“Night Road” by Kristin Hannah {Book Review}

Night Road ~

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My first introduction to Kristin Hannah was the book “Firefly Lane.” Admittedly, I bought the book because of the pretty cover (as all her books seem to have, I’ve since learned). But, as I soon realized when I read the book, it was fabulous! It did take me a while to get to another book by her, though, as romance or chic lit type books aren’t usually my go-to choices.

I read “On Mystic Lake” earlier this year and, although it was really good, I didn’t love it quite as much as I did “Firefly Lane.” That didn’t bother me or sway me from Hannah’s writing at all. The first book I read by Stephen King was “The Stand” and most have paled in comparison since. 😉 However, I have read like 20 of his books, and have found most to be quite enjoyable and read-worthy.

My husband found “Night Road” for me a couple of weeks ago at Barnes and Noble. I decided to go ahead and read it instead of adding it to the “to read” pile in part because of *gasp* the pretty cover and also now because I know Hannah writes books that I actually like to read. It was a great decision as “Night Road” is perhaps even better than “Firefly Lane,” in my opinion.

While reading Night Road, I actually found myself feeling sorry for people I normally would have judged (sadly) in real life. I think that sometimes it is nice to get a glimpse into a life we just don’t know in order to learn empathy. It was really hard for me not to feel for these characters and want to fix their situations, even though I had no idea how to.

I would compare Hannah to Stephen King. You might be thinking to yourself, “What?!” To me, both Hannah and King are excellent writers. The reason for this is not so much the story (although their stories are great) but because of their character development. I really care about their characters when I read a book. I think I have read enough books to know that many writers can weave a good tale, but not all can make you care. Both King and Hannah can do that for me the majority of the time and for that reason I am an avid fan.

I loved the flow of Night Road and how it ended. I feel that Hannah reconciled the characters lives and tragedies well in the end. I was up until 4 this morning finishing this book so, if this review sounds whack… 😉 I feel that this may be Hannah’s “The Stand.” From watching Hannah’s videos on Goodreads, she states that she really has a special place in her heart for “Winter Garden” so I will probably read that soon to see if I feel the same.

I think Night Road would be great for teens to read because it deals with issues like drunk driving, young love and the repercussions of decisions we make in our youth and how they affect us the rest of our lives. Also, I believe people dealing with the loss of a loved on could greatly benefit from this book. I admit, it’s a tear jerker, so if that is not your cup of tea, you might want to steer clear.