Jennifer Donnelly was born on August 16, 1963 in Port Chester, NY. She is an author
of historical fiction and young adult novels. She has written more than ten books.
A Northern Light was published in 2003. It tells the story of Mattie Gokey, who lived
on a farm in Herkimer County, New York in 1906. Mattie's mother dies, and although
she earns a scholarship to college, her father demands she stay home to work on the farm.
Mattie runs away to Glenmore and ends up befriending Grace Brown, who is then murdered.
This is a true-life murder case, as detailed by Theodore Dreiser in An American Tragedy.
A Northern Light won the 2003 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature.
The School Library Journal summarized the book as ". . . a breathtaking tale, complex
and often earthy . . . Donnelly's characters ring true to life, and the meticulously detailed
setting forms a vivid backdrop to this finely crafted story."