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| Categories | Genre Fiction |
| Author | Kristin Hannah |
| Publisher | Griffin (January 4, 2022) |
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 416 pages |
| Item Weight | 2.31 pounds |
| Dimensions |
5.4 x 1 x 8.2 inches |
I. Book introduction
From Kristin Hannah, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the smash-hit novels Firefly Lane, The Nightingale, and The Four Winds comes a novel about how one reckless night destroys the lives of three teenagers and their families.
For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows—her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close-knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude. Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable.
Jude does everything to keep her kids out of harm’s way. But senior year of high school tests them all. It’s a dangerous, explosive season of drinking, driving, parties, and kids who want to let loose. And then on a hot summer’s night, one bad decision is made. In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything. In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget…or the courage to forgive.
Vivid, universal, and emotionally complex, Night Road 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. This is Kristin Hannah at her very best, telling an unforgettable story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart, and the courage it takes to forgive the people we love.
“You cannot read Night Road and not be affected by the story and the characters. The total impact of the book will stay with you for days to come after it is finished.” —The Huffington Post
Editorial Reviews
- “Night Road is one special book that can transform the lives of readers by influencing how they think about certain important life issues. The reader becomes a first-hand witness to the pitfalls of parenthood, mortality, heartbreak, guilt, life choices, grief, forgiveness, and much more. In short, the entire range of human emotions are explored in this…hopeful book about the triumphant power of the human spirit in the process of forgiveness.” ―New York Journal of Books
- “…movingly written and plotted with the heartless skill of a Greek tragedy, you’ll keep turning the pages until the last racking sob.” ―The Daily Mail
- “A rich, multilayered reading experience, and an easy recommendation for book clubs.” ―Library Journal (starred review)
- “Hannah masterfully details the unraveling of a family.” ―People magazine
- “Kristin Hannah is back in top form with Night Road…it will hook Hannah fans from start to suspenseful finish” ―The Seattle Times
About Kristin Hannah
Kristin Hannah (born September 25, 1960) is an American writer. Her most notable works include Winter Garden, The Nightingale, Firefly Lane, The Great Alone, and The Four Winds. In 2024, St. Martin’s Publishing Group published her novel, The Women, which is set in America in the 1960s.
Kristin Hannah was born in California. After graduating with a degree in communication from the University of Washington, Hannah worked at an advertising agency in Seattle. She graduated from the University of Puget Sound law school and practiced law in Seattle before becoming a full-time writer. Hannah wrote her first novel with her mother, who was dying of cancer at the time, but the book was never published.
Hannah’s best-selling work, The Nightingale, has sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide and has been published in 45 languages.
Hannah lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, with her husband and their son.
II. Reviewer: Night Road by Kristin Hannah
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1. MEGS reviews for Night Road
This is definitely a book I will be recommending to friends for a long time. Surprisingly, I hadn’t heard anything about this book until I went to vote on the 2011 Goodreads polls a few months ago. This book was nominated for best book of 2011, and the cover instantly stood out to me, and I think it’s very beautiful. I read the synopsis, and at first was hesitant, because the title, and synopsis seemed to give me the impression that the book would be very predictable. Definitely not the case.
Jude lives in a small town raising her twins Mia and Zack. Along with her husband Miles, they seem to live the perfect life in their perfect little community. Zach is very popular, but Mia is quite reserved. One day at school Mia meets a girl named Lexi when she discovers her reading a book she likes. She warns Lexi that being her friend is social suicide, but Lexi doesn’t care. Lexi was from a from a foster home, and has a dark past, but Jude welcomes her daughter’s new friend. Eventually she becomes like one of the family, as they all get along so well.
When I first started reading I loved the writing style. I enjoyed the fact that it changed POV between a teen and a mom. I thought that was kind of unique. The characters were great. Lexi was one of the most wonderfully written characters I have ever read about. The way she grows as a person in this book is simply astonishing. Jude was another well developed character that I could really relate to as a mom. She was over the top at times, in terms of her overbearing methods, but her heart was always in the right place. Every character in this story loves completely with all their heart. The supporting characters shined as well. The relationships between Lexi/Jude, Lexi/Mia, Lexi/Zach, and Zach/Mia were very well done.
This book has so many twists, and some are so major you wonder if you are still reading the same book. Hannah will take your emotions all over the place. One minute you will be laughing along with the family, one minute in tears, and another minute feeling angry about things that are going on. You will never be bored for a second reading this book, and I actually read it in one sitting, because I just had to know what would happen next.
I feel like this book sends lots of great messages about love, loss, forgiveness, acceptance and much more,and I feel she can send her messages in a positive way without ever sounding preachy. Night Road is an emotionally complex book, and it’s truly unforgettable. This is my first book of Hannah’s, and I will definitely be checking out more of her books!
