Catching Katie (by Robin Lee Hatcher)

(Amazon UK link)

'Catching Katie' is a historical Christian novel set in the early 1900s in USA, by Robin Lee Hatcher. It's about Katie, an idealistic and strong-minded young woman. She is a passionate advocate of women's suffrage, in days when homes tended to be traditional and only men were allowed to vote in many States.

Katie returns to her home town for a few months, after studying and working elsewhere, and meets Ben, her best friend from childhood. As they get to know each other again, her heart struggles to determine the best path for her future.

There are some very good characterisations in this novel. They include not just Katie and Ben, but an angry schoolteacher, Katie's parents, Ben's sister, and many other more minor characters. Their interactions feel real, and Katie's decisions resounded well with the way I would have thought, at times. Katie sometimes does something a little rash because of condescending advice against it!

The Christian message in the book is low-key, not pushed in a preachy or cringeworthy way. Some difficult questions (such as a woman's place in a marriage) are examined in a fair and balanced way without any authorial comment about either extreme.

All in all, I thought this a good read which I would recommend to anyone interested in historical novels.