Night Road: Kristin Hannah

I picked up this book after seeing it on a Good Reads giveaway.  The plot seemed good, the characters all conflicting, and the idea innovative.

The characters are all very different and have very dissimilar views on how to cope with loss.  There is Jude, silent and stubborn, I was very annoyed with her character.  Jude did have a reason to mourn, yes, but to take it out on her grandchild?  There is Mia and Zach, Jude's twins, one whose life is cut short at a very early age and another who is more insipid in his treatment of his oldest and best friend-Lexi.  Lexi, an orphan and the twins' best friend, is the root of all of the trouble.  Though I would venture to say her part in the trouble was but a part, not the whole. 

The climax of the book comes quickly, when Mia is killed in a drunk driving car accident, the driver-Lexi.  The reader should not be so quick to judge though, Lexi was not the designated driver.  The designated driver, Zach, had gotten drunk; Lexi believed she was doing the right thing in taking over the driving because she was the least drunk of the trio.  After a drunk driving accident comes the trial, wherein against the advice of her lawyer Lexi pleads guilty.  The novel carries on from there with surprises, one of them being Lexi pregnant by Zach. 

I was surprised at the selflessness of Lexi's sacrifices in admitting her guilt (I don't think entirely deserved) and in giving her child to Zach rather than exposing the baby to jail.  She makes the best of her situation by striking up an unlikely friendship with her cell mate, who encourages her to rekindle her relationships with Zach and her baby.  Zach, off to medical school, feels some guilty, but not enough to admit his place in the trouble.  Jude continues to hold the baby at arms length and her husband works around all four of them, a doctor himself.  When Lexi leaves her jail cell the novel really takes off, addressing questions that the reader cannot truly answer and bringing about actions (mostly Lexi's) that the reader will find him/herself unable to judge. 

This novel was actually much better than I though it would be, I was able to really make a connection to Lexi and her child.  I like that drunk driving awareness blared loudly in the book, a problem that is not considered enough in society.  The author kept the novel's pace even and tempered.  I would recommend this book to young adults and adults.