A Northern Light

This riveting novel tells of a young woman’s coming of age and the murder that rocked America a century ago, the crime that inspired Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy. In a banner year for children’s books, Publishers’ Weekly voted Northern Light one of the year’s best for young readers. It is narrated by 16-year-old Mattie who works at a hotel on Big Moose Lake where the tragedy took place. The story opens shortly after Mattie has been given a bundle of letter to burn by Grace Brown, a hotel guest whose drowned body had been discovered by a search party in a secluded part of the lake. The author skillfully melds fact and fiction to create a “gripping and touching” murder mystery. Ages 14 and up. 389 pages.Paperback.