"Kate and the Spies" by JoAnn A. Grote

About this book:

  “Time Period:  1775 

  When Kate Milton and her cousin happen across the Boston Tea Party, they unwittingly step into the midst of the American Revolution. The eleven-year-old girl finds herself pulled deeper into the conflict by members of her own family-by those who support the Patriot's revolutionary cause and those who believe the colonies should submit to the King in England. When her cousin begins to spy for the Patriots, what should she do? Kate and the Spies uses actual historical events to tell a compelling fictional story-of a girl who must determine the right course of action in a confused and difficult time.”


Series: Book #6 in the “Sisters in Time” series. Reviews of #1, #2, #3, #4 Here, and #5 Here!


Spiritual Content- Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, sermons, & prayer services; A few mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; A couple mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of Easter; A mention of a blessing.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘stupid’s;  Many mentions of deaths/murders, gunshots, shooting people, firing squads, fighting, violence, riots, & wars (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of stealing, thieves, vandalism, arrests, & prison; Mentions of the Boston Massacre; Mentions of deaths & treason; Mentions of threats, threats of hanging people, pretending to hang others, & fires; Mentions of blood/bleeding, bruises, injuries, & doctors fixing those injuries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of mean boys throwing rocks at a dog because of its name (barely-above-not-detailed, the dog ends up with a broken leg, but is otherwise fine); A few mentions of a cut-up snake; A couple mentions of taverns; A couple mentions of jealousy.

Sexual Content- N/A.

-Kate Milton, age 11
                                P.O.V. of Kate

                                             Set in 1773-1775
                                                        141 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

(*Note: A dog is injured in this book, so sensitive animal lovers might avoid this one.)

One thing I’ve noticed quickly when reading this series is that while the books are not technically connected, the characters all feel familiar—like you’ve seen or heard about them before. In this case, I’m going to say that’s not a good thing, because it can be confusing. In the prior book, we meet a young girl whose father has a print shop, a cousin who is the daughter of a doctor and is set in the Boston Tea party time period. Now, in this book, we meet a girl who is the daughter of a doctor, has an uncle who owns a print shop, and is set in the Boston Tea party time period. Do you see how it can be confusing? None of the names match up, but because it feels similar to the reader, it feels like a bit of déjà vu.

With this book, I truly didn’t expect much in terms of enjoyment, and, unfortunately, those thoughts ended up being true. I think if this was a childhood favorite series, I would be a bit kinder to it, but since it’s my first time reading the series, I feel a bit let down. I’m not in the target market, however, for this series. I can see homeschooling families use this series to expand upon different time periods, but I don’t think I particularly like this series.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.