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.
Call Me Kate
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
The writing style employed in the book entertains, educates and communicates to the reader a general understanding of the hardships of life in the anthracite coal fields of northeast Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century and Irish-American history. - Bill Strassner, Museum Educator --Eckley Miners Village, Weatherly, Pennsylvania
Call Me Kate absorbs the reader into a tightly woven narrative of tumultuous times in the anthracite region. Through Kate, the reader becomes a participant in that story. - Ruth Cummings, Museum Educator --Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum, Scranton, PA
The Lackawanna Historical Society is always pleased to see new and creative ways to promote an interest in our local history. A young adult historical fiction like Call Me Kate is a wonderful example of this! We are delighted to know that local authors are using their heritage to develop new publications. - Mary Ann Moran-Savakinus, Executive Director --Lackawanna Historical Society, Scranton, PA
Call Me Kate absorbs the reader into a tightly woven narrative of tumultuous times in the anthracite region. Through Kate, the reader becomes a participant in that story. - Ruth Cummings, Museum Educator --Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum, Scranton, PA
The Lackawanna Historical Society is always pleased to see new and creative ways to promote an interest in our local history. A young adult historical fiction like Call Me Kate is a wonderful example of this! We are delighted to know that local authors are using their heritage to develop new publications. - Mary Ann Moran-Savakinus, Executive Director --Lackawanna Historical Society, Scranton, PA
About the Author
Molly Roe is the pen name of Mary Garrity Slaby, a veteran language arts and 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 new found 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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More About the Author
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.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The language and sentence structure in this were very simplistic, which would make it a great early middle school read or possibly even capture the interest of a slightly older child struggling with their reading level/comprehension. The story feel very bare bones with an A to B to C plot line. The subject matter is vaguely interesting with the start of the Civil War, the viewing of the Irish as ethnic, labor unions, etc. unfortunately none of these are really covered much in depth but seem merely provide details to be thrown in as "local color".
I was also concerned about the potential historical inaccuracies. This is not my particular area of expertise, but a glaring error was Katie learning Latin. Latin was typically reserved for young boys headed for college. Upper-class ladies might have learned French and maybe a particularly enlightened father would have provided his daughter with a private Latin tutor, but there is no way during this time that it would be taught in public school and certainly not to Irish riff-raff.
Despite the fact that this story is told in first person, we don't get to see a lot of Katie's thought processes. As simple as the plot line was, I was actually a little lost about why Katie was getting involved with the Molly Maguires. It seems once she found her friend she easily could have passed him a letter and resolved it the issue through less complicated means. There is a use of character voice in this work, but it seems to come and go, which was another sore point. I couldn't help but track the changes of when it was used and when it wasn't. I'm not sure if I'd prefer Roe to have left it out altogether or just been more uniform about it.
On the other hand, this was a very quick read and I think some people will quite enjoy the pacing. If you want to turn your brain off and just read, this will work quite well.
The reviewer is a 2009 graduate of Kent State University's Master of Library and Information Sciences program, an alumna of Antioch College, and the author of the blog A Librarian's Life in Books.
I was also concerned about the potential historical inaccuracies. This is not my particular area of expertise, but a glaring error was Katie learning Latin. Latin was typically reserved for young boys headed for college. Upper-class ladies might have learned French and maybe a particularly enlightened father would have provided his daughter with a private Latin tutor, but there is no way during this time that it would be taught in public school and certainly not to Irish riff-raff.
Despite the fact that this story is told in first person, we don't get to see a lot of Katie's thought processes. As simple as the plot line was, I was actually a little lost about why Katie was getting involved with the Molly Maguires. It seems once she found her friend she easily could have passed him a letter and resolved it the issue through less complicated means. There is a use of character voice in this work, but it seems to come and go, which was another sore point. I couldn't help but track the changes of when it was used and when it wasn't. I'm not sure if I'd prefer Roe to have left it out altogether or just been more uniform about it.
On the other hand, this was a very quick read and I think some people will quite enjoy the pacing. If you want to turn your brain off and just read, this will work quite well.
The reviewer is a 2009 graduate of Kent State University's Master of Library and Information Sciences program, an alumna of Antioch College, and the author of the blog A Librarian's Life in Books.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By L. Wagner
Format:Paperback
I found Call Me Kate a very interesting book, not only because it is based on the author's ancestors, but it opened my eyes to the upheaval over "Lincoln's War" by the northern states. I had no idea that the North was so adamant towards the war. This was a great way to learn about the Civil War era without reading a dull history book!
The deplorable conditions of the mines in Northeast Pennsylvania, where this story opens, creates a dramatic background to the plight of the people and the lengths they went to stay out of the war.
Young Katie McCafferty is one of three daughters who gets herself involved, initially unintentionally, while off working to help her family financially after her father's injuries. The lengths she went are difficult to comprehend when you remember this is during the Civil War times where I only remember men going off to war.
Katie's ingenuity and intensity, as she worked along the men, was part of the reason things happened as they did, and I found it very interesting. She looked at the situation from a different perspective than the men, which was refreshing.
Definitely a good book to bring history to life.
The deplorable conditions of the mines in Northeast Pennsylvania, where this story opens, creates a dramatic background to the plight of the people and the lengths they went to stay out of the war.
Young Katie McCafferty is one of three daughters who gets herself involved, initially unintentionally, while off working to help her family financially after her father's injuries. The lengths she went are difficult to comprehend when you remember this is during the Civil War times where I only remember men going off to war.
