 2011 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, contemporary, realistic, mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 2 likes · see review

Apr 10, 2012 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Couldn't put this book down. It was a fascinating read!

like 3 likes · see review

Mar 30, 2013 Dindy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, mystery

I'm pretty lukewarm on Lisa Scottoline books to begin with, and I didn't finish this one. I started out being annoyed at the way the other lunch mom and the bratty popular girls were whining and fussing because Rose McKenna dared to try to talk to the girls about their teasing of her daughter, Melly, who has a large strawberry birthmark on her face. Having had some personal experiences with school bullying, I had absolutely no sympathy for the brat girls, and I thought the other mother was total...more I'm pretty lukewarm on Lisa Scottoline books to begin with, and I didn't finish this one. I started out being annoyed at the way the other lunch mom and the bratty popular girls were whining and fussing because Rose McKenna dared to try to talk to the girls about their teasing of her daughter, Melly, who has a large strawberry birthmark on her face. Having had some personal experiences with school bullying, I had absolutely no sympathy for the brat girls, and I thought the other mother was totally overreacting-- Rose wasn't yelling at the girls, nor was she disciplining them. She was talking to them for pete's sake because clearly nobody else cared to deal with the bullying issue. The other mother kept saying that Rose was supposed to go and get a teacher if there were any disciplinary issues, which is just stupid. Rose was trying not to escalate it to a disciplinary issue. What's the purpose of having lunch mothers if they aren't able to talk to kids about the things that are going on?

I was just about to turn the book off when the explosion happened and I became engrossed in the story of Rose's rescue of her daughter. I was put off by her feelings of guilt and self doubt afterwards, first she was upset because she had gotten the bully brats out of the building before going to rescue her own daughter, then she worried because she had left the bully brats in the hallway leading to the exit of the school and gone to rescue her daughter.

SPOILER ALERT: Warning! The rest of this review contains spoilers about the first part of the book. Don't read if you don't like spoilers.

I stopped listening to the book when it became clear that Rose was going to be blamed for not escorting the bully brats all the way to the school door. Hello-- that is just stupid! Where were the school personnel who should have been helping to evacuate the cafeteria? Why didn't the teacher who was at the door of the exit make sure the bully brats got out? Where were the other members of the school staff? Why is there not at least one school staff member on duty in the cafeteria? On the one hand, Rose is public enemy number one because she dares to try to hold a discussion with a group of bully brats about what it feels like to be bullied. She's only a PARENT. She's not supposed to DISCIPLINE the kids, or apparently even talk to them. But on the other hand, after she risks her own and her daughter's life to get the bully brats out of a burning school building, she is suddenly liable because one of the bully brats ran back into the building and was seriously injured? This is completely contradictory and just plain dumb.

Could someone actually be sued for something like this? Well yeah, probably, because people can and will sue for anything, but would it get very far? I doubt it. Because Rose saved the lives of all three of the bully brats, even if one of them did get injured when she ran back into the building. If not for Rose, the bully brat wouldn't have even have been alive to run back into the building in the first place. To me it's pretty clear that Rose acted heroically-- she got the bully brats to the door and then went back to rescue her own child. Why is Rose the only one responsible for the bully brat running back in.

As I said, this is where I stopped listening to the book because it was pretty clear that I was going to continuously be outraged at the stupidity of all of it. However, I want to add a comment reqarding the narration of the book, which was done by Cynthia Nixon. I've never watched anything in which Ms. Nixon has acted, but I understand she won a Grammy award for the best spoken word album, so I would have expected that she would have at least been able to put some expression into her reading of the book. The rapid-fire monotone in which she delivers the audio was very disappointing. Just one more thing I didn't like about the book.(less)

like · see review

Feb 28, 2013 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really enjoyed this book. It went a completely different direction than I thought it would, but it kept my attention the entire time and left me trying to figure out all of the pieces of the puzzle. The most fascinating part of the book was seeing how all of these little actions, however innocent and well-meaning, could have ended up as lawsuits because someone else wanted justice/revenge. Even though everyone did the best they could have in the fire, there were all sorts of possibilities with...more

like · see review

Feb 10, 2013 Colleen rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: didn-t-finish

I've marked this as "read", but I just couldn't make it past page 115. Ugh!

