Set in northern Herkimer County, New York in 1906, it is based on the murder of Grace Brown case —the basis also for An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (1925).

[2][3][4] For the 70th anniversary of the Medal a few years later it was named one of the top ten winning works, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite.

The novel begins in the present day, with teenaged Mattie Cokey working at The Glenmore, a hotel on Big Moose Lake, to earn money during the summer.

They reveal some shocking information about Grace's lover, Chester Gillette, who checked into the hotel as Carl Grahm.

Beside the British Carnegie, A Northern Light won the 2003 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature.