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We've all heard this story before: a girl growing up in turn of the century United States wants to break free from the life that's expected of her, and go to college instead of get married, work the land, and raise a family. Our main character loves books instead of farming (so original!) and is headstrong enough to read and educate herself in pockets of her day, but not so headstrong that she fights tooth and nail for what she wants. Mattie does make certain strides, but only because the people in her life give her a hand up or allow her to. It takes a dead woman and her letters to snap Mattie awake and force her to make a decision. Had Grace not died, Mattie's life would have turned out very different.
This is a personal observation, and others may disagree, but I think it's incredibly selfish when someone makes others promises on their deathbed. If you are dying, you cannot hold someone else's life hostage because they are living. This is something that Mattie is fighting with the entire novel, and it just rubs me the wrong way.
Like others, I don't appreciate the way the novel jumps back and forth in time. It makes it difficult to determine when a chapter is happening, what has already happened, and what has yet to happen. All told, the novel takes place over the course of about a year or so.
The author took an actual historical event (the drowning death of Grace in 1906) and instead of writing a mystery, a thriller, or a true crime, decided to create the character of Mattie, and tell Grace's story through her. This shifts the focus from Grace to Mattie, and I'm not sure that was the best choice here.
There are some great things here too. I enjoyed the way the author wove dictionary words throughout the story and tied them to the plot. I also liked how Donnelly described certain things, like the settings, her family members, or aspects of life. She gave Mattie a unique way of looking at things; like a combination of an innocent and a very old soul. This lends to some beautiful observations and passages.
I also appreciated the ending. I won't spoil it here, but suffice it to say, it is satisfying.
It's a good story if you're looking for a historical fiction from New York state in 1906, but not fantastic.