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A Northern Light
A Northern Light
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey has big dreams but little hope of seeing them come true. Desperate for money, she takes a job at the Glenmore, where hotel guest Grace Brown entrusts her with the task of burning a secret bundle of letters. But when Grace's drowned body is fished from the lake, Mattie discovers that the letters could reveal the grim...  more »
Info icon
ISBN-13: 9780152053109
ISBN-10: 0152053107
Publication Date: 9/1/2004
Pages: 408
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 163

4 stars, based on 163 ratings
Publisher: Harcourt Paperbacks
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

swingsistert avatar reviewed A Northern Light on + 78 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
It's told from a young girl's perspective - and centers around her life growing up and a tragedy at a camp she works at in the upstate New York - set around the same events that inspired Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy. It's meant to be a young adults book (winning the Borders Original Voices Award in 2004), but as an adult I enjoyed it too - Donnelly did a fantastic job with the language of the book!

Any lover of language will appreciate the art!
Doughgirl avatar reviewed A Northern Light on + 138 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
A coming of age story wrapped around a real life mystery from 1906. It's beautifully written. Even though she has a chance to go to college, the main character is an aspiring writer trapped in her life by a promise to her dying mother to take care of her father and siblings. She had a habit of learning a new word every day from her dictionary. I loved how those words played into the storyline. Highly recommended book.
reviewed A Northern Light on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Although this book is listed as a teen book, I thinks it's more suited for adults or at least very mature teens.
MarciNYC avatar reviewed A Northern Light on
Helpful Score: 5
The murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser to write "An American Tragedy" serves as background to this wonderful young adult novel by Jennifer Donnelly.

Set amongst the Adirondacks in Upstate New York at the turn of the (20th) century, it's a delightful novel about a young girl who discovers that dreams do come true. A little bit of mystery, a bit of history and young romance are woven into this fantastic story that had me reading it cover to cover in one sitting.
sevedra avatar reviewed A Northern Light on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is the SAME BOOK as A Gathering Light. One is the British title.
Read All 36 Book Reviews of "A Northern Light"

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sevedra avatar reviewed A Northern Light on + 9 more book reviews
This is the SAME BOOK as A Northern Light. One is the British title.
thameslink avatar reviewed A Northern Light on + 723 more book reviews
Beautifully written book. Involving characters. Insight into the lives of poor rural people at the turn of the 20th century. Very enjoyable read!
fencerchica avatar reviewed A Northern Light on + 47 more book reviews
Somehow manages to flawlessly pull off several roles, being a coming-of-age drama, a feminist struggle, and intriguing mystery-adventure, all at once.

Mattie Gokey is fortunate enough to have discovered the great passion of her young life, writing. And her talent has even earned her the dazzling opportunity of a scholarship to Barnard. However, she feels reluctantly shackled to an unfulfilling and traditional rural life, caring for the family and boyfriend she loves but who all fail to understand or respect her desire to pursue a non-traditional female career. Money, too, is a concern, because if she can't afford to move to the city, the Barnard scholarship will do her little good. Before her eyes is the kind of fate that awaits her if she gives up her dreams, in the alternations of mild tranquility and miserable drudgery experienced by her best friend as she takes the socially accepted path and starts a new family in the country. In her corner is her schoolteacher mentor, quietly disapproved of by the country folk for being an independent and modern woman. When Mattie musters the courage to seize her fate by the horns, she finds herself drawn into the tragedy of another young woman whose life has been mysteriously and suddenly cut short.

The voice performance for this audio edition is really superb. The actress's voice has a wry warmth of expression in which the narrating character's alternating tones of sarcasm and compassion come across perfectly.
reviewed A Northern Light on + 3 more book reviews
A great book set in rural New York around the turn of the century. The real life mystery the is wound into the story is intriguing as well. Very real characters. A fast and enjoyable read.
reviewed A Northern Light on
Really well written book about a young women who learns that being true to yourself comes with a price and it will take courage to pay it.
reviewed A Northern Light on + 2 more book reviews
This book was good.
Gr8Smokies avatar reviewed A Northern Light on + 98 more book reviews
I bought this after reading "The Tea Rose". It's a compelling story of young girl coming of age. Enjoyable reading.
reviewed A Northern Light on + 14 more book reviews
This was a beautifully written book! It's a great page turner.
reviewed A Northern Light on + 32 more book reviews
This was a wonderful book. I really enjoyed it. I want to see what else this author has done
reviewed A Northern Light on
Loved this book & love the author's style of writing. Have read it numerous times & it is a great audio book too if you get the chance to listen. Five BIG stars!
reviewed A Northern Light on + 2 more book reviews
From the back of the book:
"Sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey has big dreams but little hope of seeing them come true. Desperate for money, she takes a job at the Glenmore, where hotel guest Grace Brown asks her to burn a bundle of secret letters. But when Grace's drowned body is fished from the lake, Mattie discovers the letters reveal the grim truth behind the murder. - Set in 1906 against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser's 'An American Tragedy', this astonishing novel weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving, real, and wholly original."

A great read!

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Mattie Gokey (Primary Character)
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