Mrs. Gallagher's Book Group discussion

The book, “A Northern Light,” by Jennifer Donnelly is an amazing book that takes place in the 1900’s in the Adirondack Mountains, New York. I would give this book five stars because it was very interesting and I couldn’t put it down! The main character, Mattie Gokey, is a sixteen-year old girl who lives with her father and three sisters named Abby, Beth, and Lou. Mattie’s mother died of cancer and her brother, Lawton, ran away after getting in a huge fight with their father. Mattie loves to read, write, and learn new words with her best friend named Weaver. Weaver and Mattie are very intelligent and were accepted into college with full scholarships. Since both of their families are very poor, the teenagers have to raise enough money to pay for other college expenses, as well as raise enough money to support their families. When Mattie’s family begins to struggle and she falls in love with her neighbor, she starts to second guess her decision of going to college. A promise she made to her dying mother seems to hold her back from fulfilling her dreams. Will Mattie go to college? Or will she remain trapped in the Adirondacks taking care of her family forever? “A Northern Light” is based upon a true story of the death of a teenager named Grace Brown. Before Grace died, she gave Mattie a stack of letters and told her to burn them. Mattie decided to read the letters and she reveals a shocking discovery. What will these letters tell her? What truly happened to Grace Brown?