by: Sadie Stipanovich – Design Editor

Every person dreams of living a “happily ever after,” but in reality do “happily ever afters” really exist? In the book A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, the fictional characters deal with the issues of living in reality or not. Happy endings do exist, but so do the dire things in life, that people must confront. It is a breathtaking novel full of adventure, drama, truth, and healing.

Mattie, a young girl living on a farm with three other sisters and her Pa, debates throughout the book whether to chase her dreams or marry an ignorant man but getting to live near home.

Royal Loomis, a tough, strong, and attractive man, starts to pursue Mattie. Mattie, a plain girl who never thought a guy like Royal would like her, is intrigued. She never thought a guy like him would like a girl like her. Royal is insensitive and rude, but throughout the book, Mattie puts up with Royal’s nonsense and degrading comments and trys to fall in love with him… because it makes sense. With Royal, she could start a family, live near home, and he would provide for her. But all the while she would not be truly happy and would never get to pursue her real dreams and go to college.

In the book, when Mattie talks about Royal she says, “For the first time, I saw what was in his heart, and I wondered if he might ever want to look deep enough to see mine.”

Later in the book when Mattie gets a scholarship to Bernard, she has to choose if she will do what makes sense and marry a guy she does not love, or do what her heart is telling her to do.

This book is one of my favorite books I have ever read. It was inspirational and exciting. The ending left you feeling good and happy, even though Mattie did not end of having the happy ending she dreamed of her whole life.

When it comes to reading books, there is a debate about whether people should write about happy endings, prince charmings, and magical things, or if people should write about the realistic side of life.

So is it possible for happy endings to exist? Donnelly thinks that happy endings do happen but not always in the way readers think it will. Mattie’s prince charming never is who she hopes him to be, but she packs her bags and heads to New York City in hope of succeeding in college.

When people factor in the sensible side of life books becomes sad and not comforting. Some people’s prince charmings never come. Or some people don’t even get to live a full life due to a car accident, or cancer. All these problems are real and happening to people everywhere, so how come some books never mention these things? It’s because readers like to escape the scary and real world and like to have some hope. Hope is a good thing and reading is a great way to establish that.

“When I read a book, it has to be realistic. No sappy love stories that never really come true. Every love story is the same, they end up together. There is no surprise, no point to read the book…because it’s the same every single time,” said Sarah Levenhagen, junior.

Books should be a combination of both. In The Northern Light, the ending is a perfect example. She ends up chasing her dreams and leaving the realistic and practical life, and does what her heart tells her to do. It is an inspiration for people, and it shows that there is a good in this life even if it means being unrealistic and illogical.

Mattie ends the book with thinking back to her life and who she could have been, she says, “Right now I want a word that describes the feeling you get—a cold sick feeling, deep down inside—when you know something is happening that will change you, and you don’t want it to, but you can’t stop it. And you know, for the first time, for the very first time, that there will now be a before and an after, a was and a will be. And that you will never again quite be the same person you were.”

A Northern Light is a great example of a perfectly balanced book. Mattie gets a taste of the “good” side. Royal proposes to her and she starts to plan a life with him. After a shocking, eye-opening event, Mattie realizes what she really needs and wants. The book ends with Mattie packing up her books and pencils and heading off to chase her real dreams.

Mattie discovered what a happy ending really was. For her, it wasn’t ending up with the right guy. It was leaving home, leaving what she thought was good for her, and taking a risk and going to New York City, all on her own, but pursuing her dream of becoming a writer and one day writing her own book.