Wednesday, October 27, 2010

BLOG TOUR, 10/26/10...CALL ME KATE: MEETING THE MOLLY MAGUIRES BY MOLLY ROE

Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires by Molly Roe
finished reading on October 26, 2010

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book.  It was a relatively short read and entertaining.  Reading Call Me Kate took me back to the days of my girlhood when I read the Little House books and Anne of Green Gables.  Katie McCafferty is exactly the type of heroine in the tradition of Laura Ingalls and Anne Shirley.  A young girl with a lot of spunk and character who cares deeply about others.  The plot of the book includes an important historical event, the forcing of Irish mine workers into the draft to fight in the Civil War.  Most of these men were mine workers and the main breadwinners in their families.  To leave to fight in the war would mean devastation for their families.  The Irish who were opposed to the draft were referred to as Molly Maguires and were blamed for many bad deeds, including voter fraud, draft riots, violence at the mines and even murder.  Katie is a fictional character who finds herself in the midst of all the political strife and finds a way to stop potential bloodshed, at least temporarily.  Ms. Roe has written a wonderful story for tweens and young adults who are fans of great stories with strong heroines and important historical events. 

Side note:  This was the first ebook I read on my Sony Reader and I have to say that I really enjoyed the experience.  While I still will always be loyal to print books, I will still enjoy free reads on my Reader!

About the book:

*Mom's Choice Award Winner in young adult historical fiction category

*4 1/2-star rating at Amazon.com

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

Thanks to Nicole at Tribute Books for allowing me to read this book and participate in the tour.

1 comment:

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  1. I read this book last year also and ended up getting an email from someone telling me how awful and incorrect this book was.. everyone has different opinions, I liked it. As far as the British Babes Book Brigade, I was so excited when I got the email from Sourcebooks..I love English and Irish authors...!!!

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