Katerina's Wish

Starred review from July 2, 2012
Thirteen-year-old Katerina (“Trina” to her family) and her father are both dreamers, and it was her father’s dream of a better life that led their family from Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) to southern Colorado in 1900. One year later, having settled in a coal mining camp, they are still buried in work and trapped by debt. Then Trina sees a fish that reminds her of a fairy tale about a magic carp; soon after, her two younger sisters’ frivolous wishes are granted. Initially skeptical, Trina eventually makes her wish: for a farm that will make her family happy. Several dichotomies define Mobley’s debut novel: optimism versus realism, magic versus hard work, and
xenophobia versus a neighborly immigrant community. The importance of
ingenuity, faith, confidence, and the willingness to dream shine through in a rich story threaded with traditional folk tales, which offers realistic dilemmas and a vibrant setting and cast. As Trina rises above the forces conspiring to quash her dream, readers will appreciate her success as she learns the rewards of persistence. Ages 8–12. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

Starred review from July 15, 2012
Thirteen-year-old Katerina and her little sisters want to believe in their dreams, but life in a Colorado coal camp threatens to turn them into pipe dreams. Take one maybe-magical carp and three sisters who believe in wishes, stir them together with an evil shopkeeper and add a dash of romance, and you have one dandy first novel. Katerina's sisters wish for little hair ribbons and plum dumplings when they find a special fish, but big sister has appropriately bigger plans. She wishes that her family could leave the coal town and have the farm they hoped to own when they left Bohemia for America in the late 1800s. But dreams are tricky things, easily dashed when real life interferes. This is a world where the coal company owns everything, pays hardworking immigrants in scrip that can only be used at the company store, separates the workers by nationality so they cannot organize and, worst of all, ignores safety regulations. Weaving rich details of life in a mining town at the turn of the 20th century with the pacing of a good old-fashioned historical romance and conveying it all in Katerina's heartfelt voice, Mobley has constructed a world where one determined teenager with brains for business, the bravery to stand up for herself and the ability to find love help make dreams come true. Top-notch. (Historical fiction. 9-14)

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August 1, 2012

Gr 4-7-Katerina's father's dreams of a better life brought the family of five from Bohemia to America, but now, in the spring of 1901, instead of the prosperous farm he envisioned, they are in a coal-mining camp in southern Colorado, and his wages are barely enough to eke out a living. Katerina, 13, is a pragmatist like her mother, but when she sees a carp in the creek, she is reminded of the folktale her grandmother told her in which a fish granted an old couple three wishes. Their neighbor, Old Jan, retells the story that evening, and when her younger sisters make silly wishes, Katerina is amazed to see them come true. Not fully believing in the carp's magic, Katerina is still determined not to waste the final wish on something frivolous. She finds herself working harder and coming up with creative ways to add a few extra coins to the family's tobacco can. As the savings slowly grow, the idea of a farm does not seem so far-fetched. Complicating matters is Old Jan's son, who has begun courting Katerina, and she is drawn to him, but she cannot reconcile herself to a future in the mining camp. Even after a terrible accident leaves him injured and many of the miners dead, he is hesitant to venture away from the work he has known. Katerina comes to realize that although life is not a fairy tale with magic fish, believing and persevering can make dreams come true. Similar in subject matter to Susan Campbell Bartoletti's A Coal Miner's Bride (Scholastic, 2000), this is solid historical fiction with a touch of whimsy and romance.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2012
Grades 4-6 *Starred Review* In 1900, Katerina's family left Bohemia for America in hopes of owning a farm. Instead, Papa works in a Colorado coal mine, while 13-year-old Katerina and her sisters help Mama mind the house and do laundry for other miners. Initially prone to daydreaming and wishing, Katerina decides to work hard and earn a path out of the mining camp for her family. When her plans backfire, all seems lost, but she and her family are as resilient as their friends are supportive. One of those friends is Mark, and throughout the story her attachment to him slowly grows, though his insistence on mining, despite a life-threatening accident, causes a rift. This vividly imagined first-person narrative features a number of distinct characters within an unusual historical setting. Neighbors within the camp are divided into national groups by suspicion and prejudice as well as cultural and language differences, an issue handled with sensitivity. From the search for chicken coop materials to the gathering of women waiting for news after a mining disaster, realistic details bring the story to life. The inclusion of European folktales within the narrative frames individual dilemmas within a broader context, and a note on the Colorado coal camps and the author's research adds dimension to this multi-dimensional first novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)