Katie's ingenuity and intensity, as she worked along the men, was part of the reason things happened as they did, and I found it very interesting. She looked at the situation from a different perspective than the men, which was refreshing.
Definitely a good book to bring history to life.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
From the moment Con Gallagher rushes, breathless, into Katie McCafferty's classroom at St. Ann's school, the reader is caught up in Katie's world. With excitement and compassion, we follow her through personal ordeals of a sort all-too-common in the real-life communities upon which hers is based.
The screech of the mine whistle. The loss of life and limb. The child who leaves school to help support a family. With grace and insight, author Molly Roe weaves together the threads common to mining communities throughout the coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Katie's response to the crises in her life reveals a character that we can't help love and admire. In the people around her, we see the roots of that character. We see them in her parents, who respond with faith and patience to their fate. We see them in Katie's Grandmother, whose clear, keen eye sees injustice where it rises. We see them in Aunt Aggie, who takes a sharp tongue to anyone who crosses her.
No less important to Katie's journey is the community if Irish immigrants that cradles and nurtures her. Here, among people who have little but share everything, Katie gains the strength to face what life has dealt her.
The character of the community and its people are one of this novel's true strengths. But another is the original storyline that it follows. It's not your typical Molly Maquires story.
It recreates, in vivid detail, the dangers of a mining community. But, set during the onset of the Civil War, it takes the reader into draft practices that commandeered Irish immigrants, sometimes against their will, whether or not they were citizens.
Into this situation, Katie steps fearlessly, bringing all the strength and wisdom of the McCafferty clan with her. The reader will follow her eagerly through every step of her journey, and will be all the better for having done so.
The screech of the mine whistle. The loss of life and limb. The child who leaves school to help support a family. With grace and insight, author Molly Roe weaves together the threads common to mining communities throughout the coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Katie's response to the crises in her life reveals a character that we can't help love and admire. In the people around her, we see the roots of that character. We see them in her parents, who respond with faith and patience to their fate. We see them in Katie's Grandmother, whose clear, keen eye sees injustice where it rises. We see them in Aunt Aggie, who takes a sharp tongue to anyone who crosses her.
No less important to Katie's journey is the community if Irish immigrants that cradles and nurtures her. Here, among people who have little but share everything, Katie gains the strength to face what life has dealt her.
The character of the community and its people are one of this novel's true strengths. But another is the original storyline that it follows. It's not your typical Molly Maquires story.
It recreates, in vivid detail, the dangers of a mining community. But, set during the onset of the Civil War, it takes the reader into draft practices that commandeered Irish immigrants, sometimes against their will, whether or not they were citizens.
Into this situation, Katie steps fearlessly, bringing all the strength and wisdom of the McCafferty clan with her. The reader will follow her eagerly through every step of her journey, and will be all the better for having done so.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A well-written if somewhat juvenile history
I found the book well-written and entertaining, though I believe it is written for a twelve-year-old or above reading level. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Andrew E. Barniskis
3.0 out of 5 stars
Strong female main character!
Title: Call Me Kate
By: Molly Roe
Publisher: Tribute Books
Number of Pages: 168
Date of Release: November 24th, 2004
Synopsis From Back of Book:... Read more
By: Molly Roe
Publisher: Tribute Books
Number of Pages: 168
Date of Release: November 24th, 2004
Synopsis From Back of Book:... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Moonlight Book Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Historical
Call Me Kate by Molly Roe is a book on the shorter side but interesting nonetheless in that it taught me a bit about a time I really knew nothing about. Read more
Published on April 9, 2011 by Darlene
4.0 out of 5 stars
Call Me Kate by Molly Roe
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... Read more
Published on March 16, 2011 by Michelle A. Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read!
Taken from the Bewitched Bookworms Blog (of which I'm a member):
I read this in a spirit of the tween/teen it was written for. Read more
I read this in a spirit of the tween/teen it was written for. Read more
Published on November 8, 2010 by Kristen Mead
4.0 out of 5 stars
A new perspective on Civil War history
I really enjoyed reading Call Me Kate. It's definitely written for the younger of the YA audience with a strong emphasis on a historical event. Read more
Published on November 7, 2010 by Conan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb Coming of Age Story
Catherine "Katie" McCafferty is an Irish immigrant living in the Patch. Coal mining is a large industry in Pennsylvania, and poor working conditions, being paid in script, and the... Read more
Published on November 7, 2010 by Cheryl C. Malandrinos
4.0 out of 5 stars
Call Me Kate Review
I was very lucky to get to read Call Me Kate!!
Kate is a 14 yr old girl who is surviving through the Civil War. Her Family is not well off by any means. Read more
Kate is a 14 yr old girl who is surviving through the Civil War. Her Family is not well off by any means. Read more
Published on November 6, 2010 by Sarah L. Coulsey
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Bibliophile Support Group" Review
Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires is a YA historical fiction, written by Molly Roe (pen name of Mary Garrity Slaby). Read more
Published on November 5, 2010 by Connie & Angie L
4.0 out of 5 stars
Informing and Entertaining Teen Readers
'Call Me Kate: Meeting The Molly Maguires' is a young adult novel set in the coal mining region of northeastern Pennsylvania during the early 1860s. Read more
Published on November 4, 2010 by Dianne Ascroft, historical fiction writer
