Review: Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires
April 6, 2010 by Lillie
Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires
Molly Roe
Tribute Books
November 24, 2008
Paperback, 168 pages, $12.95
Also available in Kindle edition at Amazon.com and E-Book Formats from Smashwords
Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Call Me Kate takes place in the tumultuous days at the beginning of the Civil War—a turbulent time of strife between advocates of slavery and abolitionists, management and labor, and long-time citizens against immigrants. Irish mine workers and their families endured many hardships in the coal mining region of Pennsylvania, and the draft was one more problem they didn’t want. Some fought back through secret organizations like the Molly Maguires.
Catherine McCafferty at age 14 disguises herself as a boy to infiltrate the Molly Maguires to save her dear friend. There is plenty of adventure and excitement in the story as well as little-known history.
Call Me Kate is written for young adults, but I enjoyed the book and appreciated learning the history.
The book, which is a Mom’s Choice Awards® Silver Recipient, is available in paperback and e-book formats:
Disclosure: I received an electronic copy of the book from the publisher. I have not accepted any compensation for this review and made no commitment to give a favorable review. The links to Amazon.com and Smashwords are affiliate links.
Thanks for helping us to spread the word about “Call Me Kate!”
Glad to do it, Nicole. I enjoyed the book. Sorry it took so long to post the review.
I feel as though I’ve heard of this one before!!!
.-= Bluestocking´s last blog ..Anakin Skywalker: Obsession with Padmé =-.
Bluestocking,
The theme of girl dressing as boy to … do something … is common, but I found the history of the Irish immigrants and the mining situation at the start of the Civil War new and interesting.
Sounds like a book for my wife, but interesting enough, I actually had family in Pennsylvania during these times. If nothing else, I might have to check it out because of my family history..Good stuff!
TylerW,
You would probably find the history in the book fascinating. I did, and I don’t have any connection to the time period or place as you do.
Unfortunately, I’m not aware of this slice of history. It would be good on your part to pen down a part of the narration. What is the genre? Is it based purely on friendship or is there more to this story?
Gaye,
I don’t think it’s the job of the review to pen part of the narration. The job of the reviewer is to give the reader an idea of what the book is about and who might like it. The genre, as stated at the beginning of the review is Historical Fiction/Young Adult. It isn’t appropriate for reviewers to reveal the complete plot line, and I never include spoilers in my reviews. Doesn’t the following sentence from the review tell you there’s more to it than friendship? “There is plenty of adventure and excitement in the story as well as little-known history.”
I’ve never claimed to be a professional reviewer. Perhaps you would be happier reading another review by a different reviewer who does a better job of meeting your expectations. There are many sites that specialize in book reviews. Reviews are just a small part of my blog.
I just read this book last weekend and i really liked it
this book is a real recommendation!!
Phil,
What a coincidence. I’ve had the book for more than six months to review and just now got to it.
This sounds like the story of Mulan where she has to disguise herself as a boy in order to save her father. Nice one!
I’ll give it a try…
jane,
There have been a number of stories about girls/women having to disguise themselves as males to achieve a goal. But there are only a few common themes in literature that result in many different stories.
I have not read the book yet. However, it reminded me of an old Barbra Streisand movie, Yentl about a woman dressing up as a man for a particular goal. The book sounds exciting.
Ron,
I guess girls/women disguising themselves as males are fairly common because in the past, women/girls couldn’t do the same things as men/boys.
Sounds like a great book, I am definitely going to pick this up for my classroom.
.-= Pat´s last blog ..User:1ST NATIONAL ATM =-.
Pat,
I’m sure your students will enjoy it.
A girl disguising as a male for a purpose is certainly not unique. This aspect has been featured in many novels and ancient literature. I yet have to read the book. Having glanced through the comments to this post, I believe it would be an interesting read.
Todd,
The thing that made this book different for me was the history of the Irish in the coal mines at the beginning of the Civil War. I didn’t know anything about that.
Call me Kate may sound a common small town girl story but what lies deep inside the story counts. Getting dressed up as a boy with the intentions of rescuing a friend would require a lot of courage. The adventures that Kate would have encountered in the way will make the story an interesting read. Hope I get to read it soon.
Brad,
Hope you get the book and read it … and enjoy it!
Nice review. Sounds like it might have to go on my wishlist!
Hope you enjoy it, Nancy.
is it available here in the Philippines? based on the reviews i guess these books should be must-have.
Anna,
I don’t know that the paperback is available in the Philippines, unless you can order it from Amazon.com. However, the e-book from Smashwords can be downloaded anywhere in the world.
I imagined Mulan in my mind when I read the synopsis. Well, I’ve been reading good reviews on the net (including yours) so I might as well try this out
.
Hope you enjoy it, Jane.
I like this review. It really sounds like this book might have to go on my wishlist for new books. Is it also available in other languages to practise foreign language skills?
Stella,
I don’t think the book is available in any other languages, but I’m not sure.