The premise of the book sounded quite interesting, in a Jodi Picoult kind of way. Mom is volunteering at an elementary school and an explosion takes place in the cafeteria. Does she save the lives of two girls (one of whom has just been bullying her daughter), or does she save her daughter? As a parent, it's one of those horrible "what if" questions you hope you'll never have to answer yourself.

The first twenty pages are...more

like 1 like · see review

Jan 28, 2013 Joy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub-reads

My suggestion is to not make "hit the gas" a drinking game. If the book had been better I might have re read it just to count the times she "hit the gas".

But there were so many things I found unrealitic is this book. I couldn't beleive that she got out of the hospital without having to give a statement to some kind of official as she was right where the expolosion happened. Smoking in a hopsital? I looked to see when this was published because what hospital lets someone smoke anywhere on the pr...more

like · see review

Jan 15, 2013 Lanica rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, reviewed

I picked this up over Christmas break because it was sitting on my MiL's table where I happened to be sitting while a football game was playing on the TV. I don't like football, so I started reading. I was surprised how quickly I felt connected to the main character. I wanted to give her a big hug and tell her she was going to be okay...even though I was afraid she wasn't.

As I read the book I liked the writing style less and less, even as I liked the characters more and more. It seemed as thoug...more

like · see review

Nov 17, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another great thriller from Scottline, and nice to have finished it on the drive down to Philadelphia for PLA Conference. Rose McKenna is a young mother who has volunteered at her daughter's school as a lunch mom because she is worried about reported teasing by other kid's. Her daughter, Melly, is in third grade and has a large birthmark on her cheek. Melly is self-conscious about it, and Rose is aware of that and worries about her fitting in. When Rose sees some other girls teasing Melly, she a...more

like 1 like · see review

Oct 03, 2012 Book Sp(l)ot rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rose is one of the volunteer lunch moms at her daughter Melinda's school on the day it happens. Lunch moms are there to help during lunch time, keep an eye on the kids, but Rose is there to keep an eye on Amanda, the girl who's been teasing Melly for the birthmark on her face. They've already moved once for the bullying Melly's endured and Rose wants to put a stop to it this time.

Rose has been talking to Amanda - after Melly's fled the lunch room following a particular incident - when the school...more

like · see review

Aug 26, 2012 Jennifer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It felt like I finished every chapter (and there were at least fifty of them....) with an eye roll accompanied by saying "ugh, this is horrible." Every chapter I debated just abandoning the book, but the thing is I was just too curious to find out what happend (not necessarily because the plot was good.... just because I am so curious and I hate the idea of investing time in a book and not knowing how it ends).

About a quarter of the way through the book, I could just sense that I wasn't going t...more

like 4 likes · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Charli Ward rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 1 like · see review

Jul 02, 2012 Judith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So, here's the plot: our heroine is the mom of a third grade girl who is being bullied at school by her classmates. Mom decides to volunteer as lunch duty monitor so she can witness first hand whether her daughter is being tortured specifically because of her disfiguring port-wine facial scar or her general Harry-Potter geekiness. When she sees the girls' meanness, she holds them back from recess to lecture them on bullying. Her daughter runs to hide herself in the restroom and an explosion rock...more

like · see review

Jun 23, 2012 Andrea rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed the beginning chapters and became enthralled with the main character, a mother who has volunteered at her daughter's school to check out a bully situation. The opening sets an action-packed scenario, and then the following chapters see the main character wallowing and finally new information appears like a bolt. While this piece is pivotal, it feels highly contrived to be an emotional yank on the reader. Then the story switches gears completely as the mother goes private eye. I was lef...more

