I've read a few Kristin Hannah books and have never been disappointed. I read this book in two days; just couldn't put it down!

This is one of Kristin Hannah's better books. Suspenseful, dramatic, engaging - I found myself trying to find time in my day to read more. To me, that is a great book. The characters were well built, you really had a lot of empathy for all of them and I stuggled trying to feel badly for the heroine (the young girl), or the villan (the mother) - in fact, the characters were so well written that at times you wondered who was the heroine and the villan. This is a great book!

Night Road was such an amazing book. It starts out with a girl who has been in foster care for years with a drug addict mom who eventually died. Surprisingly, she has an aunt named Eva, who although didn't have much money herself, took in Lexi. Eventually, Mia and Lexi become best friends and she basically becomes part of the Farraday family. Later on, Lexi even falls in love with Zach, much to Jude's (Mia and Zach's mother) distaste. But it only takes one tragic accident to tear that all apart. The book is told in a few people's perspectives, and I'll only name two otherwise there will be spoilers. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives, because each person always had their own side of the story, and one was oblivious to how the other was feeling. Jude was really protective over her twins, maybe even a little overprotective. Her character at the beginning of the book was a strong woman. She tried her best to protect her children from doing anything wrong like drugs or alcohol, but maybe it was her protectiveness that led them to rebel against her. After the accident, she became a fragile person, she even described herself as a porcelain doll who had to be handled with care. Lexi was the opposite of rich. She lived with her aunt in a double-wide trailer, and her aunt still had to work fifty hours a day to pay for all the costs. However, Lexi was a very caring person, and she knew right from wrong, which was what led her to pretty much lose almost everything. During the first half of the book, I was really pulled in because of Lexi's family situation. With a now dead mother who was a drug addict, she must have went through tough times. I just felt bad that she went from one foster family to another, never really being loved, never really being part of the family. And suddenly her aunt takes her in, and I felt so happy for her. After the tragic accident, for the rest of the book, every time I opened it and read a few lines, I was crying. My eyes were full of tears and I couldn't even see the page in front of me. Kristin Hannah put such realistic emotions in there, describing everything with detail, the heartbreak and the depression. I couldn't even think of the book without crying, my eyes are still swelled up and red. Night Road teaches a lesson about a (unfortunately) common issue in the world, which is drinking and driving and the consequences of it. It's a story about making friends and forgiving the ones you love, no matter what. I absolutely fell in love with this book, and also with Kristin Hannah's writing.

The blurb at the back of the book doesn't do the story justice. I am not a huge fan of stories based on parent-child relationships, but this book is way more than that! It is about friendship, love and growing up. It reminds me of "Summer Sisters" by Judy Blume in its own way. Kristin Hannah creates characters that I fell in love with, and it is these characters that will keep you reading, and unfortunately crying throughout the later half of the book. As much as I enjoyed this book, I did find certain points in the plot a bit unbelievable. The transition between time is not smooth in some points, which threw me off. But that might just be my problem. Overall, this is a great book. I rarely cry over anything, but even when I cheated and scanned through the book to find out what happened in the end, I cried. And I ended up crying for those characters a second time when I read the book properly from beginning to end. I will definitely consider picking up another Kristin Hannah book after this.

