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3 Burnside Children's Young Adult- General

A Northern Light

by Jennifer Donnelly

A Northern Light Cover

ISBN13: 9780152167059
ISBN10: 0152167056
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
All Product Details

Only 3 left in stock at $6.50!

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

With their farm in Mica Creek, Washington facing foreclosure, seventeen-year-old Clara Estby and her mother, Helga, need to find a way to raise a lot of money in a short time--no easy feat for two women in 1896. Helga wants to tackle the problem with her usual loud and flashy style, while Clara, the oldest of the eight Estby children, favors a less showy approach. Though very different in personality, mother and daughter share a determination to save their family's home, so they come up with a plan to walk the 4,600 miles from Mica Creek to New York City--and if they can do it in only eight months, a New York City publisher has agreed to give them $10,000. They set out with little more than ten dollars, two ponchos, and a gun. Along the way they go through sixteen pairs of shoes each, fend off snakes and highwaymen, and narrowly escape a flash flood. But they also meet the governor of every state they pass through and the wife of presidential-candidate, William Jennings Bryan, as well as shake hands with the new president himself, William McKinley. And with each new challenge they face, Clara and Helga come to rely on and respect one another for the very traits that make them so different. Based on the true story of the author's great aunt and great-great grandmother, this is a fast-paced historical fiction adventure for 10-14 year-olds that sets the drama of Around the World In 80 Days against an American backdrop during the time of the suffragist movement, the 1896 presidential campaign, and the changing perception of "a woman's place" in society.

Review:

"Grade 8 Up...This is a breathtaking tale, complex and often earthy, wrapped around a true story....An outstanding choice for historical-fiction fans, particularly those who have read Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy." Booklist

Review:

"While tighter writing would have enhanced the work, this is nevertheless an absorbing story that will appeal strongly to the growing number of historical fiction fans." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"Donnelly has populated her first young-adult novel with a community of distinctive characters who ring rich and true....We don't jut root for Mattie; we come to understand and cherish her." New York Times Book Review

Synopsis:

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, real, and wholly original.

Synopsis:

An astonishing and heartbreaking debut--the story of a young woman's coming-of-age and the murder that rocked turn-of-the-century America

Synopsis:

With their family home facing foreclosure, seventeen-year-old Clara Estby and her mother, Helga, need to raise a lot of money fastno easy feat for two women in 1896. Helga wants to tackle the problem with her usual loud and flashy style, while Clara favors a less showy approach. Together they come up with a plan to walk the 4,600 miles from Mica Creek, Washington, to New York Cityand if they can do it in only seven months, a publisher has agreed to give them $10,000. Based on the true story of the authors great-aunt and great-grandmother, this is a fast-paced historical adventure that sets the drama of Around the World in Eighty Days against an American backdrop during the time of the suffragist movement, the 1896 presidential campaign, and the changing perception of “a womans place” in society.

Synopsis:

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.

About the Author

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 teen novel, she drew on stories she heard from her grandmother while growing up in upstate New York. She now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

StarrrGirl, September 8, 2009 (view all comments by StarrrGirl)
I thought this book was gonna be stupid and boring, and i was only reading it for school. But as i got more into it, i really really started to like it. :) I couldn't put it down. But i actually really liked this book. I recommend it to anyone. i ended up getting really attached to all of the characters. And the fact that this is based on the Chester Gillette murder case in 1908. And also that it was the most bruital murder in New York in that time. It just shocked me. And Jennifer Donnelly is right, i will never ever forget Grace Brown and her letters, as well as Mattie and her amazing life.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780152167059
Editor:
Stearns, Michael
Author:
Stearns, Michael
Author:
Donnelly, Jennifer
Author:
Dagg, Carole Estby
Publisher:
Harcourt Children's Books
Location:
Orlando
Subject:
Murder
Subject:
Girls & Women
Subject:
Education
Subject:
Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
Subject:
Social Situations - Adolescence
Subject:
Historical - General
Subject:
Children's 12-Up - Fiction - History
Subject:
Farm life
Subject:
Hotels
Subject:
Historical - United States - 20th Century
Subject:
New York
Subject:
Adirondack Mountains.
Subject:
General Juvenile Fiction
Subject:
Situations / Adolescence
Subject:
General Juvenile Fiction
Subject:
Social Issues - Adolescence
Subject:
Farm life -- New York (State)
Subject:
Children s-Historical Fiction-U.S. 20th Century
Copyright:
Edition Number:
1st ed.
Edition Description:
Trade Cloth
Series:
Junior Library Guild Selection
Series Volume:
no. 1
Publication Date:
20030431
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
from 9
Language:
English
Pages:
400
Dimensions:
8.25 x 5.50 in
Age Level:
14-17

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Related Subjects

Children's » Awards » Michael L. Printz Award Winners
Children's » General
Children's » Historical Fiction » United States » 20th Century
Children's » Middle Readers » General
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Children's » General
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Children's » Historical Fiction » United States » 20th Century
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Children's Middle Readers » General
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Young Adult » Fiction » Social Issues » Adolescence
Young Adult » Fiction » Social Issues » Adolescence
Young Adult » General

A Northern Light Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$6.50 In Stock
Product details 400 pages Harcourt Children's Books - English 9780152167059 Reviews:
"Review" by , "Grade 8 Up...This is a breathtaking tale, complex and often earthy, wrapped around a true story....An outstanding choice for historical-fiction fans, particularly those who have read Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy."
"Review" by , "While tighter writing would have enhanced the work, this is nevertheless an absorbing story that will appeal strongly to the growing number of historical fiction fans."
"Review" by , "Donnelly has populated her first young-adult novel with a community of distinctive characters who ring rich and true....We don't jut root for Mattie; we come to understand and cherish her."
"Synopsis" by , 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, real, and wholly original.
"Synopsis" by ,
An astonishing and heartbreaking debut--the story of a young woman's coming-of-age and the murder that rocked turn-of-the-century America

"Synopsis" by , With their family home facing foreclosure, seventeen-year-old Clara Estby and her mother, Helga, need to raise a lot of money fastno easy feat for two women in 1896. Helga wants to tackle the problem with her usual loud and flashy style, while Clara favors a less showy approach. Together they come up with a plan to walk the 4,600 miles from Mica Creek, Washington, to New York Cityand if they can do it in only seven months, a publisher has agreed to give them $10,000. Based on the true story of the authors great-aunt and great-grandmother, this is a fast-paced historical adventure that sets the drama of Around the World in Eighty Days against an American backdrop during the time of the suffragist movement, the 1896 presidential campaign, and the changing perception of “a womans place” in society.
"Synopsis" by ,
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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