A review by snipinfool
Night Road by Kristin Hannah

dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Farraday twins, Zach and Mia, had two loving parents and few struggles in life. Lexi Baill had a very different childhood. She spent much of her life in the foster care system until her high school years when a great aunt had been found who was happy to have Lexi live with her. Lexi knew the first day of high school would be hard. She had been the new kid many times. Mia had one difficulty in her life. She found it hard to make friends she could trust. Mia and Lexi met each other during lunch when Lexi saw Mia eating alone. They realized they had things in common and became friends. Because Zach and Mia did most things together, Lexi was his friend as well. Throughout their high school years, Zach, Mia, and Lexi were together often. Jude, Mia’s and Zach’s mother, took Mia under her wing and happily included her in events that a mother would normally do. The kids’ senior year brought new and exciting changes. College, potentially leaving home, and possibly admitting a crush one had carried for years were things they thought about. A tragedy changed everything in an instant and altered any plans they had made.

This was a hard review to write. So much happened in this book from multiple points of view. I could understand where each person was coming from after the tragedy. I didn’t agree with some of the choices made, but I understood them. I was so angry with Jude. As a mother, I felt she grossly overstepped boundaries. Miles, the twins’ father, was very patient and loved his family very much. I was impressed with his devotion. I don’t want to spoil the book by discussing the teens, but what happened was heartbreaking and sobering. Kristin Hannah had to have spent a great amount of time thinking about how each person was affected and her words brought the story straight to the reader’s heart. I could not help thinking how I would have reacted. Would I have remained sane or clear-headed? This was another one of Ms. Hannah’s beautifully crafted stories.
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