Module 5: A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Donnelly, Jennifer. 2003. A northern light. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 978-0-15-205310-9

Author Jennifer Donnelly’s A Northern Light is a wonderful piece of historical fiction that weaves the story of Mattie Gokey, a teen who lives in the Adirondacks in the early 1900s, or what she calls the North Woods, with her father and sisters. When the story opens, the reader discovers that Mattie’s mother has died the previous year, her one and only brother has run off, and her father has emotionally shut down and become hardened and remote from his family. Mattie and her siblings must endure backbreaking work just to work their farm and survive. Mattie loves words and books, and her and her best friend Weaver Smith, a young black man, are prized pupils at the school. Under the tutelage of the independent and inspirational teacher Ms. Wilcox, Mattie and Weaver are studying hard to take exams and gain entrance into university. Both are accepted, but circumstances in the North Woods present obstacles for both Mattie and Weaver’s dreams. Mattie does not have her father’s support or the money to get to New York to attend college, and she feels bound by a promise that she made to her mother that she would not leave but help to raise her younger sisters. Mattie considers herself bookish and plain and is surprised when good-looking Royal Loomis begins to “spark” with her and proposes. When Mattie begins working at the Glenmore hotel, she meets Grace Brown, a young girl who gives Mattie a bunch of letters to burn if she does not return from a boating trip with her beau Carl Grahm (who we later discover is Chester Gillette). When Grace Brown does not return and her body is discovered in the river, Mattie begins to read the letters by Grace Brown and faces conflict over keeping her promise to Grace Brown or turning the letters over to the local authorities. The reader will read in anticipation of discovering if Mattie will be able to achieve her dreams of going to college or decide to settle down and marry Royal, and the mystery surrounding Grace Brown’s death will also hold the readers’ attention.

Donnelly has delivered an excellent piece of historical fiction. The story presents the real life murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette, a man who killed her after getting her pregnant in order to avoid marriage to Grace. Grace’s story serves as a subplot to the central character of Mattie’s life in the early 1900s in the North Woods. As a protagonist, Mattie is likable and admirable. She is fictional, which fits the traditional historical fiction genre. Mattie is also a realistic adolescent in that she has dreams for a better life and of seeing the world, but she feels bound by responsibilities to her family and is enticed to stay by her sexual awakening with neighbor boy Royal Loomis. Life is not rosy for Mattie as she struggles to figure out how to achieve her dream of going to college, reading books, and one day becoming a writer. Author Donnelly also did a good job of creating a cast of supporting characters who are well-developed, such as Mattie’s best friend Weaver, his mama, her father, her siblings, her Uncle Fifty, and many more characters—most who are fictional but some who are real.

The story is set in the early 1900s in the Adirondacks—the North Woods. Donnelly clearly researched the time period so well that she is effortlessly able to weave in details on what life was like during this period and place, which is also a major characteristic of good historical fiction. The harsh, unforgiving environment and life of the working people in this book during this time is portrayed realistically and inspirationally through Mattie Gokey and her family.

Donnelly also has an appealing and unique style of writing. First of all, the sequence of the story is told in a non-linear way, and it works. Donnelly begins the novel in 1906 on the day that Grace Brown’s body is discovered. Donnelly provides background on Mattie’s interaction with Grace, the letters, and the aftermath of her body being found. Then, Donnelly switches to the near past and the events that led Mattie to working at the Glenmore and her meeting of Grace Brown. The chapters that are set after Grace Brown’s body has been found have no chapter title, but the chapters set in the past before Mattie met Grace Brown are titled by Mattie’s words of the day for she is a lover of words and books and makes sure to have and use a word a day.

The other aspect of Donnelly’s writing that is so appealing is her narrative language. It is vivid. The language provides depth and evokes amusement, sadness, horror, and hope (and many other emotions) from the beginning to the end of the book. For example, while Mattie assists her friend Minnie with the birth of her twins, Mattie thinks: “I have read so many books, and not one of them tells the truth about babies. Dickens doesn’t. Oliver’s mother just dies in childbirth and that’s that. Bronte doesn’t. Catherine Earnshaw just has her daughter and that’s that. There’s no blood, no sweat, no pain, no fear, no heat, no stink. Writers are damned liars. Every single one of them” (Donnelly 2003, 93).This quotation gives the reader insight into Mattie's character but is also quite humorous.

I highly recommend this book, especially for independent reading. However, it is also a good book to read when learning about the early 1900s and women’s roles during this time. Donnelly researched her time period well and also wove in the true story of Grace Brown using real excerpts from her letters to bring Grace's tragedy to life. The book provides an author’s note and sources for further and suggested reading on Grace Brown, the geographical location of Mattie's story, farming, and general history. In addition, there is a short author interview at the end of the novel as well as a reader chat page that would work well in literary circles. This reviewer will definitely be checking out other books from by Jennifer Donnelly because of her writing’s historical integrity and literary talent.