like 2 likes · see review

Jun 12, 2012 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's really like a 3.5 stars. Save Me started out very Jodi Picoult and I thought "I am sure I have read this before" but it went in a very different and surprising direction. The premise is that Rose's daughter is being teased at school for her facial birthmark and so Rose volunteers to be lunch mom. Well as luck would have it, that day a fire breaks out in the cafeteria and Rose's daughter is trapped in a different room than Rose. Her tormentors are also trapped, closer to Rose, and there is a...more

like 1 like · see review

May 18, 2012 Suka rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book Group selection. I was hooked on this book by the end of the first chapter. Very compelling, I couldn't put it down.

Rose's daughter Melly has a facial birthmark which results in her being teased and bullied by other kids. In a brand new school, Rose volunteers as a lunch mom so she can keep an eye on Melly. When a mean girl teases her, Melly runs away to hide. Almost immediately afterwards, an explosion rocks the lunchroom and Rose has to make the decision between saving the girls in the l...more

like · see review

May 17, 2012 Kim Pratt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book! A bit unrealistic melodramatic description of the fire rescue and subsequent medical care, but intriguing moral dilemmas that made me think. I am a Mom & have been a school volunteer & an interesting point of view was presented. I also liked the commentary on the influence & interference of the media in emotional situations, & the fear & breakdown of communication caused by our litigious society. Disappointed that I lost the connect...more

like 1 like · see review

May 14, 2012 Lainy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Time Taken To Read - 1 day

Blurb From Amazon

You always put your own child first, don't you?

When an explosion rips through her daughter's school,Rose McKenna faces a horrifying choice.Does she go in search of her daughter, Melly, or save the children nearest to her first, one of whom is the bully who has been making her daughter's life a misery...

It's a split-second decision which will cost one girl dearly and will see Rose's life transformed forever...

My Review

Rose is helping out as a lunch mom...more Time Taken To Read - 1 day

Blurb From Amazon

You always put your own child first, don't you?

When an explosion rips through her daughter's school,Rose McKenna faces a horrifying choice.Does she go in search of her daughter, Melly, or save the children nearest to her first, one of whom is the bully who has been making her daughter's life a misery...

It's a split-second decision which will cost one girl dearly and will see Rose's life transformed forever...

My Review

Rose is helping out as a lunch mom at her daughters school (to keep an eye out for her daughter who is being bullied). When an explosion happens in the school Rose has to decide whether to help the girls who are making her daughters life a misery or go after and try and save her own child. What follows is lives turned upside down, some shocking secrets and everyone judging Rose for what she did or didn't do and in a small town it is never pretty.

I thought this was going to be a Jodi Picoult type book and to be honest for the first part it was, how could she choose like she did as a mother. Going over her choices, could she or would she have done it differently and of course the whole town having an opinion on it. For me the book is split into two almost separate stories, the first above and the second where it turns into a thriller type mystery with super mum as the main force behind it. Rose in the first part isn't very likable, she seems to be everybody's door mat then in the second half she becomes an unstoppable force.

I did like the first part of the story but the second half I found quite hard to believe, she goes from being a mousy quite shunned person to a brilliant detective almost, uncovering things that noone else did (sorry to be so vague but I hate spoilers). I loved the little girl Melly, she was such a sweet character and you really felt for her when she featured in the book. As always I don't like to be left hanging and all questions were answered so an on the fence half and half for me 3/5.

(less)

like · see review

May 09, 2012 Romancing the Book rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense, thriller

Posted on Romancing the Book's blog
Reviewed by~April
Reveiw Copy Provided by~She Knows Book Club

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline is a novel that will make you stop and rethink all of the ideas you may have ever had about volunteering and helping out at your child’s school or an extra-curricular activity. Not to mention it will make your heart bleed with the realization of where we are as a society.

