Review: Cate of the Lost Colony

Title: Cate of the Lost Colony
Author: Lisa Klein
Genre: Historical Fiction

Why I Read It: It was one of the books I got on sale at chapters (3 for $10- Chapters is kind of expensive, but has great sales). And I do have a soft spot for Roanoke, and the early colonies stuff- I like reading about coming into a world that hasn't been taken over by European civilization.

Summary: When Lady Catherine Archer catches the eye of Sir Walter Ralegh, an explore and favourite of Queen Elizabeth, she is exiled to the budding colony of Roanoke. Walter says that he will return for her, but when he doesn't, she starts building a life for herself there. She becomes an essential part of the Roanoke colony, and finds new love with Manteo, one of the Croatoan natives. When ships do finally appear on the horizon, Cate has a choice to make.

What I Thought: I liked this one. As mentioned, I really like seeing North America through the eyes of someone who is seeing it in its pristine form. I love the idea of the being no cities. Roanoke was (also known as the "The Lost Colony") the first attempt by Europeans to colonize America. Catherine comes into herself over the course of the book. She's the kind of girl who needed to have a purpose, so, at the Roanoke colony, she finds her niche, and quickly works her way into being essential. She learns to speak the language of the Croatoans, starts setting up trade between the European settlers and the natives, and does her best to help both the settlers and the tribes, even when her attempts are met with hostility. To me, the love story part wasn't really as important as the journey that Cate as a character went on. Overall I found this a really enjoyable book.

Facts: The Roanoke colony was the first colony. It was where the first European child on American soil, Virgina Dare, was born. No one knows what happened to it. When the Ralegh (he was a real explorer) and the returning party arrived at Roanoke, they found evidence that the settlement had been pulled down and the settlers had disappeared, leaving behind only the carved word Croatoan. To this day it is not known what happened to them.