Readers

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

# Book Review # Child Book Review

Book Review: Call Me Kate

Summary from GoodReads: 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.


My Review: This book, though slow in a few places, is a wonderful source of what I like to call *accidental learning* for anyone 11 and up. There are some gaps within the story, but what is mentioned is in good detail as it pertains to history. So, get your child into the book and they get a history lesson on the Civil War while escaping into the Katie's world. 

I absolutely loved the portrayal of the mines in the beginning of the book. From the start, I could tell that Molly Roe was going to paint a picture with great description {which I love in historical novels, I like to feel like I'm right there}. 

Katie's journey and courage stand out. She struggles, she reaches out, she tries to help and do better. 

This is a wonderful story of how the past was, what to be grateful for today and, most importantly, to set your goals and be determined to succeed. 

My 10, 11 and 12 year old children will be reading this book in the upcoming weeks as part of our home school curriculum.


RATING: ♥♥♥♥

Pages: 168
Softcover

Review copy of this book provided by the author/publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. In no way did the provision of the book affect the outcome of my review.

2 comments:

  1. Mystee - that's fantastic that you're going to have 'Call Me Kate' as a part of your home school curriculum. What an honor - thank you!

    We appreciate your support of the book and for sharing it with everyone out there.

    Young readers can always use a bit of 'accidental learning' mixed into their reading - great term, by the way.

    Best wishes,
    Nicole
    Tribute Books

    ReplyDelete
  2. Accidental learning is great. Like Nicole says, I love that phrase.
    Let me know how using it in your curriculum works. As I mentioned on another post, I'm thinking of homeschooling as of the first of the year.

    ReplyDelete

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