Jennifer Donnelly, A Northern Light, Harcourt Inc. 2003, ISBN 0-15-216705-6 Plot Summary:
Jennifer Donnelly frames this novel with a real murder case that occurred in the Adirondacks in the early 1900s and then fictionalizes the story of the narrator, young Mattie Gokey, who is entrusted with the love letters of the dead girl. Mattie faces the struggle of what to do with the letters--should she keep her promise to the dead girl or break the promise and provide crucial evidence against the killer? Mattie also grapples with major life decisions--should she stay close to home, get married, and help her widowed father or pursue her ambitions to educate herself and become a writer? While entertaining her readers thoroughly, Donnelly also offers a meticulously researched portrayal of rural life in the early 1900s and the predicaments that an ambitious and intelligent young woman would face during this time.
Critical Evaluation:
A Northern Light is one of those rare books that has something to appeal to just about any reader: romance, murder, history, humor and class struggle. However, one of the greatest joys of reading this novel is the terrific characterization. Most of the characters are thoroughly believable, from Mattie's ne'er-do-well, hard-drinking-but-lovable French-Canadian-trapper uncle to her heartbroken father to the English teacher who plants seeds of possibility in the life of this country girl. The dialogue transports the reader to another time and place where dating is called "sparking", and a girl who is "sparking" with a boy is likely to marry him. The rich characterization and dialogue help the reader enter into rural New York in the early 1900s and the perils and thrills of life then including everything from farm-life, romance, frustrated ambitions, childbirth, and, yes, even murder.
Reader's Annotation:
Should Mattie keep her promise to the dead girl and burn the letters with their damning evidence? Or should she break her promise and reveal the killer?
Information about the Author:
In her website, Jennifer Donnelly reviews the following about herself:
| What fictional character do you most identify with? |
"I love so many characters, but there’s one character I feel especially close to – Clarice Starling. Because like her, I am – to quote Hannibal Lecter – a “well-scrubbed, hustling rube”.
| Where and how do you write? |
"I write in a room in my house in New York's Hudson Valley. I usually have a pot of strong tea and a bar of dark chocolate for company and courage. I plot and plan and scheme and dream in longhand, but I do the actual writing on my computer."
| Why do you write? |
Because I would be grief-stricken every day of my life if I couldn’t write.
Because I’m obsessed and compelled.
Because I’d be utterly useless at anything else."
Genre:
Historical Fiction
Curriculum Ties: Early Twentieth Century History, Women's History, Rural Life in the U.S.
Booktalking Ideas
Read aloud excerpts from the letters that Mattie has been entrusted with and explain that these are primary sources--Donnelly has woven these historical documents into this work of fiction.
Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 14+
Challenge Issues:
N/A
Why Included?
I included this book because it was a Printz Award winner and included many elements that appeal to me (and many others!) as a reader, namely suspense, romance, and history lessons.
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