I am not really sure how to go about my review on this one. There are so many aspects that I would love to...more Posted on Romancing the Book's blog
Reviewed by~April
Reveiw Copy Provided by~She Knows Book Club

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline is a novel that will make you stop and rethink all of the ideas you may have ever had about volunteering and helping out at your child’s school or an extra-curricular activity. Not to mention it will make your heart bleed with the realization of where we are as a society.

I am not really sure how to go about my review on this one. There are so many aspects that I would love to touch on and comment about, however I do not want to give anything away. I have read and enjoyed a few of Ms. Scottoline’s novels in the past and have always enjoyed her style of writing, this is no different. The first half of the story reminded me a lot of Jodi Picoult’s writing – the gripping and heart-wrenching issues that we face in society today, as a whole. The decisions that we are forced to make in an instant, only to have the result come back and slap us in the face in the end. If faced with the decision of saving the life of your own child or the life of someone else’s child, what would you do? This is a thought no one wants to ever think about, however it is a decision that the main character in Save Me, Rose McKenna, is faced with and the story that follows is the result of her decision.

I found Rose to be a very likable and strong character. In the beginning she is timid and does not take an overly aggressive stance in life. As the story progresses, however, it is an amazing treat to see this change and to see Rose become a very strong, resourceful and brave person. The love that she has for her family shines through and her fear of what she may face in the future rolls from the page. Rose’s husband, Leo is not overly present in the story and with what Rose faces, this seems a bit of a stretch. Granted, Leo is a lawyer and working on a big case, but if I were looking at what Rose was looking at/going through, I would expect my husband to be there for support. So for that reason, I wasn’t overly enamored with Leo. Rose’s daughter, Melly, is an absolute joy. She is the perfect representation of a young girl around the age of 8 – 10. She is in love with Harry Potter, is smart, sweet and I just wanted to wrap her in my arms and hug her. Sadly, Melly also has to face bullying and being incredibly self-conscience because of a rather large birthmark on her face. Everyone knows how mean other kids can be and this is portrayed heartbreakingly realistically within Save Me.

The fact that bullying is such a sad issue today, makes this story a perfect one for our time in society. It also touches on how people can reach out and slap anyone with just a few clicks of a keyboard, through the internet in the way of Facebook and email.

In addition to family dynamics, bullying and the issues that are faced when taking on the responsibility of helping out with a group of children, Save Me is full of twists, turns, surprises and suspense. I actually found out quite a few things that I had not known about the legalities of volunteering and assisting during school activities, field trips, etc. Honestly, it scared the crude out of me since I am always helping out with the kids on fieldtrips, etc. Scary and very sad to see what we have come to as a society.

I really enjoyed Lisa Scottoline’s writing voice and her storytelling techniques. I did find a couple of inconsistencies within the story – one being near the beginning, a beloved teacher comes to visit Melly in the hospital and on one page says that she cannot hug or come to close to Melly because she is sick. However on the following page when the teacher is getting ready to leave it says that she (the teacher) once again reaches over to give Melly a hug. Nothing major, but it broke the flow of the story for me at that time. Save Me surprised me in the aspect that it went way beyond what I thought the storyline was going to be. This, I say, in a good way. Conspiracies, cover-ups, politics and so much more came to light the further I read, making this a much more complex story than I thought it would be. So that was a delightful and added treat.

I truly recommend Save Me by Lisa Scottoline for anyone looking for a great, fairly intense and gripping story.

