Night Road by Kristin Hannah

People on the island still talk about what happened in the summer of 2004. They sit on their bar stools and in porch swings and spout opinions, half-truths, making judgements that aren't theirs to make. They think a few columns in a newspaper give them the facts they need but the facts are hardly what matter.

Lexi and Mia are inseparable from the moment they start high school. Different in so many ways - Lexi is an orphan and lives with her aunt on a trailer park, while Mia is a golden girl blessed with a loving family and a beautiful home. Yet they recognise something in each other which sets them apart from the crowd and Mia comes to rely heavily on Lexi's steadfast friendship. Something which, at first, worries Mia's mother, Jude.

Mia's beloved and incredibly good-looking twin brother Zach finds life much less complicated than his sister. Jude thught she'd never have to worry about her son, that he would always sail through life easily achieving whatever he, and his family, wanted and expected - but then he fell in love.

The summer they graduated is a time they will always remember and one they could never forget. It is a summer of love, best friends, shared confidences and promises. Then one moment changes them all forever. As hearts are broken, loyalties challenged and hopes dashed the time has come to leave childhood behind and learn to face their future.

I recently read The Nightingale by this very talented author which I thought was a fantastic read so I came to this book with very high expectations. To be honest, I found the beginning of the book very predictable but then an event happens in the plot which had me gripped to the very end.

What I think really sets Ms Hannah apart is the way in which she focuses her story line almost completely around the characters. Through dialogue and narrative she fleshes them out to the point that, as a reader, I almost felt I knew these characters and was emotionally caught up in their lives.

It is a sad story which deals with privilege and deprivation, the consequences of love in all it's forms and the huge part that forgiveness of ourselves and others has upon us.

I didn't enjoy this as much as I did The Nightingale, but it was worth reading not only by adults but I think mature teenagers would also get alot from this book.

ISBN:  978 0330534970

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

About the Author:

Kristin Hannah is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one novels, including the blockbuster Firefly Lane, 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.