I really think this is a book that can be enjoyed by teens and adults alike, but I do feel us moms can truly appreciate it the most.
2. TINA reviews for Night Road
This is a Women’s Fiction. This book pulled me in from the beginning. This book made me think about things so hard, and it also made me cry so hard. I had to stop reading at times because I was crying so hard. There is a big event that changes the life of all the main characters in this book, and in some way all of the main characters are in some way had a hand in what happen. I love Kristin Hannah writing, and this book did not disappoint me. This book covers something that can be very hard to read, so if you get upset by reading hard to read topics then you should look into what is in this book. I think all teenagers in high school and high school parents should read this book.
3. THERESA ALAN reviews for Night Road
I didn’t read anything about this book before I started it. I just saw the name Kristin Hannah and downloaded it. At somewhere around the 40 percent mark, my heart sunk. I had to speed read a section of it because it just got too sad. In fiction, you want to put your protagonist against some kind of challenge . . . and then things get even worse. I was silently begging Ms. Hannah not to make things any worse. She did, but she was kind enough to skip ahead so the reader knows bad stuff went down, but we don’t have to read every minute of it. I cried several times through this story, feeling terrible for absolutely every character. Hannah is such a ridiculously gifted writer.
4. ELISABETH PLIMPTON reviews for Night Road
A heartbreaking story of motherhood and the tough choices that parents and their teenagers must make. Night Road recounts a terrible tragedy and examines how loss forever changes you.
Young Lexi has had a hard life. Being the daughter of a drug addict, she spent the better part of her childhood moving around foster homes while being continuously let down by her mother. When her great aunt takes her in, she moves to Washington to start a new life. At high school she meets the Farraday family. Mia quickly becomes her best friend, Zach her first love, Jude an admired mother figure, and Miles the level-headed father in the background. Though the Farraday’s have opened their home to Lexi, Jude has her doubts about her twin’s strong connection to Lexi, worrying how it might affect her children’s future.
This novel is fast paced. Hannah’s writing is rich and descriptive transporting you into the parent’s and teen’s inner world. The first half of the book is a touching tale of young love, friendship, and chosen family. However, you can’t help but feel that something bad is looming around the corner.
When devastating tragedy strikes, blame is placed, tension develops, and each character is faced with their own guilt and grief. Your heart aches for both the family’s horrible misfortune and all the harshness Lexi experiences. The characters were developed well, having grown and learned lessons by the end. They each worked to take responsibility for their mistakes, right their wrongs, and forgive not only others, but themselves too.
Night Road is a powerful story of loss, acceptance, and redemption. The novel showed that healing requires letting go and holding on at the same time. Even if we get lost, we can always forge a new path and find a way forward. I truly enjoyed this captivating Kristin Hannah novel!
5. KIMBERLY H reviews for Night Road
First time reading anything from this author and I’m blown away. The way she writes a story so seamlessly perfect that you literally feel like you are in the book with the characters and places and things that are happening. This was one of the most emotional thought provoking and interesting books that I have read in maybe 5 or more years I can tell you one thing be prepared to cry and feel emotions that you may not have felt in a while I cried so much reading this book I couldn’t open my puffy red eyes this morning after plowing through this book in I think 2 day could’ve been one or so but story is so good so well written that getting lost in the book and the lives of the characters in it made time stand still. Definitely loved this book and now love this author and will be reading another one of her books after posting this review. Honestly, I can’t say enough about the overwhelming emotions and excellent story etc.. I’m hooked for life. Try it if never have read her books you won’t be sorry
6. JACK CHAPPELEAR reviews for Night Road
It was well written. I wish Lexi had been more emotionally sympathetic than just mentally sympathetic. She didn’t really pull at my heart until near the end when she goes to see Jude. Too much of the book I hated Jude because she betrayed her children in more ways than one, and though her son was able to take responsibility for his part, she never fully does. So many parents betray their children in ways large and small, and never take responsibility, or say they are sorry. If she had kept her word it all would have been okay. She talked about Lexi being like her daughter, family, but she wasn’t. She didn’t even think to get her a card for graduation. Also, Zack doesn’t stand up to his mother until the end. Yes he felt bad, yes he said he was at fault, but he faced no legal repercussions, not even probation.
The best part of the book is that it pulls you into it. Also, the woman who does the audiobook did an excellent job.
7. DANI reviews for Night Road
Devastatingly beautiful…
This book was a wave of emotions that I wasn’t ready for. It was beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time. I couldn’t put it down. I have to be honest here as was never a K.H.fan. I couldn’t even get through The Nightingale. I think it was the historical fiction aspect. For some reason I thought all of her books were this way. They are not. This is a must read that will have you feeling all of the things! You will love Jude, and then you will hate her and then you will love her again. Stay with it. It’s heartbreaking in the middle but it’s real. I couldn’t put it down for 2 days until it was finished. I’m now having an existential crisis now that it’s over. Kristin Hannah, you have made me a fan… now can we get a sequel please?
