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A Gathering Light

By Jennifer Donnelly

(14)

| Hardcover | 9780747563044

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Book Description

When mattie Gokey is given a bundle of letters to burn she fully intends to execute the wishes of the giver, Grace Brown. When Grace Brown is found drowned the next day in Big Moose Lake, Mattie finds that it is not as easy to burn those letters as she had thought. And, as she reads, a riveting storContinue

Critics

Hotel du lac

A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly 464pp, Bloomsbury, £12.99 The murder of Grace Brown in 1906 was the inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy , for the 1951 movie starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, and now for this ou ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

Book Review: A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

A Northern Light is actually two parallel stories, following sixteen year old Mattie Gokey as she struggles to follow her dreams, beyond her harsh, bleak reality. In 1906, Mattie works as a maid at the Glenmore, an upscale hotel on the banks of Big M ... (read full critics)

thebooksmugglers published on Tue, 14 Sep 2010

3 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

I picked it up in the library without knowing anything about it, and discovered later that it is considered "young adult" literature. I quite liked it anyway: the tough rural life of the beginning of XX century, the hopes and desires of a young woman torn between duty to her family and yearning for ... (continue)

I picked it up in the library without knowing anything about it, and discovered later that it is considered "young adult" literature. I quite liked it anyway: the tough rural life of the beginning of XX century, the hopes and desires of a young woman torn between duty to her family and yearning for a different life. In touches on dramatic issues (illness, death, women condition) but manages hilarious chapters, too.
I also liked how the author choose to show from the main character point of view that things are not black-and-white, but that everything can be judged by different standpoints.

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Tabathua said on Feb 25, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

slow...

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Mati said on Mar 1, 2010 | Add your feedback

2003 The Newbery Medal
2004 Richard & Judy's Summer Read

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Arlene said on May 2, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback