A Gathering Light

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I'd seen the crimson glory of a stand of sugar maple in autumn and the unspeakable stillness of a mountain lake at dawn. There are many deep elements at play, which include the racism of the time period, made all the more personal by Mattie's friend Weaver and his mother, who undergo such hardships, even though they are not, under any circumstances, slaves. She has made her peace with Grace because she decided to show the letters to the world so now every one can see the true, tragic story of Grace Brown.

Even Mattie’s mother, who has died before the story begins, is given detail and life – she is not just a source of sadness or a plot device. In fact, if you read both and compare then, you’ll be seriously shocked the same author penned both books.

It is excellently written, features a strong and likable heroine and perfectly captures her hopes and fears in an era so different to our own. Her best friend, Weaver, is Black, and he also wants a higher education, but people keep foiling his plans too because it's the early twentieth century and people are racist fucks. Her generosity to all the struggling characters before she gets on her way to the big wide world is insidious right-wing sentimentalism: look how, by working hard, your prosperity trickles down. Last year, I used to go every day to the library of the bank where my dad works at--I'm homeschooled, and it was the perfect place to study for upcomin' exams.

Irritating touch No 98: the black kid gets beaten up by whites – he’s been behaving even more like Will Smith, talking like a brother from nearly a century later – and, get this: the white lawman sticks them in jail.Each day she learns a new word and with Weaver,her friend, she plays a wonderfully simple game in which they do battle firing associated words back and forth. i used to get really angry at this book, because it would come up in resort all the time and some people would just shelve it in my section because it looks like a grown-up book, not like teen fiction, and i would always have to be yanking it off the shelves and saying "nooooo, you go downstairs! Best Books for Young Adults honors 84 books" Archived June 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, YALSA, American Library Association.