Skip to main content

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly


Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Historical

Release Date: 2003 (was also a 2004 Printz Honor book)

About the Book: Sixteen-Year-Old Mattie is trying to hold her family together after her mother has passed away. Mattie struggles with her responsibility to her family and her passion for writing and wanting to escape the farm. When she gets a summer job at a lodge on Big Moose Lake, she meets a young woman named Grace Brown who tells Mattie to burn her letters. When Grace shows up dead in the lake, Mattie begins to read Grace's letters and pieces together not only Grace's murder, but her own life and what she must do.

GreenBeanTeenQueen: Sometimes there are books that draw you in so completely to the story and the characters you don't want to let go. This was one of those reads. I loved this book.

A Northern Light is a richly layered character driven novel that is a joy to read. The great thing about Jennifer Donnelly is that I never felt she bogged down in the details as some writers do, especially when it comes to historical fiction. I would give this one to readers who might shy away from that genre because Mattie and her story are so wonderfully drawn, readers can relate no matter what time period they live in.

There was so much happening in this book it was a thrill to keep reading. Even the minor characters are rich and no one ever fell flat to me. The Grace Brown part of the story is based on a true story and the author ties the true events together seamlessly with her fictional accounts.

If you need a book to prove that young adult novels are not all fluff and romance, A Northern Light is the perfect book to suggest.

Full Disclosure: My copy was from the library.

Comments

  1. I've been debating on buying this one for awhile now. Thanks for the review, I'm gonna have to read this one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This one sounds so good, and complicated, and just darn interesting. I am going to have to tag it at the library for sure, if not get my own copy. Great review - made me want to pick it up immediately!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've had this on my TBR pile for ages and just never get around to reading it - I think you review has just bumped it up to the top of the pile:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is on my list of top reads for the year. I thought it was a wonderful book too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOVED this book. I also meet the author while I taught down in Otselic Valley, where Grace Brown was from. The freshmen always took a field trip to the cemetery to look at her grave and the Loomis Gangs. Fun stuff!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from other readers! Share your thoughts and chime in!

Popular posts from this blog

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Realistic Fiction Release Date: 2/26/2013 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Eleanor and Park are both misfits. When new girl Eleanor sits next to Park on the bus, they don't want anything to do with each other. But over the course of the school year, things change. It starts with comic books and becomes a friendship and a romance that the two will never forget. You never forget your first love. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Have you ever had a book sit on your shelf that you've heard so much hype about? And you think that books sounds like it would be right up your alley, but you're in a reading slump and you're afraid to give it a try unless it fails? I knew Eleanor and Park sounded like my perfect book, but I was in such an after committee slump that I even though I knew this book would help, I just didn't want to be disappointed. I should have known better because Eleanor and Park was perfect and everything that I had hoped it wou

Contact Me

  I love to hear from fellow readers and librarians! Send me an email to say hello! You can reach me at greenbeanteenqueen (at) gmail (dot) com

Post Downton Abbey Reading List

Downton Abbey is over (with a shocking and frustrating ending!) and now I'm suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal. I've got a reading list full of books that I hope will satisfy my post-Downton Abbey cravings and I thought I'd share what's in my pile and get suggestions for other after Downton reads. Here's what I hope to be reading this year (a mix of YA and adult titles):                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  A couple Julian Fellowes reads:                And a few re-reads:                    Edited to add: What's on your Post-Downton Abbey reading list?