If you don’t know by now, I’ll tell you: I adore Kristin Hannah. I had never heard of her until the summer of last year when I was aimlessly scouring the shelves of my local library and came across her books. After reading only one of them, I knew I had another favourite author on my hands. The funny thing about Night Road is how I acquired it. You see, when we travel, I have a tendency to go through Crazy Town and back trying to figure out what books to pack. I’m very much a mood reader and just pick up whatever takes my fancy when I read. I have choices. But when we travel, I can’t pack up all 500+ books in my home library. I also don’t want to be packing any hardcover, or overly large books in my carry-on, so I’m usually in quite the dilemma. For our last vacation, I packed about 5 books, which was pretty good for a vacation where I wasn’t planning on doing a heck of a lot of reading. By the time we were getting ready to board the airplane home – bags checked, airplane snacks purchased – I took a walk around the airport. I have a tendency to wander into bookstores whenever I see them, so when I saw the few shelves of books in one of the few shops at the airport, I went in to take a look. Of course, I already had 3 books in my carry-on at the time, having finished only 2 for the flight to our destination and during the course of our vacation. But, naturally, Kristin Hannah’s Night Road drew me in and I abandoned the books from my TBR shelf and bought this shiny new one for the plane. Awesome, huh? Lucky for me, the book turned out to be pretty amazing. Not that I would expect anything less from Kristin Hannah. Her way with words and how she gets right down to the raw, human emotion is why I stick with her. Her books draw me in like not many authors can. When it comes to Night Road, I’m sure we’ve all had that friend. You know, the one with the good-looking brother who has all the cool friends, whereas our new friend isn’t so cool, but we love them anyway because we’re not so cool ourselves. And then, as time goes on, we find ourselves in love with the brother, but not willing to give up our friendship with either in case things do or don’t work out? OK, I didn’t have that story growing up, but Lexi did. Lexi’s one of the main characters in Night Road and she comes from a broken family. Her dad died and her mother was in prison. Lexi pretty much lived in foster homes, going from family to family until one day she finds actual family who want to take her in. Forever. Once she finds this family, an aunt, her life turns around. This is a story about love, friendship, and forgiveness. It’s about how the dynamics of love can change within one day and how one stupid thing will change an entire life. Hannah leaves the reader with the question: What would you be willing to do for love? Would you risk it all? I don’t want to ruin any of this wonderful novel for any future readers, but Hannah weaved such a great story that it’s hard not to classify this as being one of her best works. The first thing I thought of while reading it was that there was so much going on, so many questions raised, that it would be a great book for a book club to read. I can imagine some very lively discussions going on. I laughed, I cried, I empathized with the characters, and when the whole world changed, I found myself completely swept away. The entire story is amazing and I could not stop reading it. In fact, I started it the afternoon we were flying and finished it the morning after (when I was home sick with a head cold). Once I finished it, I was happy to realize it was one of those books with the perfect story, the perfect characters, and the perfect ending — one that I would recommend to anyone to read.

Jude Farraday is a happily married, stay-at-home mom who puts everyone’s needs above her own including that of her happy teenage twins Mia and Zach. When Lexi Baill - a former foster child with a dark past enters their lives - no one is more supportive than Jude. Lexi quickly becomes Mia’s best friend , Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable. As the end of senior year approaches, drinking and partying become a constant and one night Jude’s worst fears are confirmed: there is an accident. In an instant, Jude's idyllic life is shattered and her close-knit community is torn apart. People, including Jude, demand justice and the finger of blame is pointed solely on eighteen-year-old Lexi. In a moment of weakness, guilt-ridden Lexi gives up everything that matters to her—the boy she loves, her place in the family, and the best friend she ever had—while Jude loses even more. Years later, as an older and wiser Lexi returns to the community, long buried feelings will rise again and Jude will finally have to face the woman she has become. She must decide whether to remain broken or try to forgive both Lexi…and herself. NIGHT ROAD is a vivid, emotionally complex novel that raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, love, and forgiveness. It is a luminous, heartbreaking novel that captures both the exquisite pain of loss and the stunning power of hope.

Jude Farraday has raised her two children, twins Mia and Zach, by being very involved in their upbringing. She has been there for every step and has helped plan their every move. The twins are bright, smart and Zach is popular. Mia is a little shyer and but when she enters high school she meets Lexi Baill, a former foster child. They become inseparable and when Lexi and Zach fall in love, everything is perfect. Senior year at high school the twins are a little more rebellious against their mother. Jude becomes more and more concerned about their well-being. And then the worst possible thing happens and there is an accident. Lexi gets all the blame and faces it with integrity. Night Road is a novel about profound loss and how it affects each member of the family. It is a story that tells about doing the right thing and the courage that takes. Forgiveness is the hardest thing in the world but love is the most lasting and hope is the most powerful. This book is an emotional read that I just couldn't put down. Loved it!!