A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Genre: Historical Fiction
Themes: Racial Oppression, Family, Mystery, Feminism, Povery
Grade Level: Young Adult
Curricular Connections: History (Racial Conflict in 1906, Grace Brown Murder, Women's Roles in 1906)

This story takes place in 1906 in New York state. Sixteen year old Mattie dreams of going to college and being a writer. Through the help of a teacher she has even received a scholarship to attend a university in New York City. The problem is her mother has died of cancer, and she is the oldest of four in a very poor family, and her father depends on her for help especially since her brother has run away after a fight with their father. In addition to pressures from her father to stay home and a promise to her mother to help raise her sisters, she has mutual romantic feelings for her neighbor, Royal Loomis. While she must make the decision to stay home or go to college, Mattie takes a summer job at a hotel in the Adirondacks as a serving girl. While she is there, Mattie meets Grace Brown, who gives Mattie a bunch of letters that she tells her must be burned. Before Mattie burns the letters, Grace's body is found in the lake, and her boyfriend has mysteriously disappeared. After Grace's death, Mattie struggles with whether or not she should read the letters, and then whether she should share them with the sheriff. As she reads the letters, Mattie finds out that Grace was killed by Carl, her boyfriend, and at the end she does give the letters to the sheriff. As she matures over summer, she also spends a lot of time reevaluating events from her past told through flashbacks, and makes the decision to go the the University in New York City, and pursue her dreams of becoming a writer.

Classroom Suggestions:

1. Research the actual Grace Brown case to find out more details surrounding the case. Make note of how well Donnelly stayed true to the actual events.

2. Have students compare female roles and expectations of 1906 to those of today. Ask students to create a time line labeling historical events they feel were significant in changing these views.