"Night Road"

"Night Road" is a novel by Kristin Hannah and it has been a while since I've read one of her books.  I found this one on the library's "best picks" shelf and am glad I checked it out.  Hannah is a great writer who brings characters to life and I become totally engrossed in the world she creates.  Hannah has written a number of bestselling novels and you can visit her web site at www.kristinhannah.com.

"Night Road" is mostly the story of the Farraday family - Dr. Miles Farraday is a surgeon and his wife, Jude, is a stay at home mother to their twins - Mia and Zach.  Jude is the ultimate hovering "helicopter" mom who has a successful life planned for her children complete with where they'll attend college.  Although the twins are very close, Zach is the outgoing one while Mia is shy and lets her brother steal the limelight.  Jude is the perfect mom doing all the things she thinks perfect moms do -- chaperoning, baking, making a home that is welcoming to all their friends, the "hostess with the mostest!" 

The other side of Jude is the daughter who lost a father she loved dearly and, when her father died, she also lost her mother emotionally.  Her mother is a successful businesswoman and their regular meetings are controlled and stilted.

Into this perfect family comes a newcomer to town, Lexi Baill, who had a mother who was the opposite of Jude.  Her mother was in and out of trouble and prison and into drugs and alcohol so Lexi spent most of her life in and out of foster homes until it was discovered she had an aunt in the Pacific NW who was willing to take her in.  On her first day at her new school, Lexi does what she always does -- tries to not be noticed.  However, she does notice another girl eating lunch on her own outside and strikes up a conversation with this loner - Mia.  They become fast friends and Jude is so happy for the friendship Lexi has given Mia that she welcomes her into their family, too.  Lexi is loved and cared for by her aunt who doesn't have a lot of money and she is also loved and cared for by Jude and her family.  There are some differences -- Lexi has a job after school because her dream is to go to college and she needs to save money for tuition while Mia and Zach will have their education paid for by their parents.

As they mature, Zach and Lexi fall in love and at first it threatens the friendship Lexi has with Mia -- something she doesn't want to put at risk.  However, they're able to get past that and all three are enjoying their senior year and round of parties but everything changes one night and the Farradays and Lexi will never be the same again.

Their lives are filled with grief, fear, pain and it seems almost impossible that their love for one another will survive.  Hannah writes with such realism that it's hard not to have empathy for what this family is going through.  Will they be able to survive?  You'll have to read the story to discover that and I highly recommend that you do...pazt