Favorite Quote: ”That’s what I like about Googie. We both have a spot.”…. (page 127)

“I told her she shouldn’t worry about any of her spots.”
“What does she say?”
“She says she doesn’t. Other people do.” Melly kept petting the dog, whose eyes stayed closed, fringed with red eyelashes. ”When I see her, I don’t see the spots, I just see her. And she’s beautiful.” (page 128)
(less)

like 1 like · see review

Apr 14, 2012 Lin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rose's daughter Melly has a large birthmark on her cheek, which gives the kids at school an excuse to bully her. Rose volunteers as a lunch mom (like a security guard with eyeliner!) at Melly's school, and sure enough she soon witnesses an incident between Melly and Amanda. As Melly runs off crying Rose keeps Amanda and a couple of friends back to speak to them. At this point there's a massive explosion, leaving Rose with a difficult dilemma - should she rescue the girls who are with her, or aba...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 18, 2012 April rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads

This book started with an extremely thought provoking dilemma: a parent volunteer in the lunchroom finds herself thrown into the middle of a tragic explosion. Does she save the little girl who has been tormenting and bullying her daughter first? Or does she go after her daughter?

Rose McKenna believes she makes the perfect compromise: she guides the three young girls to the hallway and tells them to run outside. She then heads to the handicap bathroom to find her daughter, Melly, who has run off...more

like 2 likes · see review

Mar 08, 2012 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: amateur-sleuth, arson, bullies, contemporary-fiction, crime, family-relationships, murder, mystery, parenthood, suspense, corporate-greed

On the day Rose volunteered at her daughter's elementary school to help in the lunchroom, an explosion in the kitchen sets fire to the school. Rose manages to get two little girls out of the lunchroom and to the hallway which leads to the playground outside, then she races back into the fire to find her daughter who was in the bathroom when the fire occurred. Initially, Rose is hailed as a hero for saving her daughters life. But then it is discovered that one of the little girls Rose had led to...more

like 2 likes · see review

Feb 06, 2012 Gloria Feit rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bullying, and shining a spotlight thereon, is heralded as the reason this novel was written, but it plays such a minor role in the story that one wonders why it is even raised, except perhaps for the widespread publicity attendant to the subject. It does occupy, along with much extraneous and superfluous background, about the first half of the book. It is not until this reader got past that point that a modicum of interest arose.

The plot is a mishmash of twisted lines. It begins with a fire in a...more

like · see review

Jan 20, 2012 Teena in Toronto rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This sounded like an interesting premise and it started out promising. After an explosion in the school's cafeteria, lunch mom Rose has a life threatening decision. Does she rescue the two girls who have been bullying her daughter who are right there or does she go find her daughter, Melly, and save her, leaving the two bullies? Rose is able to do both and becomes a hero. But things change very quickly and every resident in the small town turns against Rose and there are threats of legal action....more

like 5 likes · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
A Novel Idea Book...: Washington Post: Lisa Scottoline returns to form with ‘Save Me’	1	1	Apr 01, 2013 08:37am
A Novel Idea Book...: Chris DeBello Interviews Lisa Scottoline About Save Me	1	1	Mar 25, 2013 10:42am
A Novel Idea Book...: NYT Review	1	1	Mar 23, 2013 02:57pm
A Novel Idea Book...: Book Trailer	1	1	Mar 14, 2013 03:10pm
A Novel Idea Book...: * Discussion Questions for Save Me	1	2	Mar 14, 2013 03:01pm
Will you still volunteer at a school?	6	28	Dec 14, 2012 06:10pm

Book Club

29 users

Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

26 users

Suspense

25 users

Adult Fiction

17 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

15 users

Thriller

15 users

Adult

15 users

Contemporary

13 users

Drama

10 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Lisa Scottoline

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Save Me

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Save Me

“We can't control what people do or say, even if it's dumb.” — 4 people liked it

“She kept an eye on the horizon, or where she thought it was, and understood that not everything that existed could be seen. Not every border was clear.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Save Me
avg rating	preview: Save Me Goodreads rating: 3.52 (9880 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10440682-save-me?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1315803910l/10440682.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10440682-save-me?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Save Me by Lisa Scottoline[/url]

Save Me

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (18)

Videos About This Book

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Lisa Scottoline

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Save Me

Quotes from Save Me