Cat, Herself

by Mollie Hunter

Catriona "Cat" McPhie, daughter of Scottish travellers who roam the countryside in horse-drawn caravans, fearlessly defies the traditions and restrictions of her people to find her own path in life and to marry a man of her own choice

279 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith was a Scottish author. She wrote under the name Mollie Hunter. Mollie Hunter is one of the most popular and influential twentieth-century Scottish writers of fiction for children and young adults. Her work, which includes fantasy, historical fiction, and realism, has been widely praised and has won many awards and honors, such as the Carnegie Medal, the Phoenix Award, a Boston Globe - Horn Book Honor Award, and the Scottish Arts Council Award.

There has also been great interest in Hunter's views about writing fiction, and she has published two collections of essays and speeches on the subject. Hunter's portrait hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, and her papers and manuscripts are preserved in the Scottish National Library.

Her books have been as popular in the United States as in the United Kingdom, and most are still in print. Critic Peter Hollindale has gone so far as to assert that Hunter "is by general consent Scotland's most distinguished modern children's writer."

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better for young teen girls than for me now. Cat loves some things about being a tinker (freedom, horse travel) (*not* a Gypsy; the history is briefly explained, and both interesting and relevant) and doesn't love others (the fact that many tinkers are switching to autos, and that the men have a right to get drunk and beat their women). She is brave enough to find her own path in the modern world, and a future that looks bright as the outside community comes to grips with their prejudices and with laws to protect all different minority groups.

Reads a bit like historical fiction and, in a way, is, now... but of course at the time it was contemporary. Interesting. I will consider others by the author.

[Kagama-the Literaturevixen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember this being a particular favorite re-read of mine in my mid-teens. The description of the tinkerers/travellers way of life was described in a way that really made it come to life...even the harrowing bits, but I think what I loved most of all about the book was its heroine Cat.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of Scottish gypsies (or tinkers, I suppose). I remember being drawn to Cat's personality, though I cannot remember why.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, loved this book in my early-mid teens. It's a coming-of-age/YA story about Scottish/Irish Traveller girl (difference between that and Roma is briefly but clearly explained).

Cat is the archetypal strong female protagonist in a hostile-ish world - Hunter does not shy at all from anti-Traveller racism, to the level that this fabulous book would have a content warning if written today- but so wonderfully well-written that a bunch of us Xennials are on Goodreads raving about how much we loved this book when people were still making mix CDs.