I powered through the novel though and it did leave an impression. Night Road had great moments but it also had quite a few bad moments. She could've probably made the first half a little less modern in order to transition into the second half better, making it more believable but it wasn't too noticeable. Hannah's attempt to create a world that the current generation can relate to is well done. But that quickly faded (as explained above). There were moments where I felt a little sympathy for the characters, especially Jude. The concept of family also made its way into the plot, which did create an emotional tug. Night Road explores the consequences of such decisions and it's effect in the long run. Teenagers do make a lot of hasty decisions, especially on the brink of adulthood. The novel though, comes down to its message, which I felt was great. If Hannah was aiming for that response in readers she certainly succeeded. Yes, she was a protective mother and had her reasons for most things but her stubbornness and inability to let go made me want to just shake her and say snap out of it. Jude was the most annoying character, I can't even begin to explain how much I wanted to just slap her across the face via the pages in the novel (if that's possible). Mia was socially awkward and Zach had too many expectations to uphold. Both Lexi and Jude went through childhood problems, though neither the same, which affected their decisions in later life. I think Hannah tried really hard to add levels of depth to her characters but they still felt flat to me. Their tone and use of language stayed consistent throughout, which made the time jump seem a little unbelievable and made me feel a little annoyed.Ĭharacter wise, none of them really stood out to me.

It seemed like the adolescent characters were just transported into the future without really ageing. Also, the time jumps would have been more successful if the voices of the characters had changed to match their ages. There was a lot that wasn't covered, which I'd like to have known about but I guess Hannah thought it wasn't necessary.

I understand that the time jumps are necessary to quicken the plot but sometimes came across as choppy. It can be split into two halves, the first being Mia and Lexi's friendship during high school and the second their adult lives. Night Road centres around four characters, Lexi, Mia, Zach and Jude. Their lives take a turn and nothing will ever go back to how it was before. However, after the girls have a night out with Mia's brother, Zach, Jude finds that her worries over a friendship is minute compared to what she has to face. This concerns Mia's mother, Jude, at first. They become best friends immediately and Mia comes to rely heavily on Lexi. Lexi and Mia find similarities in each other despite the differences in their background.

Night road kristin hannah ending