Just Call Me Kate

by Dannah Gresh, Janet Mylin

Sixth-grader Kate Harding has bigger problems than trying to get her parents to stop calling her "Katie." She has a major crush on her older brother's best friend, Zachary Donaldson, and in a moment of insanity she dares to write his name on the bathroom wall in eight-inch high pencil letters. It doesn't take Principal Butter long to match the handwriting to the doodling on her book covers. Kate is sent to detention, where she meets three new friends, and they all decide to become the True Girl Club. Her case of boy craziness is cured with some good advice from her new friends.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Christian

96 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2008

About the author

Dannah Gresh, a mother/daughter communication coach, has sold well over three quarters of a million copies of her books—including And the Bride Wore White and 2008's best-selling CBA youth book, Lies Young Women Believe (coauthored with Nancy Leigh DeMoss)—making her one of the most successful Christian authors targeting teens and preteens. With the belief that today's culture has been seeking to rob little girls of their innocence, Dannah has been fighting on the front lines to protect them. Her fun line of Secret Keeper Girl mom/preteen daughter connecting resources and live events that tour the country provide moms with just the right tools to fight back. She has long been at the forefront of the movement to encourage both tweens and teens to pursue purity and is often called upon to defend the conservative position of abstinence in national news media like USA Today, Time, Chicago Tribune, and Women's Wear Daily. She is also a frequent contributor to FamilyLife Today, Midday Connection, and Focus on the Family. Dannah lives in State College, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Bob, and their children, Robby, Lexi, and Autumn, whom the family adopted from China in 2007. She and her husband founded Grace Prep, a new model in Christian high school education, which Bob administrates. She is shamelessly in love with her labradoodle, Stormie. (DannahGresh.com)

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a read-aloud with my 8-year-old daughter. The storyline was interesting enough for me and pop culture enough for her. Not dumbed-down vocabulary or anything Strong female lead and the message was about getting away from materialism and boy-craziness etc. etc. It wasn't until the last pages I discovered it was a Christian author with a little Bible study at the end. Not usually our thing, but this was so under-the-radar that it gets my stamp of good reading for young girls.

[Alanna Lavery]

Very fun series! would definatly recommend this book for preteens! (8-12)

[Ana Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute story exploring the topic of boy crushes. I really enjoyed reading this with my pre-teen daughter and she did too. We both liked how Kate, the main character, feels safe in her home environment, with her school teacher, and with her group of friends to be able to talk about her thoughts and feelings. The chapters are small enough for a 3rd grader to read in her own.