Mattie Gokey, a young aspiring author, was the only one who knew what happened. Grace was murdered, and the letters she wanted Mattie to burn told the whole story. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, tells of Mattie’s intrigue by the mystery of Grace Brown’s death, but she ends up getting more than the answers out of reading the letters. They help guide Mattie through her own life and hardships, after her mother died and her brother left. I really enjoyed reading this story. It was well written in an interesting style, and portrayed many meaningful themes.

A Northern Light is told in a series of flash forwards to when Mattie was working at the hotel where she meets Grace. At first, the details didn’t quite seem to all come together, but that was what made kept me hooked. With each flash forward, Mattie would solve a little piece of the mystery and be able to solve a little bit of her own life. The style was something new to read, and something that made it unique. It was clever, captivating, and a powerful way to get the story across.

Throughout the entire story, many themes were portrayed. In each chapter, I could relate that theme to my life and use it to help me with my own problems. For example, this book showed me that life doesn’t always have a happy ending, but it doesn’t have to be a complete tragedy either. You live it how you want to, and make the best of what you’re given. There’s a theme everyone can learn from in this book, no matter your situation.

Overall, I really liked this book, and it will go down on my list of all-time favorites. I would rate it with five stars, for its unique style and for the well told details of a real historic event. If you like historical and inspiring books with a lot of page turning suspense, this book would be great for you. Grace’s letters inspired Mattie to follow her dreams, and having read this book, Mattie has inspired me, and will help me in the future with decisions and struggles.