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!

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.

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.

Although this book is listed as a teen book, I thinks it's more suited for adults or at least very mature teens.

great for teens, especially those interested in historical fiction

A NORTHERN LIGHT is beautifully written, an engrossing historical fiction for those who do not like historical fiction very much. All of the characters in the story become real to us, and we will find ourselves cheering for Mattie to succeed. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

This is the SAME BOOK as A Gathering Light. One is the British title.

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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.

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.

The book jumps back and forth between two different times, which had me a little confused a points, especially as the two times began to converge. Keep in mind: Mattie is working at the hotel the summer she is 16, turning 17. The rest of the book takes place earlier that winter/spring, and on into summer, until the backstory catches up. Grace dies AFTER the 4th of July, and all of the narration surrounding her covers only a day or two.

While this is a 'youth' book, I agree with a previous poster that it's good for adults and mature teens. There was more sex, swearing, and bordering-on-crude parts than I would want my pre-teen to read. For instance, there was a paragraph or two on menstration in a pre-Kotex era. In another part, Mattie catches a neighbor having an affair with another woman. She describes his backside in detail.

This was a good read. Both my daughter (13 yrs old) and I read this book and enjoyed it. I liked how everyday life was such a part of the book, a glimps into another time.

Back cover--

16 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 Tradgedy" this astonishing novel weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving, real, and wholly original.

An easy mystery read!

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