Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires by Molly Roe

4 Stars
Middle Grade
Copy provided for review by the publisher

Very very similar to the Dear America diary books, this is a first-person narrative.  Katie is 14 when her father is hurt and everything changes.  With the country plunging into civil war and the increasing tension between the miners and mine owners, can Katie find a way to save her friend from himself?

The coal country strife is not a part of the Civil War we typically hear about, and I quite liked this portrayal.  Katie is a strong and entertaining heroine and my only real complaint was that I wanted more of her story.  :)

(We do get a tiny hint in the acknowledgements-- Katie is based loosely on the author's ancestor.)

I'd highly recommend this one for any girl age 8 or older interested in historical fiction.

Dear America-- So Far From Home

3.5 Stars
JF

How many of these diary series are there now? I think they're everywhere...

This one is the story of Mary Driscoll, an Irish girl who comes to America and works in a mill. It actually wasn't really what I was in the mood for, but it was during my readathon and after the very British Sayers book I need something really short... and this one was shorter than my others from the diary series...es.... (seriously, how DOES one make that plural!?!?)

The only problem was it ended up being... too short. I felt a little cheated. And while I LOVE that there's the "here's what happened to everyone" epilogue at the end, I'm bugged that Mary herself only gets ONE LINE! Seriously, one line for the main character. Bizarre.

I do, however, think these are fabulous books for young readers to introduce or reinforce history. There are actually a bunch of boy ones now too, so they're not just for girls. :D