Night Road in Baltimore County Public Library Summer Reading BCPL SRC

Dec 07, 2022 Devon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio-books, kindle-unlimited, recommend-for-robin, 2022

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I REALLY liked this book. This was the second book by Kristin Hannah that I have read so far. While I enjoyed the first one (Magic Hour) and gave it five stars, this one was even better! I can see why people are so obsessed with this author. I loved getting to know all of the characters before the tragedy. I was extremely upset for them when everything started going wrong (in a good way). And I love how it resolved itself in the end. I cannot wait to read more by this author in 2023!

I will say t I REALLY liked this book. This was the second book by Kristin Hannah that I have read so far. While I enjoyed the first one (Magic Hour) and gave it five stars, this one was even better! I can see why people are so obsessed with this author. I loved getting to know all of the characters before the tragedy. I was extremely upset for them when everything started going wrong (in a good way). And I love how it resolved itself in the end. I cannot wait to read more by this author in 2023!

I will say that I listened to this as an audiobook through the Kindle which scrolls through the text in sync as the audio plays and that some of the wording differed between the written text and audio. Most of the time when I did notice the differences (which was surprisingly a lot, despite me rarely looking at the written text while the audio was going) it was mostly small things- like referring to Charlotte as “Jude’s Mother” in the audio while in the text she is referred to by name. Changes that would mean the same exact thing, just with slightly different phrasing. But I did happen to notice one particular change that felt (to me) quite significant. I felt like it helped to alter the reader's opinion of Jude because it was such a messed up thing for Jude to say. In the written text it said “Jude thought about telling him about Mia’s last decision to go to SCC with Lexi and Zach, but what was the point? It would only hurt him more to learn how much Mia loved him.” But the audio added a line that the text didn’t have… “and Lexi deserved to be alone after this.” I actually noticed it because I rewound to listen again because I thought it was an extremely fucked up thing for Jude to say this and I was going to comment on it in the little commentary I had going. I am really curious as to why these changes happened.

Random thoughts while reading...
- 33% The obvious solution is for Lexi to go to a community college near USC and they can all get an apartment together. Zach can either go with Lexi to the community college or USC with his sister- either way, he is there to emotionally support his sister. And they are all together.
- Jude is over here calling Lexi selfish? She didn’t do anything. She didn’t ask Zach to not leave. She was going to silently, sadly accept it. And she’s been an amazing friend to Mia. Lexi helped Mia come out of her shell. And these people all expect Zach to just follow Mia where Mia wants to go. What about what Zach wants? No one even asked him. This whole thing has been all about Mia. HE is the one who actually wants to do something with his life- to become a doctor. Mia wants to go to school for acting. She will probably wind up being a stay-at-home wife/mother like Jude. What does it even matter where she goes to school.
- 39% I was holding it together remarkably well until Miles said he was going to be in the viewing area while they disassemble his daughter for parts… “She won’t be alone”. I can’t even imagine what that would be like. I can’t imagine having the strength to do that. I officially can’t listen to another minute of this book while in public. Time to swap to something else temporarily…
- 42% I’ve noticed that some of the audio doesn’t quite line up with the words written (thanks to kindle unlimited’s method of scrolling through the text as the audio is playing). Most of the time it has been something small- like referring to Charlotte as “Jude’s Mother” in the audio while in the text she is referred to by name. I’m sure I haven’t caught most of the variations because I do not often watch the words scroll by while listening, but I did happen to notice this one, mainly because I rewound to listen again because I thought it was extremely fucked up for Jude to say this and I was going to comment on it in this little commentary I have going… in the written text it says “Jude thought about telling him about Mia’s last decision to go to SCC with Lexi and Zach, but what was the point? It would only hurt him more to learn how much Mia loved him.” But the audio adds a line that the text doesn’t have… “and Lexi deserved to be alone after this.” What an awful fucking thing to say. Jude was a selfish (for her family) bitch to begin with, but this puts her at a whole other level. Her son admitted that Lexi didn’t want them to drive. He said that Lexi advocated for calling home. Yes, Lexi did relent and get behind the wheel when she should have known better, but that just means she is only partly to blame. Equal blame lies on both Zach and Mia. Maybe more on Zach since he was supposed to be the designated driver (and he was reminded of that fact several times by Lexi).
- 78% This book is making me so angry. They are painting Lexi as song druggy ex-con. She was buying Valium after she had to give up her daughter after having just accidentally killed her best friend. Meanwhile, Jude has been living in a prescribed drugged-out haze. How are they any different?
-This book reminds me of Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover. ...more

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Apr 22, 2020 Laura Novobilsky rated it liked it

Liked it. Probably 3.5 stars. Quick read. Started a little slow for me, but definitely picked up. Followed the typical formula - characters having a good, predictable life; tragedy hits; everything is ruined; things all work out in the end.

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Aug 09, 2011 Theresa rated it really liked it

This story centers around twins Mia and Zach as they grow up and eventually Lexi, who becomes Mia's best friend and eventually Zach's girlfriend as they enter the teenage years. One night the police arrive at the door of the twins' parents with dreadful news that changes everyone's lives. The rest of the book focuses on love, the pain of loss, and forgiveness. This book makes you wonder what you would do or how you would feel in the same situation. I highly recommend it. ...more

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Feb 09, 2014 Ellon rated it really liked it

This was a pretty good book. I think I actually liked it better than the other Kristin Hannah books I've read.

The characters did annoy me at times. Especially in the middle of the book. All of the characters were so selfless that it was a little unbelievable.

I liked the ending, I was anxious to keep reading. However, I think the loose ends were tied up too quickly and it seemed a little abrupt. ...more

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