Mattie Gokey is a
16-year-old living in the North Woods of the Adirondack Mountains. The year is 1906, and Mattie desires more than
anything to 'make something' of her life. Mattie
has a love of words, which made me – a fellow word connoisseur – like her all
the more. Mattie lives with her siblings and
her father on their ramshackle farm, where most days she works sun up to sun down just to
meet the family's basic needs. And some
days, she doesn't even succeed at that. She's
not as good at taking care of everyone as her mother was, but her mother is gone, and
Mattie feels the burden of her responsibilities.
Mattie's only joy
is the time she spends writing, looking up words in her precious dictionary or sitting in
class at school. Everyone, except for her
best friend and her teacher at school, expects Mattie to do what every girl her age does
in the North Woods – marry and have a passel of babies. Royal Loomis is all set to get started
right away, he'd like some strong sons to help with the farming, and he wants them as soon
as possible. But Mattie has other ideas. With
the encouragement of her teacher, she applies to college, hoping to be able to escape the
double-jawed trap of poverty and subjugation, the same trap that swallows young girls like
her whole and then spits them into an early grave.
But can Mattie give
up the warm feelings that Royal's attentions provide?
Can she go against everything that she's been taught, and leave her father
for something other than a husband? Mattie
isn't quite sure that she can. In 1906, girls
simply don't do things like that.
Juxtaposed against
Mattie's story are the real-life facts of the murder case involving Chester Gillette. This is a horrifying account of a man's attempt to
rid himself of a mistake of his own making – and Mattie finds herself caught right in
the middle of it all.
Though this book is
hard to place into any one genre, having hints of romance, mystery and historical fiction,
it was a book that I genuinely enjoyed. Jennifer
Donnelly has woven together an ingenious story full of rich characters, earthy historical
facts, mysterious happenings and a truly engaging plot.
I immediately loved the main character of Mattie Gokey; her affinity
for words, her lust for knowledge and her search for something better were all extremely
endearing qualities.
Ms. Donnelly is a
truly gifted author, charming readers with her imagery and wit. Her characters and setting both shine with vivid
realism. A Northern Light is a book
that I know I will find myself recommending over and over again – especially to young
girls about the same age as Mattie herself. This
book holds a message for those girls, a powerful message that every single one of them
should receive – a message of knowledge, strength and the consequences of choice.
Not only is A
Northern Light a good book to read just for sheer entertainment value, but it is also
a great mother/daughter story and a perfect coming-of-age novel. I know that I'll be reading more of
Donnelly's work in the near future!
Reviewed by Janean
Nusz, AuthorsArt.com, for The Road to Romance
September 4, 2003 |