8. CMMACY reviews for Night Road
“Night Road” A book I want to keep forever!
Enjoyed every word on every page. I’m happy that the sadness finally subsided. There might have been a chapter or two of sadness that could have been omitted or maybe spent on elaborating about the Mother Daughter relationship but, nevertheless, it still kept me in tune with the lives of this family & how fragile they all were. I kind of knew & hoped at the same time, that the story would end like this but didn’t know exactly how I would be affected by this ending. Made me sad, made me cry & made me happy all at the same time. Truly a book that tugged at my heart & one that I hope to read again.
9. TOM LEWIS reviews for Night Road
Kristin Hannah killed it again with this book! Like the other four books of hers’ I’ve read, it’s a deeply emotional character story – this time about friendship, love, loss, and family. It centers around a high school girl named Lexi, who’s been bounced around from one foster home to another thanks to a loser drug addict mom who’s more concerned with getting high than caring for her daughter. Things begin to improve for Lexi when she’s taken in by her kindly aunt, and befriends an outcast girl named Mia, but a tragic mistake one night shatters everything. It’s a little slow and sappy at the beginning, but then it hits a surprise twist – and after that it grabs your heartstrings and doesn’t let go. While it’s not at the level of Kristin’s book, “The Nightingale,” it’s still a fantastic 5-star read.
10. BOOKSWITHPAULETTE reviews for Night Road
Beautiful, emotive haunting read – another masterpiece from Kristin
The story begins with Lexi, she has had a traumatic start to life, her mother suffered from mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse and recently passed away. Lexi was placed into foster care. In 5 years she’s lived with multiple families and attended multiple schools Lexi has never felt like she belonged or felt loved, it was so easy for her foster carers to return her like an unwanted gift.
Now she is 14 years old, Lexi’s Aunt Eva has her taken her in to live with her in Port George. Aunt Eva doesn’t have much, but she makes her feel wanted and cared for.
Lexi starts at her new school and meets Mia, they bond over their love of books. Mia and Lexi are inseparable and become best friends. Mia lives in a beautiful home and has a loving family her mother, father and twin brother Zach, a very different world to Lexi, an orphan living in a trailer with her aunt in the outskirts of the affluent Pine Island.
Senior year is approaching, Mia and Lexi are as close as ever. Lexi and Zach (Mia’s twin brother) have fallen in love, all three of them are excited for their future and making plans after college. But one night before graduation, something goes horribly wrong that will change the three young lives forever…..
This book pulls at the old heart strings, at its core is friendship, love, tragedy and learning to forgive.
It is poignant and heartbreaking, I absolutely loved this book… I couldn’t put in down and read it in one day. This is my 3rd novel from Kristin, after The Nightingale and Winter Garden….
I give it a solid 5 stars!
III. Night Road Quotes by Kristin Hannah
The best book quotes from Night Road by Kristin Hannah
“There was a beauty in chaos, a wildness that hinted at things gone wrong and mistakes overcome.”
“Why was it that pebbles looked like boulders until they were in your rearview mirror?”
“The only real answer lay in the courage to see a thing clearly and try to do better. Be better.”
“Maybe time didn’t heal wounds exactly, but it gave you a kind of armor, or a new perspective. A way to remember with a smile instead of a sob.”
“In the sea of grief, there were islands of grace, moments in time when one could remember what was left rather than all that had been lost.”
“It isn’t about being at the same school or the same town or even the same room. It’s about being together. Love is a choice you make.”
“Jude remembered this pain. Every woman had felt some version of it: the end of first love. It was when you learned, for good and always, that love could be impermanent.”
“Oh, Mia. You haven’t even begun to find out who you really are, and, believe me, other boys are going to fall in love with you. If a guy can’t see how special you are, he isn’t good enough for you.”
“It’s a promise ring,” he said solemnly. “The lady at the store said it’s what you give the girl you love. It means I want to marry you someday.”
“I look at people who aren’t us and I hate them.”
“Even as she listened to murmurs of support, she heard the relief in other people’s voices, the immense gratitude that it wasn’t their child who had died. She heard I’m so sorry until she despised those words as she had never despised anything in her life, and she discovered an anger in her soul that was new.”
“A watering system had kept everything alive; plants, like people, learned to grow in rocky terrain.”
“Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not; rather find strength in what remains behind. —WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, ODE:”
“Maybe time didn’t heal wounds exactly, but it gave you a kind of armor, or a new perspective. A way to remember with a smile instead of a sob.”
“People think love is an act of faith,” her mother said. “Sometimes it’s an act of will.”
