Young Writers Society

So I just bought 'A gathering light' and wondered what people thought of it
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Apologises if there's already a thread for this.



Eimear

Summary? That would be helpful, I can't find any.

I recognize the title...

I'm pretty sure I've read it, and it was amazing.

Edit: Oh I love your signature. Sylvia Plath = brilliant.

I'm currently reading "A Gathering Light" for my novel study in my English class. I think it's a pretty alright book, but I don't really like Mattie's character, as she seems like such a total book/ writing nerd, and it really annoys me.

For example, when she mentions that the Bible isn't really "The good book" in her thoughts in order to rebut what Aunt Josie told her to read the Bible more often than those novels of her. She stated that it wasn't really "The good book", because you don't really get a feel for the characters, such as Jesus dying on the Cross etc etc. I'm like "How much of a book nerd can you get -.-?" Seriously, it's called "The good book" for reasons that are NOT writing/ literature related -.-

I just don't really like Mattie's one sided-ness. A majority of the conflicts that she faces, she resorts to literature/writing to combat it, and it bugs the heck out of me. Be open minded woman -.-

I didn't really care for the other characters, but I think that's just me, I'm not into characters in which the setting is in the rural/ farm areas. Royal seems alright as a character, but he seems a bit Mary-Sueish and just a typical cowboy.

However, I give credit to Jennifer for her writing style and the plot. I like how a murder has occured in her area and it doesn't seem that signficant at first, but it slowly intertwines with that of the main character, Mattie.

I'll do a full review later when I'm finished reading it. I'm only on page 243.

Andy.

Actually I'm gonna take back on what I said in my post above. After actually finishing the book, I actually understood as to why Jennifer wrote it in the way she did.

It is skillfully written, and the structure of it was quite unique and well thought out. Having finished the whole book, I actually started to appreciate the characters more and felt the conflicts that the main character deals with for being the eldest daugher in her rural home.

Overall, I thought it was really good, and if I have time later, I think I'll do a bit of a detailed review as to why I think it was good.

I remember once starting this and not liking it. But then I read it last summer and I absolutely acored it. It was really lovely.

Yeah, I've read this. Confusion might be due to the fact that it's called 'A Northern Light' in America, and I think 'A Gathering Light' is a variarion used in Britain (and perhaps other places) due to some publishing hold-up...
Anyway, I thought it was a good book. There some nifty imagery, some nice characters. I can understand the irritation with Mattie - she's a bit of a know it all - but at the end of the day, it's a good read and well-written.
The interlinking of the Grace (forget her surname) and Chester Gillette saga could have been crafted better, but gave something additional that kept me interested.
No way as good as Jennifer's other books, The Tea Rose and Winter Rose (and upcoming The Wild Rose) which were stupendously brilliant, but still something to pick up and read on a slow day.
7/10 from me.