What is truth? What is rumor? To what lengths will a government go to round up citizens suspected of undermining the United States? Set amidst the true events of the McCarthy Era (late 1940s to 1950s), this novel is based on my own story. Classrooms and book groups will find much to discuss in Catch You Later, Traitor, perhaps relating to current events:
Behind the story
It was the hardest book I ever wrote.
Mind, it was not the writing as such. It was because I was revisiting a world I recalled as full of fear, confusion, and danger.
I was fourteen years of age in 1951. Living in New York City (in Brooklyn) with my solid family. But this was the time of Senator Joe McCarthy, relentless anti-Communism, the Korean War, a constant fear of nuclear war, a time when you had to be careful what you said, and also careful about what you heard. read more
Sample Chapter
Read Chapter 1, readable online and as a downloadable PDF.
Resources
Educator Guide from Algonquin, the publisher
Readers’ Guide from Algonquin
Author Insights from Algonquin
“A Conversation between Avi and Gary D. Schmidt,” Bookology, 4 Aug 2015
“Q & A with Avi,” Sally Lodge, Publishers Weekly, 24 Feb 2015
A Bookstorm of companion books and a Bookmap for Smartboard presentations.
Background on McCarthyism
“McCarthyism and the Red Scare,” The Miller Center, University of Virginia
“McCarthyism,” Arthur Miller: Private Conversations, American Masters, PBS
Video, courtesy of Mackin Community (you can watch the entire interview here)
Book Covers through the Years
Always intriguing to study a book’s cover, looking at how the publisher and artist felt this would promote a book to the most likely readers. Sometimes, a book’s title and cover undergo big changes before the book is published.
1 thought on “Everything about Catch You Later, Traitor”
Great book!