Kate and the Spies

KATE AND THE SPIES is from the series of books SISTERS IN TIME. Eleven year old, Kate Milton is growing up during the hardship of the Revolutionary War. Her family and she live in Boston where the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party take place. Her family is loyalists, yet her aunt, uncle, cousins and even her best friend are Patriots. She has a very hard time to decide what she thinks is right. When she is with her family, she feels it is the right thing to be faithful and loyal to the king, but when she is with her cousin Collin or her best friend she thinks she is a true Patriot. Journey back in time with a story that gives an inside scoop of how it was for a girl like her during this historic time.

Kate and the Spies: The American Revolution (1775) (Sisters in Time #6) This is a wonderful option instead of the classic Johnny Tremain. Kate and the Spies covers the same time frame as the classic, but the language is more modern and more easily understandable for 5th through 7th graders. Also, the story does a better job exploring the relationships between loyalists and patriots and the problems families and colonists faced during the time prior to the Revolutionary War.

Reviewed by Anneliese Buenker (age 9) for Reader Views (2/08) "Kate and the Spies" is about a girl named Kate. Kate lives in Boston during the start of the Revolutionary War. Her cousins are patriots but her whole family supports the loyalists and she doesn't know which one to choose. When she is dragged along to the Boston Tea Party, life suddenly becomes a lot more complicated. I loved the book because it drew my attention into the book. I like books that do that so I read "Kate and the Spies" almost immediately.

The American colonies lie on the brink of revolution, and eleven-year-old Kate Milton is torn between the two sides of the approaching conflict. Her parents are firm Loyalists, and her father, a doctor, believes it is his duty as an Englishman to obey the law, even if he disagrees with it. Kate thinks some of what the Loyalists say make sense. But her other relatives, including her cousin, Colin, who is her closest friend, are all Patriots, and some of what they say makes sense to Kate, too. When Kate witnesses the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, it just leaves her more confused. Over the next year and a half, Kate struggles with what role to take in the war that seems certain to come, especially when the British government punishes Boston harshly for the destruction of the tea and British soldiers occupy the city. Young readers who enjoy stories set in Colonial times will most likely enjoy this book, however it's not a must-read. The characters were likable, but I felt they needed a little more development. I plan to try some other books in this series to see what they are like.