I thought it was a good book but the editing could have been done better. There were some instances where a word was omitted from a sentence which changed the entire meaning of what the author was conveying. In a couple of other areas, a minor detail was left out which didn't make sense when it was mentioned later in the paragraph. Otherwise, I enjoyed the book. The premise was pretty good and I was not disappointed at the ending. ( )

Motherhood

Being a mom was all consuming to Jude. She had twins, a boy and girl. She was that mother who did everything-PTA, baking cookies, arranging parties, taking her kids to school and picking them up. Her house was the place for all the kids? friends came to hang out. Only, her daughter Mia had trouble making friends. Than Lexi moves in with an aunt she never knew she had. She had spent her life moving from one foster home to another and at times with her drug addicted mother. She was not looking forward to another new school. Then she went up to Mia at lunch and the two hit it off and became best friends. She became a part of Mia?s family. She had feelings for Mia?s brother, Zach, but never acted on them until one night after a party in which Zach drove her home. Senior year begins and there are lots of parties with people drinking and doing drugs. A final party right before graduation finds the three of them troubled, but Zach says he will be the disignated driver. All three of them have been drinking. They should have called Jude to pick them up, but decided that Lexi would drive, as she was the least inhibited. Less than a mile from home, Lexi loses control of the car and they hit a tree. Mia ends up dying and Zach has some broken bones and burns on his face. Lexi is the least injured. Jude is devastated and in a deep depression. Charges are brought against Lexi and ends up spending 7 yrs in prison. She also learns she is pregnant with Zach?s child and gives up her rights to the little girl up her birth. From there we see the suffering of all involved and the toll this takes on everyone, including the child. Once Lexi is released from prison, she returns to this town to see if her daughter is the happy girl she expects. Instead she finds a girl like her with no friends and a grandmother who is not capable of loving her. Kirkus: Kirkus logo SIGN IN Profile Picturekirkus nav logo Book Reviews News & Features Kirkus Prize Magazine Writers' Center More Profile Picture search Like Counts 0 Share via Facebook Share via Twitter Share via Email Print Reviews FICTIONNIGHT ROADshop nowbookshelfNIGHT ROADby Kristin Hannah RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2011A flawed but never dull drama.A disadvantaged teen finds friendship, acceptance and love with a prosperous Seattle-area family, until a tragic accident changes everything.Alexa (Lexi) Baill, daughter of a heroin addict, has bounced around the foster-care system for years. A long-lost great aunt, Eva, a Walmart employee, offers Lexi a home in her trailer across the bridge from Pine Island (Hannah?s fictional stand-in for Bainbridge Island) near Seattle. At Pine Island High School, Mia, daughter of Jude and Miles Farraday, and twin sister of Zachary, considers herself an outcast. She bonds instantly with the equally alienated Lexi. Soon, the Farraday?s opulent Pine Island residence is Lexi?s second home. As senior year approaches, Lexi and Zach fall in love and are relieved that Mia approves. Jude, whose days are a pleasant whirl of caring for her elaborate garden and being a supermom, has a strained relationship with her own mother. As seniors, Zach, Mia and Lexi can?t avoid Pine Island?s teen party scene. One foggy night, Zach and Mia get falling-down drunk, and Lexi, less inebriated, urges Zach to let her drive his Mustang home. (The question of who actually drove is left vague, which dodges several moral bullets, to the story?s detriment.) On a hairpin curve, the Mustang spins out and crashes. Mia is thrown from the backseat and killed. Zach and Lexi sustain milder injuries, but Lexi?s blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit, and she accepts the blame for killing Mia. Jude turns against her implacably. Lexi, unwilling to burden Eva with the expense of a trial, pleads guilty to vehicular homicide and serves over five years in prison. While incarcerated, she gives birth to Zach?s child, Grace, and relinquishes her to the Farradays. Grace bears such an uncanny resemblance to Mia that Jude finds it almost impossible to warm to her. Released from prison, Lexi returns to Pine Island, only to find that her daughter is as isolated and distrustful as any foster child. A flawed but never dull drama.

Because of the ham-fisted characterisations I almost abandoned Night Road. I couldn’t believe in the cast: the Stepford Wife-like perfect mother, the supporting wonderful husband, the super-caring brother / lover, the snowflake daughter who everyone must pussy-foot around, the great-aunt who lives in a trailer but opens her arms wide to an orphan without a hint of worry. The orphan who has suffered terribly but behaves perfectly when taken in.

These are fairy-tale one-dimensional characters, that undermined an interesting plot. Not helped by a lot of repetition, and a prison-life depiction gleaned from t.v. dramas. The actual premise was an interesting one, and I could imagine an author like Jodie Picoult making the central dilemma & the complex subject of grief/guilt/punishment/forgiveness far more profound & moving.

Largely an irritating read, redeemed by the last few chapters. ( )

A little slow. 3* ( )