Review: Night Road by Kristin Hannah

      

Title: Night Road

Author: Kristin Hannah

Publication: St. Martins

Release Date: March 2011

Source: www.curledup.com

Rating: 4 stars

   New girl in town Lexi Baill has come to live with her grandmother’s sister after her drug addicted mother dies from an overdose.  Lexi is not expecting anything when she rides the greyhound bus into Port George, Washington, she is definitely not expecting her great aunt to automatically take her in like a long lost child, which in reality she was.

  Walking into her new home, Lexi let’s hope take flight once again in her life and is determined that this time it will not be squashed.

      The first day of school is always hard on a transplant foster child; it’s no different for Lexi except for a new boy who helps her out when no one else will and her new BFF who is just as much a loner as she is.  Lexi is happily surprised when she discovers that they are brother and sister, more than that they are twins.  And like most twins they are inseparable. 

                Zack Farraday knows that there is something special about the new girl the minute he locks eyes with her but his sister Mia has already claimed Lexi as her new BFF.  What is he supposed to do other than walk away?  No one wants Mia to experience heart ache again like she did with her last friend.  But what Zack and Lexi discover between one another is too strong to deny, so they meet in secret until Lexi can’t stand lying to her only friend anymore, they have to tell Mia about their relationship.  Not only Mia, but Zack’s overprotective mother Jude.

                When the truth comes out, Mia is alright with it after awhile; in fact the three of them are inseparable, but their mother Jude is definitely not.  She does not want her little girl to go through again the depression that had consumed her the last time she was betrayed, but no matter how many times Lexi and Zack try and tell her that circumstances are different, Jude will not be swayed. 

                Then one night of rebellion turns to tragedy in a split second.  After years of living in the small community of Port George, Lexi is stunned when the long time residents and friends turn their backs on her and is dealt the worst hand.  Lexi has tried to make something of her life, but maybe her mother’s genes are too strong to deny?

                Night Road will have you sometimes sniffing, sometimes bawling as you turn the pages of Kristin Hannah’s emotional read.  I was swept away to Port George the minute Lexi stepped off that bus into her new life; Night Road deals with harsh realities of everyday life and explores the dark side of underage drinking.  Hannah did a superb job of crafting another insightful look into an aspect of what happens when an alien component threatens a strong family bond.
            Be sure to watch the video trailer of Night Road on the publisher's website.  Just click on the title above.