Call Me Kate by Molly Roe

Fourteen-year-old Katie McCafferty risks job, family, and eventually her very life to rescue a lifelong friend. Disguised as a draft resister, Katie infiltrates a secret Irish organization to prevent bloodshed. Tragedies challenge her strength and ingenuity, and she faces a crisis of conscience. Can Katie 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.

"Call Me Kate is a fascinating look at the time period of the early drafts for the Civil War. It focuses on a specific area of the country and the conflict that arose among the different classes and ethnicities. I got a brief history lesson on a time period that I wasn’t very familiar with. For anyone interested in getting some history with their fiction, Call Me Kate is a good book to add to your choices." - TeensReadToo.com

" The politics of the time, the history of how hard the struggle was for many poor families, is absolutely inspirational. The writer did a wonderful job bringing us back to the past, and making us understand that bigotry – in any form – can only harm. I am always so thankful when a writer comes out with a story that teaches something more than “unrequited love with a supernatural being.” Don’t get me wrong, those are fun, too. But this is a great story that will teach something and be fun at the same time." - BookPleasures.com

Read a pdf copy of first chapter here.

I was contacted by Tribute tours to review this book.  It is historical fiction.  The time period is early 1860's.  It was a very interesting read.  Learning about the coal mining conflicts.  How Irish immigrants were treated during this time period.  It's not really a romance because Molly is too busy helping her family and those around her.  The history period covered was very interesting and informative.  At the end of the book there are Literature questions and extension activities, as well as a glossary of terms.  This would be a good book if any classroom was studying this time period of history.  

While reading I felt that at times though, older people were not given the respect that should have been given, referring to them as biddies and the likes.  Also there are curse words in the book.  

All in all I did enjoy the book and learning about this time period and culture.    

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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a arc of this book was provided by Tribute book for this review.