Module 10/SLIS 5420: Historical Fiction

A Northern Light

by Jennifer Donnelly



2004 Printz Honor Book
2003 Carnegie Medal
2003 Los Angeles Times Book Prize
2004 ALA Best Books for Young Adults






Summary

Sixteen-year-old Mattie has just been accepted into Barnard College for her exceptional writing talent. However, she is doing all she can to make ends meet for her widowed father and struggling family; Mattie promised her dying mother that she would take care of her father and four siblings. The handsome but uneducated Royal Loomis has also convinced her that she must marry him and remain in her rural community. While working as a waitress at the Glenmore Hotel, a young woman instructs Mattie to burn a stack of letters. The young woman is murdered by her young lover, and Mattie reads the letters instead. Through a series of flashbacks and intertwining stories, Mattie realizes that she needs to live her own life and continue on to college.

My Impressions

A Northern Light is a beautifully written account of a young girls' coming of age. Mattie must make some serious decisions about the quality of life she must choose for herself. The letters of the murdered Grace Brown are intertwined throughout the story, and through reading them, Mattie is able to put her own life in focus. The narrative captures the dialect and personalities of the North Woods characters and weaves a beautiful tale about a girl who discovers that she possesses admirable talents that deserve to be fostered.

Reviews

Mattie Gokey, 16, a talented writer, promised her dying mother that she would always take care of her father and younger siblings.... In 1906, Grace Brown was killed by Chester Gillette because she was poor and pregnant, and he hoped to make his fortune by marrying a rich, society girl. Grace's story weaves its way through Mattie's, staying in the background but providing impetus. The protagonist tells her tale through flashback and time shifts from past to present.... Donnelly's characters ring true to life, and the meticulously described setting forms a vivid backdrop to this finely crafted story. An outstanding choice for historical-fiction fans, particularly those who have read Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy.
Lisa Prolman, Greenfield Public Library, MA for School Library Journal, 2003.

Donnelly's first YA novel begins with high drama drawn straight from history: Grace Brown's body is discovered, and her murder, which also inspired Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, is the framework for this ambitious, beautifully written coming-of-age story set in upstate New York in 1906. Sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey is a waitress at the Glenmore Hotel when Brown is murdered... In an intelligent, colloquial voice that speaks with a writer's love of language and an observant eye, Mattie details the physical particulars of people's lives as well as deeper issues of race, class, and gender as she strains against family and societal limitations. Donnelly adds a crowd of intriguing, well-drawn secondary characters whose stories help Mattie define her own desires and sense of self. Many teens will connect with Mattie's deep yearning for independence and for stories, like her own, that are frank, messy, complicated, and inspiring. Gillian Engberg for Booklist, 2003.

Activities

This would be a good candidate for a book talk. Include a short summary of the murder of Grace Brown and the subsequent trial and execution of her lover. Read a few passages of her letters; focus on some of the more poignant or sensational passages. Add an enticing introduction to Mattie's character and her interaction with Grace Brown.

Bibliography

Donnelly, Jennifer. A Northern Light. Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt Publishing, 2003. ISBN: 0152167056