My letter “N” pick for this year’s A to Z Reading Challenge was NIGHT ROAD by Kristin Hannah. This book flooded my emotions and wrung me dry. What a ride. This is one of those books that you finish, then call up your friend and say, “this book broke my heart and had me screaming with rage, then tore me into pieces and used peanut butter to put them back together again. You MUST read it!”

NIGHT ROAD is a novel, first and foremost, about forgiveness of yourself, and of others. It’s about understanding that life isn’t always fair, doesn’t always make sense, and good people can make terrible mistakes with life-altering consequences.

The story is told from three points of view – primarily Lexi, a teen girl sent to live with a distant relative when her mother dies of a drug overdose, and Jude, the mother of Mia and Zach, teen twins that befriend Lexi. Later, we see a few chapters from Grace, another character that I won’t spoil with an introduction. Jude’s loving family and well-off lifestyle are nothing like the rough, neglectful world Lexi grew up in, yet she’s welcomed with open arms by the family (and by the hardworking aunt who took her in). Lexi, Zach and Mia are close friends through high school, and senior year, Zach and Lexi finally confess their feelings for each other and become a couple.

Just before graduation, tragedy strikes and completely upends the worlds of all parties in the story. Watching them all work through the aftermath is frustrating, devastating, and finally richly rewarding. My only complaint (and the reason for a 1/2 star deduction) is that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked a little more happily-ever-after when it was such a long, hard road to get there.