Quotes from the Literary World concerning A Northern Light:

• Feminist Collections: A Quarterly of Women’s Studies Resources (Summer/Fall 2007) “The result is a tale that is beautiful in both scope and depth as it reveals not only the obstacles but also the triumphs of life.”
  

• Dreiser Studies, Linda Dunleavy, Winter 2004 a “powerful coming-of-age story”

• School Library Journal, November 2004 “Based upon a real-life murder mystery, this book blends gothic romance, historical fiction, and YA coming-of-age into one neat package.”

• Booklist, May 2004, “a beautiful, ambitious coming-of-age story.”

• School Library Journal, Spring2004 “Set in...Adirondacks in 1906, this atmospheric story based on a true incident involves a teen trapped by family expectations, a fickle fiancé and a murder. A fine blending of characters, setting, and suspense.”

Recognition & Awards:

• A 2004 Printz Honor Book
• An ALA “Top Ten” Best Book for YA
• A Booklist Top Ten Youth First Novel
• A Book Sense 76 Top Ten Book for Teens
• A Junior Library Guild Selection
• A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
• A Parent’s Guide Children’s Media YA Honor Book
• A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
• A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Book Cover Art from Barnes&Noble.com:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Northern-Light/Jennifer-Donnelly/e/9780152053109/?itm=1&USRI=a+northern+light

Module 5: No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row by Susan Kuklin

Kuklin, Susan. 2008. No choirboy: Murder, violence, and teenagers on death row. New York: Henry Holt and Co. ISBN-13 978-0-8050-7950-0

Excerpt from the book (in italics):

Mark's (convicted at fourteen of murder): "I deserve to be punished, no doubt about it. But, after you've been in prison for so long, it ceases to be a punishment. It becomes just a way of life" (Kuklin 2008, 78-79).

Susan Kuklin’s nonfiction book No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row features testimonies of convicted teen murderers who are on death row or serving a life sentence, some of the lawyers’ who represent the murderers, and family members of some of the victims. The first three chapters focus on three different convicted teen murderers’ stories of how they ended up in prison, what prison and death row is like, and what they have learned since being in prison, and their narrative is interspersed ever so often with the author Kuklin providing some context with a paragraph or two and voices of the convicted teens’ attorneys. Chapter 4 tells the story of Napoleon Beazly, a teen, who was sentenced to death row for murder and was actually executed in 2002. The chapter presents the testimonies of his surviving mother and brother and the impact this has had on their lives. Chapter 5 tells the story of murder victim William Jenkins and his parents and siblings testimonies about William, their love for him, their grief, and their anti-death penalty stance. The final chapter is Bryan Stevenson’s interview. Stevenson is a top anti-death penalty advocate and lawyer who diligently represents and fights on behalf of convicted teens who have been sentenced to death row and given life sentences. The underlying central theme of the entire book is that the death penalty is wrong and that teen murderers should not be punished with the death penalty or life sentences.

Kuklin’s nonfiction book presents a well-researched book about teen murderers on death row or in prison for life. The book is a mixture of collective mini-biographies and testimonials of the teen murderers with information about their victims and from their lawyers and their families as well as their narrative of what life is really like in prisons. The subject matter of this book will appeal to many young adults because it has bits of sensationalism to it mixed with gritty reality. Also, the text is easy to read. The reader will get a strong sense that the information presented in the story is accurate because Kuklin used real interview transcripts, letter transcripts, and various other factual sources to write her book. The book could also be considered part of the New Journalism genre—not for the creative literary license but more for the fact that the author is presenting the information in order to appeal to readers’ emotions and sway them against the death penalty and induce sympathy for the teenage killers (or alleged killers).

Kuklin did a great job in providing adequate documentation, a glossary, and further reading sources, websites, notes and an index for the readers in order to advance their understanding of the topic. Probably the one fault of the book is that the point-of-view is very one-sided. Kuklin’s book would be better if it had presented various view-points on the issue of teen killings, the death penalty, and life sentences for teens. Instead, author sympathy abounds for the convicted murderers represented in the book and that is conveyed to the reader. On the positive side, Kuklin does make the reader think about societal elements that create teen murderers and the travesty of the prison system and the fact that many times the guards and law appear no better than the prisoners.

This book is recommended for a more mature audience—9^th grade on up. This is a great book for social studies, history classes, or speech and debate classes to read for research, debate and/or discussion. However, it needs to be paired with literature that provides a pro-death penalty stance in order to present a varied and balanced viewpoint on the issue. Prepare for parent challenges if the book is assigned in class because it addresses the topics of murder, violence and homosexual assaults within the prison systems as told by those who have lived that life.

