night road

Night Road, by Kristin Hannah


I received an advanced readers' edition of this book, and I COULD NOT put it down!! It was very hard to stop reading in order to function as a normal human. (Go to bed, go to work, etc.) I found myself sitting at my desk, wonder what Lexi was doing while I was there working....


From the publisher: For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows—her twins, Mia and Zach—are bright and happy teenagers.  When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude.  Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend.  Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable. 
  

Jude does everything to keep her kids on track for college and out of harm’s way.  It has always been easy-- until senior year of high school.  Suddenly she is at a loss.  Nothing feels safe anymore; every time her kids leave the house, she worries about them. 

On a hot summer’s night her worst fears come true. One decision will change the course of their lives.  In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything.  In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget…or the courage to forgive.

Vivid, universal, and emotionally complex, NIGHT ROAD raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, love, and forgiveness.  It is a luminous, heartbreaking novel that captures both the exquisite pain of loss and the stunning power of hope.  This is Kristin Hannah at her very best, telling an unforgettable story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart, and the courage it takes to forgive the people we love.

Half way through the book I found that I needed to keep my box of Kleenex handy. As sad as I was, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know how Lexi was going to keep going, and what was going to happen to the Farraday family. 

I really love how the author was able to make the characters so real. I felt like I was friends with all of them, that I knew all about their lives, just from what I was able to read. I have read one other book by this author, Firefly Lane, and I think I'm going to have to add her other novels to my list!

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, by Heidi W. Durrow

From the Publisher: Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I., becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy after a fateful morning on their Chicago rooftop. 

Forced to move to a new city, with her strict African American grandmother as her guardian, Rachel is thrust for the first time into a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring a constant stream of attention her way. It’s there, as she grows up and tries to swallow her grief, that she comes to understand how the mystery and tragedy of her mother might be connected to her own uncertain identity. 

This searing and heartwrenching portrait of a young biracial girl dealing with society’s ideas of race and class is the winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.

This book was just captivating, from start to finish it took me less than 24 hours! It was told from a few different character's points of view: Rachel, her mother's boss (Larone), her mother's journal entries (Nella), and Jamie/Brick. Rachel is forced to move to Portland after her mother and her family jump from the rooftop in Chicago. She has to begin life in a new city, in a new school, and what essentially is a new life and identity. I really liked how the author was able to make you feel just what Rachel was feeling, it was like she was one of your own friends and you were living the change yourself. 

Jamie lived in the apartment building that Nella and her family lived in, and he saw what he thought were birds falling from the sky the day of the accident. Turns out it wasn't birds. He lived with a drug-addicted mother who didn't seem to have a clue as to what was going on. He decided to create a new identity for himself when a report asked him about the accident. He met up with Rachel's father in the hospital, and once he heard the story of her father, he knew he had to let Rachel know what had happened. At a young age he became a runaway and eventually ended up in Portland too.

Larone was Nella's boss and was charged with cleaning up the apartment after the accident. You don't really learn a whole lot about her, but you learn enough to know that she was a compassionate lady.

You learn about Nella through her journal entries. You learn of her history with Rachel's father, and the turmoil she faces internally, knowing that she has bi-racial children in a society that doesn't always accept them.

As I said, I really enjoyed this book.  Part of me hopes that the author will write a sequel of sorts, to let us know what happens to Rachel as she gets older. I'd also like to know more about Brick and what happens with him.  This book will be featured in August in the Algonquin Book Club, where Heidi will be interviewed by Terry McMillan.  Feel free to join in at a club meeting near you, or even through the webcast! If you'd like to read an excerpt of the book, you can do so here. Thank you to Workman Publishing/Algonquin for sending me the copy to review!

Pictures of You

Pictures of You, by Caroline Leavitt


From the publisher: Two women running away from their marriages collide on a foggy highway, killing one of them. The survivor, Isabelle, is left to pick up the pieces, not only of her own life, but of the lives of the devastated husband and fragile son that the other woman, April, has left behind. Together, they try to solve the mystery of where April was running to, and why. As these three lives intersect, the book asks, How well do we really know those we love—and how do we forgive the unforgivable?


This was one book that I just couldn't put down! I had to force myself to stop when my lunch break was over. I kept wanting to know what would happen, as if it would keep going if I wasn't sitting there reading the book. 


It started it out with Isabelle driving away from her husband, from a life that she no longer lived. Unfortunately, a thick fog came in, and she ended up in a horrific accident. She ended up returning to the town she had just left, trying to figure out a life, sorting out here feelings for Charlie (husband of the woman she killed) and Sam (the son). I found myself cheering for Isabelle, then becoming angry with her decisions. I wanted to shake her, then I wanted to just sit and talk and tell her I sympathized. I appreciated how photography took a role in this book, perhaps because I've been more interested in taking pictures lately. While the ending and I didn't necessarily agree, I cannot complain. I mean, you can't control the way life leads all the time either, right?


I really do recommend this book, and I look forward to picking up other books by Ms. Leavitt when I have some free time.


Special thank you go Michael from Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill for allowing me to read this title!