#agatheringlight

This is a book that I try to read (alongside To Kill A Mockingbird) annually. Ever since reading the blurb I knew I'd be transfixed. What can I say? I love American literature - I have my degree to thank for that - and stories about America. I love the country, the people and the history. 

Set at the turn of the century, the reader meets Mathilda 'Mattie' Gokey, a sixteen-year-old girl who takes care of her sisters, helps her Pa out on their forty acre farm, and finds time to write beautiful compositions which have allowed her dreams of heading to college in New York. Working the summer in the Glenmore hotel, Mattie gets caught up in the drowning of a guest and soon her life - and the horizon of New York - becomes entwined with Grace Brown's. 

This book is fantastic. Based on the real-life murder of Grace Brown, Donnelly weaves the different tangents of the novel together seamlessly. Mattie reminds me of my favourite female protagonists, she's strong and she serves as the core of the book. You almost forget that she is just sixteen, because of the maternal figure she portrays, and that she wants what all sixteen-year-old girls want. You find yourself blushing about Royal Loomis' affections (a boy belonging to the neighbouring farm) and you feel the strength of friendship between Weaver and Mattie keenly. The writing is persuasive and brilliant, Donnelly captures the time period so well that you are immersed almost instantly. Mattie has choices to make and find yourself desperately wanting her to do what is right for her future. 

Summary in 140 characters: Turn of the century coming of age story. Pitted against her father and her duty as a sister, can Mattie dare to hope and achieve her dreams? 

Jennifer Donnelly & A Gathering Light: