Reading Update: A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly would serve as an awesome tool to teach setting. Multiple layers of setting sift the story so that in the end I was left mulling over the powerful oppressive systems that Mattie, our protagonist, faced as a woman in the early 1900s.

The book illustrates women's lack of rights, and African Americans, although freed from slavery, have even fewer rights. In the book, Mattie's best friend is a victim of racism, a defenseless widowed neighbor is preyed upon due to her lack of power, and a young girl is murdered because she is trapped by her circumstances as a pregnant, unwedded woman. On a micro-level, Mattie is burdened by the toiling drudgery required of her on the family farm, and her family's financial straits pose another obstacle as she attempts to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.

Although the book serves as a powerful study of oppression, it also illustrates the courage of those who resisted and paved the way for others.

Practical Considerations:

• Due to a description of child birth, a brief one-sentence description of a sex scene, and various making-out sessions that include kissing and groping, I would designate the book as an 8th grade + book. 
• I expect students to struggle with the foreign setting. In 1906, cars were rarities. Cell phones and internet didn't exist.  Running water was unheard of, and consequently the outhouse was part of daily existence, and water had to be carried to the house. In addition, some students may not understand the stigma that surrounded a pregnant, unwedded woman during that time period.
• I would save this one for the girls in the classroom as I believe there are books that boys would better connect to.