#PBwkendread Review: Night Road by Kristin Hannah

Title: Night Road
Author: Kristin Hannah
Published: Jan. 3, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 432
Genre: Teens,YA, Young Romance
Review: Paperback from library
Buy Links: Amazon, Amazon.uk 

For a mother, life comes down to a series of choices.
To hold on…
To let go..
To forget…
To forgive…
Which road will you take?

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 safe and on track for college. It has always been easy--until senior year of high school. Suddenly she is at a loss. Nothing feels safe anymore; every time her kids leave the house, she worries about them.

On a hot summer’s night her worst fears come true. One decision will change the course of their lives. 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.
NIGHT ROAD is 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. 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.

I bought this book for like .25 at my public library and it has been sitting on my shelf just waiting for me to read it. I am now kicking myself for not reading it sooner. This book has so much gosh darn feels to it I literally cried in certain parts. 

When three friends make a bad decision it affects everyone in some way. When a little girl is caught in the cross hairs of it all just because a grandmother can not overcome her grief it breaks your heart. Though with this book you just wait for it all to come together and you hope for an amazing outcome. 

When I started reading the book the first thing that came to my mind was someone is going to get pregnant the mom is not going to like it as it will ruin college plans but yet that wasn't what ruined anything it was a night that a bad decision was made. It tore everyone that knew the person apart and when we get towards the end we see them come together though it is not an easy road. We see how Jude the mother who was amazing but overprotective beat herself up. Which as parents you know that is something we would do, we do it now when something happens to our children. We ask ourselves what if we did something different maybe that would change the outcome. We see how a family grows apart but yet comes together. We see how a young teenager/woman knows right from wrong and is willing to put a sword through her heart to do what is right, even if that means hurting herself in the process. Though we see that what hurts the most is when she sees her daughter Grace who she wanted to keep away because she didn't want her to know she was in prison being unhappy. It reminds her of herself growing up and that breaks her heart into a million pieces. 

There was so much in this book that once I started I couldn't put it down. The characters were beyond incredible, you felt what they felt. The plot was amazing, and I think the author did a wonderful job with how life was before the accident, to during the accident and even afterwards. Nothing was drawn or left out. It went together perfectly. I know I probably shouldn't read this book again as it made me cry especially when it came to Grace the little girl. You can tell her daddy and grandpa loved her but it broke my heart when her grandmother couldn't love her completely. Though I see myself reading it again just because. I highly recommend this book. Especially so for teens as they can see what happens when alcohol is involved and you don't make the right decision. I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars because it totally deserves it. 

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Kristin Hannah is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one novels, including the blockbuster Firefly Lane and #1 bestsellers Night Road and Home Front. She is a former lawyer turned writer and is the mother of one son. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii with her husband.