Saturday, June 11, 2011

Night Road by Kristin Hannah


It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book by Kristin Hannah.  I remember being a fan back in the 90’s so I’m not sure why I stopped reading her books.  The interesting thing is that I’ve collected several of her books over the last couple of years and just haven’t read them.  I’ll have to remedy that because I’m still a fan.

Night Road has two narrators.  The first narrator is Jude, the mother of twins Mia and Zach.  She’s a very involved mother who defines herself by her children.  When senior year begins, she knows that she has to take control of her kids, making sure they apply to the right colleges and get good grades.  She hates that they want to go to parties and cautions them about driving drunk.  She reluctantly loosens the reigns but she hates every minute of it.  

The second narrator is Lexi.  She’s a teenager who moves in with her aunt after a string of foster homes.  Lexi meets Mia the first day of high school and the two become best friends.  She becomes a part of Mia’s family even though things change when she starts dating Zach.  One night, after a party, things change for everyone.  

While the novel was sad and tragic, there was always a bit of hope.  Ms. Hannah created three dimensional characters with lovely hopes and dreams.  The story read like a saga.  I knew something bad would happen but I was shocked at the ramifications from one event.  It’s a story that will suck you right in and leave you a little worn out at the end.  I highly recommend it.

1 comment:

France said...

Kept me interested from the very beginning. Much crying at the end. Books don't generally make me cry but I really cared about these characters.