Quotations about the Book from the Literary World:

• School Library Journal, Apr2009 “The haunting and well-researched narratives put a human face on these individuals and take a hard look at the justice system and how we treat young offenders.”
• Kirkus Reviews, 12/1/2008, “Those who believe that criminals are generally malevolent and uneducated will be surprised at their vivid, articulate observations of life in prison and their crimes.”
• School Library Journal, Sep. 2008 “Kuklin depicts the penal system as biased against men of color, and any set of statistics about incarceration and death-row conviction rates will back her up. She also emphasizes that being poor is damning once a crime is committed. … This powerful book should be explored and discussed in high schools all across our country.”
• Kirkus Reviews, 6/15/2008 “This is an excellent read for any student researching the death penalty or with an interest in law and sociology. The author/photographer paints the convicts and their families as neither wholly good nor bad, but human. The convicts themselves speak with a wisdom that can only come from years of negotiating the dangers of prison life, and their stories may change more than one mind regarding what makes a criminal.”

Book Cover Art from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/No-Choirboy-Murder-Violence-Teenagers/dp/0805079505/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290468330&sr=1-1

Module 5: King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography by Chris Crutcher

Crutcher, Chris. 2003. King of the mild frontier: An ill-advised autobiography. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN-13 978-0-06-050251-5

For readers who know and love Chris Crutcher books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Stotan!, or Whale Talk, then his autobiography King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography is one to read. This book features thematic snippets from Crutcher’s life that have influenced his writing, his literary character development, his plot lines, and some of his central book themes. The author covers events in his life from early childhood to young adulthood that have helped shape the writer he is today.

This is a well-written memoir/autobiography by Crutcher, and even people who are unfamiliar with his fiction will enjoy this book. As readers know, autobiographies are not always completely factual. In fact, it is known that the autobiographer sometimes choose to leave out certain incidences or character flaws about themselves because they may not want the public to know about themselves because the truth sometimes can present people in an unflattering way. However, Crutcher does not shy away from the truth and has no qualms about embarrassing himself, but do not let that deceive you. Not everything you read in this autobiography may be exactly true. Crutcher provides the following note of warning to the reader on the copyright page: “Memory is selective and by nature faulty. That statement is probably doubly true for my memory. Add to that my penchant for exaggeration and the fact that I have changed some of the names for obvious reasons, and you may have a memoir that may not stand up to close historical scrutiny. So be it” (Crutcher 2009, copyright page).

The structure of this novel is not told in order from childhood to adulthood but instead laid out as the memories come to Crutcher and one memory triggers the next. In fact, a May/June 2003 Horn Book magazine review says this of the book: Crutcher “moves back and forth in time, as storytellers do, letting one incident connect to the next thematically rather than chronologically.” The same article in Horn Book goes on to describe the book as being told in a series of “episodic” informal essays.

Another great aspect of this novel is Crutcher’s humorous writing style. Readers will laugh over some of the stories involving his older brother tricking Crutcher into doing a variety of stupid things over his childhood that always landed him in trouble, yet his brother John always seemed to get off scot-free. I won’t go into a whole lot of detail, but let me just say there is a peeing on the radiator incident, a BB gun incident, and a Jesus (or should I say Esus) incident that will have the readers laughing and shaking their heads over Crutcher’s gullibility, and yet readers will also be able to relate if they, too, have experienced the torment of an older sibling.

This brings me to another appealing aspect of this book. Crutcher packages his autobiographical essays with humor. The Teacher Librarian (October 2004) says that Crutcher writes this book with the “same humor and insight found in his fiction,” and a February 2004 Teacher Librarian review calls the autobiography and Crutcher’s voice “straightforward, heartrending, often hilarious.” After reading Crutcher’s autobiography, readers are going to appreciate his fiction more and will know what incidences inspired some of his characters and themes, and this will enrich the readers’ experiences as they delve into Crutcher’s fictional worlds.

I recommend this book for young adults from grades 8 on up. The level of reading is accessible to middle schoolers, but some of the content and incidences that Crutcher narrates will most definitely invite censorship and is not suitable to be assigned reading. For example, take the chapter called “Of Oysters and Olives and Things that Go Bump in My Shoe.” This chapter deals with an athletic traditional hazing ritual, naked boys and the items mentioned in the chapter’s title. I will leave the rest to your imagination. This is a good book to read segments from out loud for book talks and to generate interest in Crutcher and his novels. This book could be assigned in literature circles to 11^th and 12^th graders. It is also good for independent reading, and many boys will really enjoy it and his literature. (Girls will probably like his writing style as well.)

Book Review Quotes about the Autobiography:

• School Library Journal, Apr. 2005 says this autobiography is “filled with a winning combination of humorous, nostalgic, and bittersweet anecdotes about his family, school days, "wannabe" athletic career," work, and writing.”

• Horn Book Magazine, May/Jun2003 The book’s “Informal essays invite self-revelation, humor, loose structure, and even moralizing; Crutcher responds to all four elements. He writes in an easy, conversational tone, as if he were sitting down swapping stories with his good friend, the reader.”

Book Cover Art from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/King-Mild-Frontier-Ill-Advised-Autobiography/dp/0060502517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290468228&sr=8-1