The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan

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The details….

  • Title: The Three Lives of Cate Kay
  • Author: Kate Fagan
  • Publisher: Atria Books
  • Publication date: January 7, 2025
  • ISBN-13: ‎978-1668094150
  • Available formats: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook  
  • Hardcover/paperback: 304 pages
  • Ebook: 3277 KB
  • Audiobook book: 9 hours and 52 minutes
  • Genre: suspenseful contemporary fiction  
  • Themes: family, mother-daughter relationships, friendships, secrets, tragedy, trauma, escaping the past, hiding, reinventing one’s self, small towns, big cities, Hollywood, acting, writing, publishing, women loving women relationships 

The blurb from the publisher…

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets First Lie Wins in this electric, voice-driven debut novel about an elusive bestselling author who decides to finally confess her true identity after years of hiding from her past. 

Cate Kay knows how to craft a story. As the creator of a bestselling book trilogy that struck box office gold as a film series, she’s one of the most successful authors of her generation. The thing is, Cate Kay doesn’t really exist. She’s never attended author events or granted any interviews. Her real identity had been a closely guarded secret, until now.

As a young adult, she and her best friend Amanda dreamed of escaping their difficult homes and moving to California to become movie stars. But the day before their grand adventure, a tragedy shattered their dreams and Cate has been on the run ever since, taking on different names and charting a new future. But after a shocking revelation, Cate understands that returning home is the only way she’ll be a whole person again.

My thoughts…

I find it hard to articulate just how good this book is. Saying, “It blew me away,” doesn’t begin to cover what a masterful job Kate Fagan did. Critics have compared it to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. It’s a fair comparison. Put side by side, it is no shrinking violet. Its plot is equally complex, its characters comparably dynamic, and its impact is just as significant. And, much like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, this story will be a topic of discussion in book clubs for years to come.

What truly makes The Three Lives of Cate Kay stand out is its employment of multiple points of view. Fagan effectively leverages the varied perspectives, giving the story a more holistic understanding. Each character becomes a narrator in the story, highlighting distinct aspects of Cate’s personality, relationships, and life. Though Cate is the primary voice of the story, readers walk away with a bigger picture of who Cate fundamentally is because of these multiple points of view.

So, who is Cate Kay? She is a profoundly complex and intelligent woman trying to outrun her past. Trauma and poor choices have forced her to reinvent herself and become cautious and reclusive. Fagan slowly and deliberately leaks the haunting details of Cate’s life via the various characters that cross her path. These narrators, including Cate, become guides, letting the storytelling unfold linearly and uniquely. Thus, Cate’s journey becomes a culmination of all these voices, each one filling in a piece of her puzzling life.

Fagan makes some interesting choices as she uses these narrators. Some seem to hold more knowledge about Cate’s life than she does. And because readers have an omnipresent view, they know the most. It creates a tension within the storytelling that’s irresistibly compelling. It is the kind of dramatic irony readers rarely see done this well. The heightened stakes and increased suspense are simply delicious.

Because Fagan uses multiple points of view, Cate’s story isn’t isolated; the choices she makes reverberate across the lives of others, creating a dynamic web of cause and effect. The same goes for the many narrators. Their choices affect Cate. It provides an interesting situation, enabling the exploration of subplots. These subplots are critical; they allow Cate’s character arc to expand. Her family, friends, and lovers illuminate different aspects of her personality and life story, adding emotional resonance and complexity to the storytelling. Additionally, these small-scale struggles mirror the overriding issues, making the story feel grounded and realistic.

Finally, the most masterful moment is the way it all comes together. Fagan’s shifting points of view eventually reveal the other characters’ motives. Some are unexpected. Some are welcome. These climatic revelations are what readers have been waiting for. The tension is released. The pieces fall into place. However, as readers finish the last page, what imprints the most is the intense energy of the narrative, making The Three Lives of Cate Kay an unforgettable experience.

Final remarks…

The Three Lives of Cate Kay transcends being a simple story about one woman’s life. Instead, it becomes a rich tapestry of perspectives that deepen the narrative’s emotional resonance, enhance its complexity, and keep readers fully invested. By including a range of narrators, the book appeals to a wide audience, as different readers connect with different characters. This is award-winning storytelling. Fagan’s writing style and storytelling choices will leave you breathless. It is a must read.

Strengths…

  • Well-written 
  • Powerfully told 
  • Impressionable, impactive characters 
  • Memorable storytelling 

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A bit about the author…

Kate Fagan is an Emmy-award winning journalist and the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of WHAT MADE MADDY RUN, which was a semi-finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting. Her first book was the coming-of-age memoir THE REAPPEARING ACT, and her third book, ALL THE COLORS CAME OUT, was released in May 2021 from Little, Brown. In March of 2023, her fourth book — HOOP MUSES: an insider’s guide to pop culture and the (women’s) game — a collaboration with WNBA legend Seimone Augustus and artist Sophia Chang was released by Twelve. Kate previously spent seven years as a columnist and feature writer for espnW, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. She was also a regular panelist on ESPN’s Around the Horn and host of Outside the Lines. Kate covered the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons and played college basketball at the University of Colorado. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her wife, Kathryn Budig, and their dog, Ragnar. To learn more about her, visit her website.

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