Katie

by Margaret Graham

The McLead children -- squeezed by the Great Depression, mystified by their father's disappearance, held together by their mother's love. A picture right from the heart of America.

Genres: Fiction

391 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Margaret Graham is a bestselling author and has been writing for 30 years. Margaret's novels have been published in the UK, Europe and the USA. Margaret has written two plays, co-researched a television documentary - which grew out of Canopy of Silence, and has written numerous short stories and features.

Reviews

[Kate (lkatemm on Storygraph)]

I read this book many times as a child and have major emotional imprints from it. I got the sudden urge to reread it this month and ordered an old copy. There is so much I didn't remember (a whole huge section in the end about Bible college!) or couldn't imagine as a kid, for example what Texas brush country looked like, so it was a very different experience this go round. There is a lot to pull at the heartstrings on the re-read with a father who goes missing, a struggling single mother in the Depression, and the process of growing up in general for Katie and her siblings under those conditions. I can see at lot more of the religiosity now, although it was certainly there all along, and I think Margaret Graham might have written several specifically Christian books. There's also the gut punch of seeing racial slurs casually written on a few occasions, which is disturbing and why I won't rate it and wouldn't really recommend it, especially for kids.

[KT Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I return to the story of little Katie McLeod every so often, and have since I was a child. The book was given to me because she and I shared the same name. Every time I read it, I find something new to love. I will say that Becky can be infuriatingly tragic at times, but she did what needed to be done by a woman at that time struggling to raise six children all on her lonesome. Story has it that this book was semi-autobiographical, which is remarkable as you can go and see some of the places discussed. Bull Creek, Katie's beloved Texas home, is now a gigantic park in the middle of Austin, TX; a city that, during her time, was so far distant it took multiple hours to get to and from.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, entitled: Katie, by Margaret Graham, was written in 1981. The story begins in the Depression era, continues through WWII. It is a fiction story about the struggles of one family after losing everything and how they survived fueled by love and faith in Jesus. A touching, heartwarming story.

I enjoyed this book.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book lent to me by my mom. A compelling story of a young girl's life magnificently told. I was so taken with her character and her struggles and the whole family dynamic.