Most Helpful Customer Reviews
61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great Hannah Novel, March 22, 2011
I thought the author's writing style was very descriptive and vivid. Her tone was conversational and engaging.
Night Road introduces us to a young woman named Alexa "Lexi" Baill, who was a product of a heroin addicted mother. She was in and out of various foster homes until a great-aunt named Eva Lange came to claim her. I knew this book would leave me in tears when Lexi met her great-aunt for the first time and said "If you keep me, you won't regret. I swear it." I knew then that this young woman was going to captivate me.
After four days in her new home in Port George, Washington, she makes her first friend Mia Farraday, an outcast, like herself. Mia was the twin sister of Zach Farraday, a popular jock who dragged Mia along in order to try to help her fit in. Soon the three of them become a packaged deal of sorts, going everywhere together, and sleepovers at the Farradays etc.
Jude Farraday became the mother that Alexa always wanted, but never had. Jude Farraday was slightly neurotic when it came to parenting. She insisted on walking her high school kids to their lockers, checking home work, chaperoning all school dances etc.
This book weaves a story about teenagers pushing boundaries, learning responsibilities, making choices and living with the consequences of those choices. It was heart wrenching when I realized that they were going to drive home drunk that fateful night. I knew the consequences would be quite severe and it was.
I loved the easy friendship between Mia and Lexi--the way they accepted each other after experiencing so many rejections in life. I loved how Zach and Lexi fell in love and how Mia ultimately accepted their love. I also loved how hard Zach worked at protecting Mia in all things. This book is about relationships with siblings, parents, and lovers. It reminds me that sometimes in life one bad decision can completely alter the path of your future. Drinking and Driving is always a bad choice, but forgiveness can be a healing comfort.
The author told a wonderful story about acceptance, love, anger, loss and ultimately forgiveness. I was rooting for everyone. I really think Miles Farraday and Eva Lange and the attorney Scott were the unsung heros in this book. I don't want to give it all away but they were the supporting cast that held the primary characters together.
I LOVED THIS BOOK and I wish I could give it more stars
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Amazing, March 23, 2011
When I first heard of this book a few months back, I just knew I had to read it. The premise sounded amazing, the cover was eye-catching, and Kristin has received plenty of praise. Therefore, when the chance finally came to read Night Road, I jumped right in, devouring it in one long sitting, as Night Road was simply fantastic. Full of likeable and complex characters, star-crossed romance, and tension, this one read had me flipping the pages as fast as humanly possible.
Night Road tells the story of Lexie Baill and the Farraday family. For Jude Farraday, her whole life has been dedicated to her family- specifically her two twins Zach and Mia. However, while Zach is the king of his grade, Mia has always failed to the wayside. Everything changes when Lexie moves to town during the twin's freshman year of high school, though. Scared yet brave, Lexie quickly finds herself part of the Farraday family- another daughter to Jude, a best friend to Mia, and possibly "something more" to Zach. As the years continue, the bond only grows strong...until one horrific accident. Faced with sudden and bone chilling tragedy, everything changes between them all, landing one in jail and the rest in emotional distress. Will they all be able to begin living again? Will they be able to forget and move on before it is too late to do so? Will everything get worse or better in the end? Only time and more pages will tell in this heart wrenching tale of love, hope, and forgiving as well as moving on.
Out of everything in this book, I have to say the characters are most likely my favorite aspect. Complex yet loveable, the main characters found in this one where one is who stories caught me from the very first page and kept me until the very last. Specifically, I loved the bonds that developed as the novel progressed. Ones between family, friends, and boyfriends/girlfriends- all were present and in full string. There was the one between Mia, Zach, and Lexie. Complicated as it was, it was easy to see just how much these three loved and adored each other and how far they would go to make the others happy. There was also the one between families, showing how while love is important, sometimes it cannot save everything. However, the thing I loved most about these characters was that they were real. Lexie, Zach, Mia, Jude, and Miles all made mistakes, but they learned from them and improved upon them- even if it did take a long time to do so. More importantly, when faced with tragedy, they grew strong, though in a way that was believable.
Moving on, another part of Night Road I found enjoyable was the plot and the execution. Full of twists and turns to keep nearly any reader enthralled with the story at hand, I truly never lost interest, not even once. As I was constantly rooting for the characters on their journey's, sitting on the edge of seat, eating up every word, curious to see what road block would pop up next.
Making everything even better was Kristin Hannah's writing. Hannah is one talented storyteller to say the least. She knows how to balance the sad scenes with the funny scenes. More importantly, she knows how to not only bring the characters to life, but also have the reader become dedicated to their stories.
Nearly perfect, reading Kristin Hannah's Night Road is the perfect way to spend a day, in my opinion. Though, word of warning: this is one story you will need a box of tissues for it, as it left me- miss-never-ever-cry-with-about-book-tearing up in some spots.
Lastly, while this book is technically labeled as adult, it still has plenty of great crossover appeal because the majority of the story takes place in Lexie's voice when she is a teen.
Grade: A+
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
After school special, April 26, 2011
This is a difficult book to categorise. Amazon classifies it as a physiological thriller, but there's little suspense and no spine-tingling action here. The promo blurb proclaimed it to be haunting, which is a bit of an overstatement. Still, Night Road is an engrossing read; I stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish it.
The narrative is told from two different viewpoints, one an orphan teenage girl, the other an upper-class overprotective mother. As a result, the book reads like a cross between chick lit and young adult romance.
The storyline covers a lot of territory, touching on friendship, familial bonds, parenting, underage drinking, premarital sex, justice, recompense, debilitating grief, and forgiveness. Such a plethora of topics, combined with a polished writing style and vivid characters, make Night Road an appealing choice for book clubs.
Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious from the first chapter how the plot will pan out: A friendship is strained by a secret love and then there's a tragic accident. It feels like one of those old after school specials
I had a hard time relating to many of the characters. The Farraday family comes across as shallow silver spooners. The mother in particular is grating. Indulgent and yet controlling of her children, she ends up being vindictive and completely self-centred, traits that are also evident in her children.
A good portion of the book deals with devastation and on-going grief. Kristin Hannah handles the subject matter skilfully and compassionately. However, the fairy tale ending feels completely wrong. It's far too simplistic, which is a real letdown after all the story's emotional complexity.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
