A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

A hauntingly good read that mixes in history, romance, and mystery! This historical fiction young adult novel is loosely based on Theodore Dreiser's, An American Tragedy.

Set in 1906 the book follows the present and past of Mattie Gokey, a worker at the Glenmore hotel. Her story is intertwined in a murder mystery at the hotel when guest Grace Brown's body is found in the lake. The same Grace Brown who recently entrusted Mattie to burn some letters for her. These letters turn out to be the key to why Grace was murdered. Mattie's story is fictional, while the letters and death of Grace Brown are based on a true story. Connelly intertwines fact and fiction seamlessly.

Jennifer Donnelly's writing holds you captive and reads very poetically! I loved this book and the mesmerizing characters kept me reading non-stop until the end! Not only is this a great book for teens, but for adults as well! A definite great read!

Incantation by Alice Hoffman

What a fascinating and insightful novel about the Spanish Inquisition during the 1500’s. The story follows 16 year old Estrella deMadrigal and her family during the time when fellow town’s folk are persecuted, tortured, and even killed for being secret Jews.

Estrella and her best friend, Catalina, find their friendship isn’t what it used to be, and Estrella feels she no longer knows, nor can, trust Catalina. Estrella finds out who she really is as the story unfolds, her family has a secret that they are to tell no one about, but when that secret gets out Estrella becomes stronger and knows what she must do to save what she has left.

This novel read like poetry, and wove a wonderful plot and story that kept me reading and reading! I normally don’t like historical fiction, but found I learned a lot about the Inquisition that I had not known before. What a great story to use to teach students about this time period and even comparing it with other historical fiction books about the Holocaust.

I would recommend this book for grades 6 and up.