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A Northern Light
Jennifer Donnelly
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9780152167059 Hardcover
0152167056
$17.00
400pages
Available
Trim Size:
5-1/2 x 8-1/4
Copyright Year:
2003
Territory:
US, C, O
Ages: 14 years and up |
Read an Excerpt
Reading Guide
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Synopsis |
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Mattie Gokey has a word for everything. She collects words, stores them up as a way of fending off the hard truths of her life, the truths that she can't write down in stories.
The fresh pain of her mother's death. The burden of raising her sisters while her father struggles over his brokeback farm. The mad welter of feelings Mattie has for handsome but dull Royal Loomis, who says he wants to marry her. And the secret dreams that keep her going--visions of finishing high school, going to college in New York City, becoming a writer.
Yet when the drowned body of a young woman turns up at the hotel where Mattie works, all her words are useless. But in the dead woman's letters, Mattie again finds her voice, and a determination to live her own life.
Set in 1906 against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, this coming-of-age novel effortlessly weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving, and real, and wholly original.
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Praise |
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"Riveting"
Publishers Weekly,11/10/2003
"A fine blending of characters, setting, and suspense."
School Library Journal ,11/20/2003
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"A breathtaking tale, complex and often earthy, wrapped around a true story. Donnelly's characters ring true to life." -- School Library Journal (starred review)
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"A gripping coming-of-age story." -- USA Today
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"A Northern Light is a story as big and bold as the North Woods where it is set. Deft foreshadowing and a real-life mystery keep the story moving along." -- BookPage
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Biography |
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JENNIFER DONNELLY is the author of a novel for adult readers, The Tea Rose, and a picture book, Humble Pie. For A Northern Light, her first young adult novel, she drew on stories she heard from her grandmother while growing up in upstate New York. She now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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Awards |
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| ALA Best Book for Young Adults |
| Book Sense 76 Pick |
| Booklist Editors’ Choice |
| Carnegie Medal |
| Charlotte Award [New York] |
| Jefferson Cup Honor Award [Virginia] |
| Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist |
| Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book |
| New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age |
| Parents Guide to Media Honor |
| Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, A |
| School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, A |
| TAYSHAS High School Reading List [Texas] |
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General Subjects |
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Juvenile Fiction- Historical/General
Juvenile Fiction- Girls & Women
Juvenile Fiction- Social Situations/Adolescence
Juvenile Fiction- Mysteries & Detective Stories
Juvenile Fiction- General
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Curriculum Themes |
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| Careers & Occupations |
| Coming of Age |
Family Relationships- General
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Historical Fiction- General
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| Images of Strong Women |
Lifestyles- Country Life
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Lifestyles- Farm / Ranch / Harvest
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| Mysteries & Detective Stories |
People & Places: North America- US: New York
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| Wordplay |
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Rights Details |
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Harcourt Children's Books
A Division ofHarcourt Trade Publishers
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Harcourt Education Company
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