Title: Night Road

Author: Kristin Hannah

Publisher: Pan

Date: 17^th June 2011

Pages on Kindle: 392

Muddled Reader Rating: ☕☕☕☕☕

🔍 Synopsis

Lexi and Mia are inseparable from the moment they start high school. Though 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 – they nonetheless recognise something in each other, and Mia comes to rely heavily on Lexi’s steadfast friendship.

The summer they graduate is a time they’ll never forget; a summer of love, best friends and shared confidences. But then one night changes them forever. As hearts are broken, loyalties challenged and hopes dashed, the time has come to leave childhood behind and learn to face a new future . .

🍀 Why I Picked This Book

Having now read two other Kristin Hannah books, Winter Garden & The Great Alone, I feel as though I know what I will get. A deeply emotional book that takes me on a journey, where I will learn lessons and ultimately end up a crying mess unable to swallow without gulping! I was in the mood to put myself through such an ordeal!

🌈 Overall Feeling & Vibes

I love how Kristin Hannah writes, she is a wonderful scene setter. I can always imagine myself in her stories. Night Road by Kristin Hannah filled me with melancholy and nostalgia and a longing to go back and attempt to fix my own past. Vibes are reflective and tinged with sadness, with a touch of hope as characters learn to forgive themselves and others.

🧠 Mental Health Themes Present

🧵Unrequited love

🧵Loss & Grief

🧵Motherhood

🧵Depression

🧵Guilt and Blame

🧵Loneliness

🧵Family Dysfunction

🧵Forgiveness

💥 Moments That Hit Hard

Something happens in this story that changes everything for all the characters. I won’t spoil it, it forces them all onto a new road, an unplanned journey.

The book got me thinking about how no matter how hard we try, we cannot predict the future, so perhaps we should stop worrying about it quite so much. Jude, Mia and Zach’s mum, is described as a helicopter parent. She plans her children’s lives in minute detail, homework, grades, colleges even friends. She frets so much she doesn’t appreciate her children for who they are in the moment.

Jude’s garden is used as an indicator for her mental state in this book. It’s her pride and joy and planned meticulously, like everything else in her life. She never feels it’s good enough, no matter how perfect she tries to make it. There is a point in the book where she returns to her abandoned garden and she sees beauty in the chaos and it’s doing it’s own thing.

👥 Who Would I Recommend This Book To

I think all parents and teenagers should read this book. It’s a story that connects the two sometimes alien age groups. Teenagers might understand why parents worry like they do, they are not trying to ruin their lives, they want the best for them and to keep them safe. Parents should read it to hopefully take the same messages I have. Yes, think about the future, but don’t think about tomorrow so much you are not present in today.

📝 Final Reflections

A devastatingly sad story with uplifting moments of forgiveness and bravery.

🌿 Comfort / Distress Balance

Emotionally heavy: 💔💔💔💔💔

Hopeful elements: 🌤️ 🌤️ 🌤️ 🌤️ 🌤️

Comfort read potential: ☕☕

Muddled Reader Rating

☕☕☕☕☕