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'Tale' contest winners are passionate about book
By Ben Beagle
Daily News Lifestyles Editor
March 11, 2006
Readers are making a connection with Mattie Gokey, the teen heroine
struggling with family responsibilities in Jennifer Donnelly's novel
A Northern Light.
"A young woman like Mattie ... reminds readers about their own
dilemmas, and (they) can appreciate her turmoil," Frances McNulty
of Batavia wrote in her entry for the "A Tale for Three Counties"
book review contest. "I've allowed myself to speculate her decision
was the right one, with the remainder of her life personally satisfying."
The project has people in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties reading
the novel and talking about it at discussions at local libraries. Donnelly
will visit the area March 23 to 25.
McNulty and five other readers will get to connect personally with Donnelly
during her visit. The six were winners of a book review contest that
was part of this year's community reading project.
The contest, in its third year, saw nearly 20 entries from Genesee,
Orleans and Wyoming counties. Members of the Tale for Three Counties
Council read the entries and selected winners.
"We were impressed by the number of entries in the contest this
year and found that it was a challenging process to select just six
because of the high quality of these entries," said Leslie DeLooze
the librarian at Richmond Memorial Library, Batavia, who started the
Tale project four years ago.
The winners are Mary Ellen Casey, Frances McNulty and Loren Penman,
all of Batavia; Sarah Bass of Silver Springs, Linda DeVito of Oakfield
and Meghan Hauser of Perry.
They will sit down with Donnelly for a personal discussion on March
24 at Main Street Coffee, 111 Main St., Batavia.
"To read a great book, then to actually sit with the author, ask
her questions, get a better understanding of how she writes and why
she writes, all without having to travel to a large urban center is
an opportunity I just can't pass up," said Hauser, who has entered
the contest all three years. "Given the chance, I'll write that
essay every time."
Mary Ellen Casey, a retired reading specialist, said she already has
lots of questions for Donnelly.
"I love the way she crafted her theme. I was just blown away. She's
quite skilled," Casey said.
Loren Penman of Batavia wrote in her winning review that Mattie and
the author found their power in words: "Words as the root of games,
words that paint vivid pictures or make promises or tell lies, words
that are written and spoken and unspoken, words that take your breath
away," Penman wrote.
Sarah Bass, who has attended two previous Tale author talks, said she
was encouraged to pick up A Northern Light by her boss at the bookstore
in Perry.
"I thought it was a very nice story. I expected sweet and bland,
but found it had a lot more to it," said Bass, who frequently reads
novels that are "more surrealistic, somewhat suspenseful."
Murder and romance are woven through A Northern Light, the story of
16-year-old Mattie's coming of age in the Adirondacks at the turn of
the century. She is trying to determine if she should follow her passion
for words to college in New York City, but at the same time has responsibilities
with her own family.
While working a summer job at an Adirondack resort, Mattie finds herself
caught up in the disappearance of a young couple who had gone out on
Big Moose Lake together in a rowboat.
The couple is the real-life Chester Gillette and Grace Brown, and Donnelly
weaves their tragic love story among the pages of Mattie's tale.
Mattie spoke with Grace just before the fateful trip. Grace gave Mattie
a packet of love letters and asked that she burn them. When Grace is
found drowned, Mattie reads the letters and finds that she holds the
key to unraveling the girl's death and her beau's mysterious disappearance.
A Northern Light received a Carnegie Medal, the most prestigious award
for children's writing in Britain (where the book's title is A Gathering
Light) and a Michael L. Printz Honor Award. It made several "best
books" lists when published in 2003.
Donnelly is scheduled to make presentations and sign copies of her book
in all three counties March 23 to 25. Readers will be able to meet Donnelly
at 1 p.m. March 23 at Genesee Community College, 1 College Rd., Batavia;
and 7 p.m. March 23 at Richmond Memorial Library, 19 Ross St., Batavia;
7 p.m. March 24 at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, 620 West Ave., Medina;
and 2 p.m. March 25 at Perry Elementary/Middle School, 50 Olin Ave.,
Perry, a program presented by the Wyoming County libraries.
"People who attend the talks get a first-hand opportunity to hear
many things about the writing life," DeLooze said.
And the booksignings that follow, DeLooze said, are "a great chance
to have a personal moment with the author."
Copies of A Northern Light will be available at each presentation.
Courtesy of Batavia Newspapers Corporation