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Night Road by Kristin Hannah — book cover

Night Road

by Kristin Hannah
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Overview

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?

                                                            Night Road

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 on track for college and out of harm’s way.  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.

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.

About the Author, Kristin Hannah

Kristin Hannah is the New York Times bestselling author of novels including Firefly Lane, True Colors and Winter Garden. She was born in Southern California and moved to Western Washington when she was eight. A former lawyer, Hannah started writing when she was pregnant and on bed rest for five months. Writing soon became an obsession, and she has been at it ever since. She is the mother of one son and lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

Stay-at-home mom Jude Farraday has reason to be proud. Her teenage twins Mia and Zach are nearing the end of high school years without having swerved off course like many classmates in their small Washington State suburban community. When former foster child Lexi Baill moves into town, Jude watches contentedly as her children befriend her. Before long, the three become inseparable friends and soon thereafter, the inevitable happens: Impressionable Zach falls in love with the new girl in town. It takes just one bad decision, however, to collapse this seemingly idyllic triangle. Can Jude come to terms with that tragedy that changed everything? A poignant follow-up to Hannah's book club favorite (and Barnes & Noble Bestseller) Winter Garden.

From the Publisher

"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

Publishers Weekly

Hannah follows up Winter Garden with a strained story of friendship, social pressures, love, and forgiveness. After a string of foster homes and the death of her heroin-addict mother, Lexi Baill is taken in by a newly discovered great-aunt who lives a spartan life near Seattle. Despite financial problems, the two are glad to have found each other, and though Lexi resolves to stay safely on the periphery at her new high school, she soon meets Mia, unhappy and awkward despite a solid family life, a loving twin brother, Zach, and a closetful of clothes. The friendship flourishes, and Mia's mother, Jude, relieved and pleased for her daughter, draws Lexi into the family circle. But trouble begins in senior year with a slowly growing attraction between Zach and Lexi, who take great pains to make Mia comfortable with the change in the dynamics. This familiar story takes an unfortunate turn deep into after-school-special territory when Lexi, Mia, and Zach collectively make a bad decision that results in a tragedy with extreme repercussions. Even readers who like their melodrama thick will have problems as Hannah pushes credibility to the breaking point, and more than once. (Mar.)

Library Journal

Hannah (Winter Garden), long a favorite in women's fiction, has written a novel that should propel her onto the book club fiction circuit. Although infused with a tad too much soap opera drama, at its heart is a story about the agonizing choices parents face daily as they try to raise their children to be happy, independent, and well-adjusted adults. Jude is devoted to her two children, twins Zach and Mia. Haunted by a distant relationship with her own mother, she is determined to give her son and daughter every possible opportunity along with an abundance of love and support. Her physician husband, Miles, is supportive but takes a more laid-back approach. Zach is one of the popular kids in high school, Mia not so much. When Mia becomes friends with Lexi, the new girl in school, things begin to look up. Then an unexpected tragedy forces several of the main characters to face a profound and life-changing event. VERDICT Not quite at the level of a Jodi Picoult or Chris Bohjalian story but awfully darn close. Longtime fans will love this rich, multilayered reading experience, and it's an easy recommendation for book clubs. [400,000-copy first printing; national tour; see Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/10.]—Margaret Hanes, Civic Center Lib., Warren, MI

Book Details

Published
January 3, 2012
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Pages
432
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780312364434

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