Historical fiction from a contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk High School

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.

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Email her at molly@tribute-books.com

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.

Reviewed by: Bill Strassner, Museum Educator, Eckley Miners Village
www.eckleyminers.org

EXCERPT

"S'ter, s'ter, I need to see Katie right away!" The disheveled boy who burst into our classroom was my friend and former classmate, Con Gallagher. He bent to catch his breath beside the well-polished teacher's desk. Twenty pairs of horror-filled eyes turned
direction, then darted back toward the frowning nun, expecting the worst. Sister Mary Charles never tolerated disruptions, especially to her beloved literature class. I was in for it
Con had a darn good reason to be here. Ink splashed from the inkwell as I jumped up from my desk, but Sister was even faster. Accompanied by the rattle of rosary beads, she dragged Con into the corridor by a sooty sleeve and told me to return to my seat. I hesitated, then plopped back down. What in the world was happening?

My friend Annie leaned across the aisle and whispered, "This better not be one of Con's pranks or you'll both get paddled."

"Shhh!" Everyone strained to hear the conversation in the hall, but whatever was said did not take long.

"Miss McCafferty, go to the cloakroom and get your belongings please." Sister Mary Charles's no-nonsense voice was tinged with kindness, usually reserved for the Latin scholars.