“her daughter was here, with her, inside of her. She’d always been here, even when Jude was too broken to look for her. But it was time now to say, “Good-bye, baby … I love you.” For the first time in years, she believed that her daughter could hear her.”
“Toliko ga je voljela. Ta ljubav ne samo da joj je bila u krvi — bila je to sama krv. Nije znala imaju li svi drugi pravo kad kažu da će ta ljubav jednoga dana izblijedjeti poput stare fotografije. Odakle da zna? Znala je samo da je ljubav prema njemu ono najbolje u njoj i da bi joj bez nje srce bilo prazno.”
“A girl without a mother was a prisoner of a different kind.”
“She knew Miles didn’t understand. Last night he’d made that sound—that sigh of desperation or despair—when she couldn’t change into a nightgown. He didn’t understand how fragile she felt. If she lifted her arms, they might break off.”
“Maybe time didn’t heal wounds exactly, but it gave you a kind of armor, or a new perspective. A way to remember with a smile instead of a sob. Maybe”
“Two choices: ask for honesty and try to roll with unwanted truths or stick your head in the sand and be lied to.”
“Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. —DANTE ALIGHIERI, THE INFERNO”
“Like geese,” she whispered into the tiny, shell-pink ear, “their babies imprint on the mama in the first sighting and never forget.”
“Maybe time didn’t heal wounds exactly, but it gave you a kind of armor, or a new perspective. A”
“We are gonna be Harry and Hermione. Friends forever.”
“Was this adulthood, this pruning of dreams to be practical?”
“Aunt Eva smiled, but it was sad, that smile, and it wounded Lexi, reminded her that she was a little broken.”
“Their whole relationship seemed to be made of air, filled with nothing.”
“This stranger, this aunt, had quit smoking for her. And she’d taken Lexi in when obviously money was tight.”
“You have always loved your children too much. You care too much about making them happy.” Parenting advice from her mother. Perfect. Jude smiled thinly. “It’s impossible to love your children too much. Although I wouldn’t really expect you to understand that.”
“People think love is an act of faith,” her mother said. “Sometimes it’s an act of will. I didn’t have the strength to love you, Jude—or to show that love, I guess. I don’t know which it was, and in the end, what’s the difference? You’re stronger than I ever was.”
“When you love someone … and you lose them, you can kind of lose yourself, too.”
“I read somewhere that grief can be like breaking a bone. You have to set it right or it can ache forever.”
Excerpted from Night Road by Kristin Hannah
Night Road
Behind the Novel
How little I knew about the world, and about parenting. When my son started school, I relaxed a tiny bit. He had made it past the dangerous years–or so I thought. He had learned how to cross the street, to wear a helmet, to ask for help, to stay away from strangers. But how do you keep them safe when the danger comes from within?
Senior year of high school. The Big Year.
I wanted so much for him in that year–to love his classes, do well in his endeavors, ace the SAT, go to the prom, sign his yearbook, pick his college. All of it. I remembered how much fun I had senior year, and I wanted the same for him.
I didn’t realize how much the world had changed … and how much it had stayed the same.
It’s been five years now since my son graduated from high school, and those few years have given me a little space. I’ve gone through the empty nest and come out on the other side. Now, finally, I can look back on that incredibly difficult year and see it for what it was. See me for who I was, and see the mistakes I made along the way. And I made more than a few, believe me.In retrospect, I think we underestimate the immense pressure our kids are operating under in that last year of high school. We don’t realize how much they want to make us proud … and how much they fear failing. They’re ready to fly away from the nest, but they don’t really want to test their wings. Everything is dangerous–tests can be suddenly failed, teams can lose, application deadlines can be missed, hearts can be broken.And then comes spring. The party season.
Believe me, whatever you remember abouthigh school parties hasn’t changed. Teen parties still spring up like mushrooms in dark, quiet places, far from adult eyes. Weekend after weekend.
“How could I have been a better mother?”
For me, this became the most challenging time of all. As I said before, I am a person who researches things. I pride myself on my ability to gather knowledge. I don’t want to operate in a don’t ask/don’t tell world. I believe in honesty and transparency. Unfortunately, there’s a price to all that honesty. Sometimes your kids tell you what you don’t want to hear.
In looking back, I have tried to come up with The Answer. The right way to parent in that stressful, dangerous year. What should I have said about all the pressures he was under? How could I have been a better mother? How should I have dealt with the threat of teen drinking and driving? What’s the right answer when the partying starts?
These are the questions that started me out on Night Road. The novel is my exploration of the year that is so pivotal, both to parents and kids.It was definitely stressful. It was also exciting, exhilarating, and magical. Here’s what I didn’t know then: Everything I said to my son, he heard. I didn’t need to say it twice or underscore it or remind him. He heard it all and took what he needed. In the end, we both grew up and learned that trickiest of skills: how to let go and hold on at the same time.
….
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