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A Northern Light Literature Unit

A Northern Light Literature Unit

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A Northern Light By Jennifer Donnelly This award-wining book is based on letters written by a young woman named Grace Brown prior to her drowning in 1906. Her letters eventually led the district attorney to her boyfriend and one of New York’s most sensational murder trials of the time. Author Jennifer Donnelly created a fictional character to receive Grace’s letters and help put the judicial wheels in motion. This character’s name is Mattie. Mattie is a young girl in circumstances typical for a girl of her age at that time. Her days were primarily spent caring for the family (her mother passed away) and their land. She likes school and is considered an excellent writer. In fact, her teacher encourages and mentors Mattie and finally talks her into applying to a university. Mattie thought getting into the university would be the most difficult part, but it was actually trying to convince her father to let her go. Mattie decides to work at a resort hotel to earn enough money on her own to go to the university, and this is where she meets Grace Brown. While Mattie does take a detour from her plan by falling in love with a local boy, she eventually decides that she does not wish for a life as a wife or mother, as least not at her young age. So, she leaves her boyfriend and family for college in New York to pursue her life’s dream of becoming an author. Click here to request the Table of Contents for A Northern Light Literature Unit

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