Book Tour and Review: Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires by Molly Roe

 
Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires by Molly Roe

Publisher: Tribute Books

Publish Date: November 24, 2008

Hardcover, 168 pages
Young Adult

My Review:
Why I read this:  I was emailed by the publisher about the blog tour for this book, I thought the blurb sounded interesting and I agreed to be a part of the tour.

How is the novel driven:  Character - the action is in the background and the book revolves around how Katie, her family and her friends react to the things going on around them.


My thoughts: I know very little about the north during the civil war, especially the about the people in the coal mining towns that really didn't want to be involved.  I found this look at this time in history to be fascinating.  Seeing it distantly through Katie's eyes was interesting.  Also seeing the everyday life for those not involved in the war, just involved in this time in history was fascinating.

I also knew little of the immigrants and the Irish famine and how the Irish were treated over here once they arrived.  NC History classes really don't cover these things.  Most of our ancestry here is English, Welsh and Scottish so little is known about the Irish, at least to me.

I loved getting to know Katie and those around her.   The book is well-written and as things happen around Katie we get her feelings and thoughts about them and her desire to try and make things right in the world and become so much more than just a female who longs to get married.  The intrigue also adds another dimension in the book.  What will happen next and how far will Katie go to try and make things change around her?  This keeps the plot moving at a fast pace and it kept me turning the pages to see what Katie would do next.


Ms. Roe writes an interesting book with Katie as the highlight and the events plaguing the coal country at the beginning of the civil war at the forefront as well.  I feel I learned a lot during this book and look forward to reading more on the subject.


Very clean for a young adult novel, only references to cursing are used and that is refreshing as well.  I realize it was a slightly gentler time as far as the women were concerned so it holds with the time period well.

If you enjoy young adult historical fiction, anything having to do with the 1860s or just a strong heroine who is finding her place in society then this is a book for you.  Whether you are younger or older, this book has something for everyone.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:
 Coming of age amidst the seething unrest of the Civil War era, feisty fourteen-year-old Katie McCafferty infiltrates the Molly Maguires, a secret Irish organization, to rescue a lifelong friend. Under the guise of Dominick, a draft resister, Katie volunteers for a dangerous mission in hopes of preventing bloodshed. Katie risks job, family, and ultimately her very life to intervene. A series of tragedies challenge Katie's strength and ingenuity, and she faces a crisis of conscience. Can she balance her sense of justice with the law? Call Me Kate is suitable for readers from eleven to adult. The story is dramatic and adventuresome, yet expressive of daily life in the patches of the hard coal region during the Civil War era. This novel will appeal to readers of the Dear America series, as well as more mature readers who will enjoy the story's rich context and drama.


Molly Roe Bio:
Molly Roe is the pen name of Mary Garrity Slaby, a veteran language arts & reading teacher at Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School. Mary holds a Ph.D. in education from Temple University, and Pennsylvania teaching certification in six areas. She has pursued the hobby of genealogy for the past decade. Mary was born in Philadelphia, raised in Schuylkill County, and currently lives in Dallas, Pennsylvania with her husband, John. They are parents of two grown children, Melissa and John Garrett, cover illustrator of Call Me Kate. Digging into the past has given Mary newfound respect for her ancestors and a better understanding of history. Call Me Kate is the first in the author’s trilogy of historical novels loosely based on the lives of the strong women who preceded her.






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FTC Disclosure:  Thank you to Tribute books for my ebook copy of Call Me Kate for my reading pleasure and my honest review.  All Amazon or other retail links on my site are there for the reader’s benefit,  not my own because of NC Laws I do not make money from anything you buy from the links on my blog.